Here are some photos of plants Douglas Justice mentioned in his October 2014 in the Garden | UBC Botanical Garden blog. I agree that the leaf show this year seems to be abbreviated - so many leaves have already fallen or shrivelled. Douglas says the focus should be on fruit, so that's what's in this posting. Starting with what I saw first, here is Magnolia sargentiana, with its orange seeds peeking through the "weird fruits". Staphylea pinnata leaves are just starting to turn their great colours to show off the light-coloured fruits. I've never thought to taste them, will have to remember to keep checking when they're ripe. Douglas mentions that Decaisnea insignis pulp is edible. I got close to a pod elsewhere last week, was surprised to find it soft, not at all the hard shell I was expecting. The stuff inside looked most unappetising. I was trying to gear myself up for giving it a taste, but too bad, it was out of reach. The ones in the third photo were within arms reach, but unfortunately (ha!), were not ripe. The quinces, Cydonia oblonga, are getting over-ripe, but many of them still look so beautiful with their pale yellow fuzzy fruits against the dark green leaves. Here's a crab apple, Malus sargentii. I've finally learned to distinguish crab apples from hawthorns. Hawthorn flowers are in inflorescences (so fruits in infructescences), as you can see in this photo, whereas apples hang as single fruits, as seen in the above photos. Crataegus x grignonensis These hairless kiwi fruits look a lot like the crab apples. Actinidia arguta 'Ananasnaya'. Here's a sumac bob (really, who knew those things were called "bobs"?) - Rhus typhina. So what the heck are "sparkleberries"? I won't say which two people I asked at the garden who had no idea. One person looked it up for me, came up with something we don't have in the garden, so I photographed some plants I thought could merit that name. In addition to that crabapple, here is Sorbus hybrida 'Gibbsii' (with some separate leaflets from the Rowan part of the cross). Sorbus macrantha and Sambucus cerulea. Hippophae rhamnoides. Euonymus europaeus and Berberis thunbergii. Celastrus scandens. These will shed their covers to reveal slightly sparkly fruits - Here is Nadia's posting from last year. [Edited]The Botany Photo of the Day for November 5, 2014 is about this plant, and it's such fun to read, particularly the comments (Tamara's and the responses) about twining direction. Viburnum x burkwoodii and Ilex verticillata. Should we vote for the "sparkleberry"? Is one of these even it?
