Hardy Kiwi Flowers

Day 260: Students, please take your seats and prepare to take notes. Today, you will learn several new botanical terms as they apply to Actinidia arguta "Issai," also known as the hardy kiwi. If you have encountered it in nurseries, you may have noted that the tag refers to it as a "self-fertile female" vine, capable of fruiting without benefit of a male. Actinidias are dioecious, which is to say that male and female flowers appear on separate plants. Most require both sexes in order to fruit; the exception is Hardy Kiwi "Issai." Gynoecious plants (those with pistillate flowers, i.e., females) will form seedless berries without fertilization. This is known as parthenocarpy, and veg gardeners may recognize the behaviour if not the term if they grow seedless cucumbers. The principle is the same.

Personal footnote from the Professor: I have loads of flowers on my Issais! If the squirrels don't get them this year (I think I've successfully relocaed 95% of the population), I should have lots of little thumb-sized, fuzzless, seedless nibblies from the two vines covering the trellis gateway to my "Berry Pen." If you can pass the test for botanical vocabulary in a month, I might be willing to share.

Oemleria Cerasiformis, Indian Plum

Day 181: Commonly known as Indian Plum or Osoberry, Oemleria cerasiformis is unique in that it is the only member of its genus. Moving up the scale, we can see that it is a member of the Rosaceae, a botanical Family with such widely diverse "cousins" as roses, rowan trees and raspberries, almonds, apricots and apples. It is a dioecious shrub, which is to say that male and female flowers are borne on separate plants, and its fruits are considered edible, if bitter. The fruit is yellowish-red when immature, darkening to a reddish-purple when ripe. Its leaves and bark may also be used to make tea, although I can't speak to its desirability as such. As I have said repeatedly, many plants which are considered "edible" do not necessarily fall into the narrower category of "desirable as food," which is to say that you could assuage a burning hunger by eating them without poisoning yourself, although you wouldn't consider serving them up to guests. I think I'll give Oemleria tea a miss, thank you.