AMONG those of us that follow the natural world through the seasons, October is known primarily for two things – the glorious autumnal display of colour by our woodland trees and the sudden wealth of fungi growing beneath (and even on) those very trees.

Wild mushrooms and toadstools are so abundant this month that October 11 and 12 were officially designated National Fungi Weekend. You may well have taken part in one of the many organised fungal forays on the Saturday or Sunday.

Earlier this month, we also enjoyed National Apple Day, which should remind us that this is also the time of year for fruits and berries.

2015 has been a fantastic year for apple growers, but I’ve also noticed in my local woods and hedgerows a bumper crop of berries on the rowan trees. Rowan is a Germanic word meaning red which describes the colour of the berries, as does the latin name Sorbus.

These bright crimson fruits are all the more noticeable for being concentrated in tight bunches in the foliage, giving the whole tree a red, spotty appearance from a distance. We call these small fruits berries, but botanists call them pommes. Rowan trees are actually very closely related to apple trees with the berries being, in effect, mini-apples (see photo).

This year’s feast of rowan fruits will be great news for the flocks of winter thrushes that will arrive from Scandinavia over the next few weeks. Redwings and fieldfares will gorge themselves on the nutritious berries after their long energy-sapping flights over the North Sea. The birds are actually doubly fortunate. As they swallow the berries whole, they are spared the unpleasant experience of tasting them. Raw rowan fruits contain large quantities of sorbic acid which, although harmless, is so sour it tastes absolutely foul.

Cooking the berries destroys most of this acid, rendering them not just palatable, but delicious, especially if made into jelly. Rowanberry jelly is available to buy in specialist shops but why spend good money when you can make it yourself for free – just follow the recipe below.

Rowanberry Jelly

Gently simmer 1kg of washed rowan berries and 1 large, chopped cooking apple (for its pectin) for 15 mins in 400ml of water, squashing occasionally to extract the juice.

Strain the resulting mush through a jelly bag slowly over-night and collect the clear juice.

For every 600ml of juice add 450ml of sugar. Warm and stir until it is all dissolved then boil until the setting point is reached (usually 10 mins or so).

Pour the hot liquid quickly into sterilized jars and seal. Put in a cool place to set.

Spread it on warm, buttered toast like any other jam, but save some for Christmas to have with the turkey. It’s better than any red-currant jelly that I’ve ever had.