Looking for shade loving tree/shrub with edible fruit/whatever

[JHB]

I am looking for some medium size trees or some largish shrubs that can live and bear fruit or edible leaves in a shaded area. The pictures I included show the area where I am going to plant once it is cleared. It is under my neighbors pine trees so it doesn't get much sun. This time of year is when the area gets the most sun so it will be even less at other times.

Even though it is shady that doesn't mean cool. Today for instance the temp is in the low 90s.

 

[Beth_B]

You got me curious, so I did a quick search and found this list:
https://lawrencefruittreeproject.wo...ded-fruit-plants/shade-tolerant-fruit-plants/

Which reminded me that I have some wild raspberry and blackberry plants in the tangled back part of my side yard that produce a fair number of berries. Not sure how many really, as the birds get them all.
Another possibility is mulberry trees. Two of my neighbors have them and both trees are quite shaded by much larger surrounding trees. They get morning sun but full share by mid-day.

 

[JHB]

Mulberry is a possibility, I was planning on using in my yard just in another place. Things like berry bushes are out because they would be hard to clean the pine needles out of.

 

[Beth_B]

Gotcha. I don't know how the pine needles affect soil (more acidic and better for berries?) but IMHO mulberry trees are attractive and easy to keep trimmed back/smaller and at least up here, quite hardy.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

as a shade gardener, there are not any that bear fruit in shade. Maybe a few berries for birds.

 

[Corzhens]

Mulberry is a possibility, I was planning on using in my yard just in another place. Things like berry bushes are out because they would be hard to clean the pine needles out of.

We have mulberry trees here in our extended garden that we care for the fruits - we love the sweet purple fruits. It's not good for a shade tree. What I can recommend is the macopa or the star fruit. The macopa is the bell fruit with green when unripe and red when the fruit is ripe. The star fruit is green and yellowish when ripe. They are both good for providing a shade.

 

[Marck]

Most crops will be less productive in shade. Leaf and root crops are more likely to supply some harvest in a shaded area than fruit crops.

Judging from what is already growing in the pictured location, I might suggest spineless cultivars of Prickly-pear (Opuntia ficus-indica cvs. and similar). You might get some prickly-pear fruit, also known as tunas, but more likely you will grow the flattened stem-pads of the Prickly-pear, which can be harvested when young as a vegetable, also known as nopales.