plants group @a.gup.pe J blue @mastodon.world 1y ago

UPDATE: Solanum abutiloides

Winter didn’t kill this perennial even though it dipped below freezing. The fruits grown from seed are highly variable and mine taste like sugary battery acid.

Well, it’s fruiting this summer and I was letting the birds have it (even they rejected it). The berries ripened until they fell off the plant. I tried the fallen berries and there is almost no caustic taste. Yay?

#gardening #jardin #plants #plantas #permaculture #GrowYourOwn #organic @plants

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5 comments

@jblue @plants interesting! Sounds like the berries of the alligator juniper. If you pick them from the tree it's like having a slug of paint thinner. If you eat them off the ground, they taste like red licorice.
- @IPXFong @plants red licorice, like twizzlers? Is it nice enough to make it worth it to grow?
  
  @jblue @plants
  Yeah, a lot like twizzlers. (At least in my mind 😁)
  
  If you're going to plant a juniper, you might as well go with an alligator. They're the only kind with edible fruit. But, they are full size trees so it'll be a while before you get a harvest. They're great trees though. Drought, cold and heat tolerant and they make great shade.
  
  @IPXFong @plants I get almost 50 inches of rainfall a year (120cm), is that too much for this plant?
  
  @jblue @plants They normally grow in areas that get around 15 inches of rain a year. I don't know how they would do with so much moisture.