Quercus macrocarpa hybrid
Cornus kousa - Kousa Dogwood
Cornus Kousa - a beautiful small tree native to east Asia, Korea, China and Japan. Trees bear an edible fruit. The thin fruit rind is best discarded as it imparts a bitter taste. The custard-like pulp can be eaten when ripe or used in jams or sauces. The fruit is not widely eaten but can be seen used as a landscape tree, in botanical gardens, etc.
Redbud - Cercis occidentalis
Red bud blooming in end of February / early March of this year. Seeing the shock of pink from a distance I hiked up to check this one out. A truly spectacular spring blooming native shrub. The blooming plant is covered in numerous kinds of bees and insects.
Malus toringoides - Cut-leaf Crabapple
Erythronium oregonum - California Fawn Lily
Erythronium californium is a herbaceous perennial bulb native to Northern California. I took these photos in Lake County where the highly scented flowers appear in full bloom at the end of February through March. numbering in the many thousands.
The bulbs, along with many other regional species, were an important food source for indigenous peoples. The bulb populations we see today are remnants of previously managed and far more extensive traditional food and land management systems.
The area depicted in these photos consists of semi-dense chaparral consisting primarily of Manzanita, Heteromeles, and Quercus (duration) along with Umbellaria californica, CThe Erythronium appears in profusion, as shown below, in the understory. The bulb seems to co-exist along side a healthy gopher population, which, reportedly, can aid in the dissemination of bulblets .
Other important genera of edible neophytes widely consumed in pre-contact California include Allium, Brodiaea, Camassia, Chlorogalum, Calochortus, Dichelostemma, Lilium, Lomatium, Perideridia, Sanicula, and Triteleia.
Chestnuts, hazelnuts and heart nuts....
Some examples of the numerous variations of chestnut and hazel nut I am propagating this year.
Pseudocydonia sinensis - Chinese quince
I first encountered this spectacular quince species at the Burbank Experimental Earm in Sebastopol, California. Notable for its massive fruit, which is at first a light green then turning yellow as it ripens. Among the apples, Sorbus domestic, and a number of other surviving Burbank species this one seems to be growing strong and quite productive.
The tree is a deciduous, semi-evergreen tree in the Rosaceae family (Rose, Pear, Apple, Loquat). Native to Eastern Asia in China this is the sole species in the Pseudocydonia genus. Previously Pseudocydonia was placed in the Asian genus Chaenomeles, however differs in that Pseudocydonia lacks thorns and produces single flowers. The Chinese Quince is closely related to the European Quince, Cydonia bologna. The two species differ in that Chinese quince has somewhat serrated leaves and smooth fruited skin. The fruit on the Burbank Hybrids also appear to grow larger.
The tree is referred to as mùguā-hǎitáng (木瓜海棠).In Chinese, mùguā (木瓜) also means, “papaya”.
Grows 8-10 m long. The fruit is a large ovoid pome 12–17 cm long with five carpels; it gives off an intense, sweet smell and it ripens in late autumn.
The large fruit is hard and astringent, however after a period of frost the fruit does become a bit softer and less astringent. The fruit can be used in the same way as quince, poached, baked or used for making jam. The tree is also grown as an ornamental in Southern Europe.
In Korea it is used to make a preserved quince and quince tea.
The bark and trunk of larger trees are highly ornamental. The wood is frequently used in Japan for shamisen, a three-stringed traditional Japanese musical instrument derived from the Chinese instrument sanxian.
The fruit is used extensively in Traditional Chinese Medicine to treat rheumatoid arthritis. Recent pharmacological studies suggest that extracts of phytochemical in the fruit have antioxidant and antiviral properties.
Brassica oleraceae var. botrytis - Purple Cauliflower
ORIGIN AND DISTRIBUTION
Although the true wild origin of Purple Cauliflower is not quite known, this heirloom variety comes from Sicily, another purple variety exists from S. Africa.
In its wild, uncultivated form, Brassica oleraceae is called wild cabbage, originating in often exposed and harsh conditions in western Europe. Wild cabbage has a high tolerance for salt and lime, reflected in similar alkaline and saline tolerance in the modern domesticated forms.
USES AND ETHNOBOTANY
Cauliflower is, of course, edible, and eaten widely throughout the world. Cauliflower is rich in vitamin C. A half cup of florets provides nearly half of ones daily requirement. Cauliflower is also a good source of fiber, vitamin A, folate, calcium and potassium as well as selenium, which works with Vitamin C to boost the immune system. Cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower are known for their high levels of cancer-fighting phytochemicals know as glucosinolates.
