It all started with me noticing that on the side of an Ebay returns page there are "collections"...sort of a Pinterest collection but of only Ebay images that someone is saving. I was drawn to an image of big blue flaccid appearing things hanging on some naked twigs. Nice blue though :-)
They turned out to be a bush called, in the Ebay offering of the seeds, Blue Sausage Tree. Decaisnea fargesii. Who knew!!!????
I want one! You slurp a sweet tasting but culturally unappealing looking (for Connecticut) fruit glop from the pod, and plant the beans for more. It must taste good, as it does not seem to elicit positive reactions to its looks, if you take the REAL common name into account - Dead Man's Fingers. Yum! I can see why the seller changed it. A link to a NPR page by Ketzel Levine about the plant in detail is at the bottom of this page.
This plant made me think of another one I had fallen for decades ago, Akebia quinata...or maybe trifolium. Anyway, there is a wonderful park in Newburyport, MA,USA, Maudsley Park. It is the former estate of the Maudsley family, which now has no manner house but has beautiful grounds on the Merrimac River.
While exploring it, Jack and I wandered into an overgrown boxwood garden which had a huge akebia vine covered in weird blue fruits trying to climb over the walls. It had thoroughly draped the trees, whatever they were. We had no idea what it was and went home with a drop to identify. Bailey's Hortus 3rd saved the day eventually but I am so grateful for internet access now!!!!! Like Dead Man's Fingers, the fruit of the akebia lacks appeal once you see inside the charming blue rind. Looking very much like a huge unwholesome larvae, you need to suck the jelly from between the closely packed seeds. We didn't know that fact at the time, so I missed my chance.
From NPR: Plant Profiles: Decaisnea fargesii (Plant Profiles are excerpted from Plant This! by Ketzel Levine.)
They turned out to be a bush called, in the Ebay offering of the seeds, Blue Sausage Tree. Decaisnea fargesii. Who knew!!!????
I want one! You slurp a sweet tasting but culturally unappealing looking (for Connecticut) fruit glop from the pod, and plant the beans for more. It must taste good, as it does not seem to elicit positive reactions to its looks, if you take the REAL common name into account - Dead Man's Fingers. Yum! I can see why the seller changed it. A link to a NPR page by Ketzel Levine about the plant in detail is at the bottom of this page.
This plant made me think of another one I had fallen for decades ago, Akebia quinata...or maybe trifolium. Anyway, there is a wonderful park in Newburyport, MA,USA, Maudsley Park. It is the former estate of the Maudsley family, which now has no manner house but has beautiful grounds on the Merrimac River.
The entrance of the old estate.
While exploring it, Jack and I wandered into an overgrown boxwood garden which had a huge akebia vine covered in weird blue fruits trying to climb over the walls. It had thoroughly draped the trees, whatever they were. We had no idea what it was and went home with a drop to identify. Bailey's Hortus 3rd saved the day eventually but I am so grateful for internet access now!!!!! Like Dead Man's Fingers, the fruit of the akebia lacks appeal once you see inside the charming blue rind. Looking very much like a huge unwholesome larvae, you need to suck the jelly from between the closely packed seeds. We didn't know that fact at the time, so I missed my chance.
This is the restored boxwood garden I found almost swallowed by the akebia 30 or more years ago. It is nice the garden and grounds have caretakers now but it sure was romantic in its decline. Below is a photo I took when we were still trying to identify the blue skinned alien fruits. Do you know the vines are great for basket making? I learned that somewhere years ago...I think it is traditional basket material in Japan.
From NPR: Plant Profiles: Decaisnea fargesii (Plant Profiles are excerpted from Plant This! by Ketzel Levine.)