Brassica oleracea is a plant species that includes many different familiar vegetable cultivars. Interestingly all of these are of the same genus and species, Brassica oleracea, only selected for different traits over time resulting in a wide range of variability.
Notable Brassica oleraceae cultivars include cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts, collard greens, savoy, kohlrabi, and gai lan.
The purple color is naturally occurring, caused by the presence of anthocyanins, a group of antioxidants which can also be found in red cabbage and red wine.
PROPAGATION AND CULTIVATION
Cauliflower is easily grown from seed and can be germinated either en situ in the garden or in a greenhouse. Place seeds in a moist germination medium. Cover lightly. After germination allow. In a mild climates cauliflower and other Brassica can be grown throughout the year. However they prefer cool weather to hot.
In areas with alkaline and/or saline soils, Brassicas tend to do well as long as they are kept relatively free of competition.
Interestingly the Brassica family is one of the few plant groups that does not apparently have associations with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.
Portulaca oleraceae - Purslane, verdolaga
BACKGROUND, ORIGIN, AND DISTRIBUTION
The plant is a prostrate fleshy herb with spreading branches. Leaves are fleshy, shiny and widest at the tips, shaped like a water droplet. Flowers are born terminally in clusters, with small round seed pods dispersing numerous small black seeds.
This is a common, spontaneously appearing plant found growing throughout the tropics and warmer temperate regions. The wide range is due to high genetic flexibility which permits rapid adaptation to new environments. There are many forms, with different size leaves.
PROPAGATION AND CULTIVATION
Cultivation of this plant is easy, and it is most familiar to most people as a spontaneous "weed". In favorable tropical climates it can be readily observed growing out of cracks in sidewalks, even out of rubble and deteriorating walls. Increasingly, due to its reputable health benefits and nutritious properties, improved purslane cultivars/varieties can be found, faster growing with larger leaves.
The plant is cultivated in France, Denmark and the Netherlands.
As a companion plant, purslane provides ground cover to create a humid microclimate for nearby plants, stabilising ground moisture. Its deep roots bring up moisture and nutrients that those plants can use, and some, including corn, will follow purslane roots down through harder soil that they cannot penetrate on their own (ecological facilitation). It is known as a beneficial weed in places that do not already grow it as a crop in its own right.
USES AND ETHNOBOTANY
The leaves and shoots can be eaten raw and have a mild but pleasant taste. The leaves also make a good forage for poultry. The plant is versatile when it comes to how it can be eaten, and can be mixed into most any dish, raw or cooked.
In East Africa the seeds are ground into a flour that is used to make porridge.
Purslane contains more omega-3 fatty acids (alpha-linolenic acid in particular) than any other leafy vegetable plant. Studies have found that purslane has 0.01 mg/g of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). It also contains vitamins (mainly vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol),[15] vitamin B, carotenoids), and dietary minerals such as magnesium, calcium, potassium, and iron.
Agroforestry species database from the World Agroforestry Center
The World Agroforestry Center recently announced and released a new multi-database search engine, or switchboard for information on Agroforestry species.
The 13 websites the Switchboard links to include The Plant Resources for Tropical Africa, The Useful Tree Species for Africa, Tree Seed Suppliers Directory, The UNEP-WCMC Species Database, and The VECEA interactive vegetation map. In addition to directly harnessing information from these 13, the switchboard also provides hyperlinks to The Plant List, Tropicos, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and The Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
The Switchboard’s main strength is that it shortens the time and energy spent on searches, and generates quality information drawn from trusted sources,” says Roeland Kindt, the senior ecologist at ICRAF who led the development of the tool. “Its creation was driven by a need expressed by users, for a “one-stop-shop” for good quality and detailed information on species of interest,” says Kindt.
Users can search for information in two ways:
- By entering the name of a genus or species in the search field at the Agroforestry Species Switchboard, or
- Through ‘user-friendly URL searches’; for example, searching for the genus Tamarindus by typing in the following hyperlink in a web browser: http://www.worldagroforestry.org/products/switchboard/index.php/name_like/Tamarindus
– See more at: http://blog.worldagroforestry.org/index.php/2013/10/23/new-agroforestry-species-switchboard-means-easier-faster-access-to-quality-information/#sthash.o0d79nTR.dpuf