Help identify a tree with a small fruit.

Hmmm. Foliage looks right but the fruit on dentatum are blue.

When I saw it, it reminded me of a variety of viburnum too, last week I took this photo in a park. Don't know whioch species it is though:

Alain - I think that is opulus (Guelder Rose). Could be wrong but your pic is almost exactly like one in my wife's garden.

Rick36 wrote:Alain - I think that is opulus (Guelder Rose). Could be wrong but your pic is almost exactly like one in my wife's garden.

I don't think so, the leaves on Viburnum opulus are different. This is one of mine:



Maybe on that one, you can see the shape of the leaves better, they're a bit like small sycamore leaves:

Alain - guess you're right. I was going by the serrations on the leaves and the bonsais look less so than the tree in the park. Nice little trees, btw - given me an idea, but I must talk to the wife first!

The first one is the wild species, taken as a small seedling in a forest, they have smaller leaves.

The second one is one of several cuttings I took from a "snowball" planted in my garden. Cuttings are very easy to make, I think I took them in late winter, but I've tried at other periods in the growing season with success. It's better to start with a small cuttings since most of the V. opulus you can find in nurseries or garden center have long straight multi-trunks, and it's impossible to wire them when they're too big. And they keep the scars of big cuts too.

So I'm sure the Missuz won't mind you removing a 15 cm tip of a branch

Thanks, Alain. Mind? She wont even know!! Cheers.

adam1234 wrote:Hello,

I need help identifying a tree which was given to me. The tree had no label and I can no longer get in touch with the person who gave it to me. I have the tree growing in the ground which I intend to make into bonsai. The tree was in a container for a number of years. It is not grafted. It had a few small white flowers (about 0.5cm across) in spring and today I noticed 2 tiny fruits about 1cm across. The tiny fruit was soft and had 2 green seeds inside. The leaf is about 5 - 6cm. Any ideas of what this tree is?

according to me its not a malus, if you look at the flowering stalk I see proof of multiple flowers on the same stalk.
its not prunus either, since you talk about multiple soft (green)seeds, instead of a single (harder) pit
growth habit, although not clear enough on the pictures, also indicative of not typical malus/cherry, at least the more common ones i know.
Also there are no Malus known to me to have fruit of about 0,5cm (average).

so, that leaves us with a huge range of berry-carrying shrubs, natives or exotic, and i bet its the last one (not native in ireland) because you say it was in a container so probably bought from a nursery?

I would prune a branch, preferably with flowers on (and/or fruit), and take it to a big gardencenter.
If you have clear photo's, I could try and showe them to a few colleagues of mine who are into scientific study/research (determination, genetics, illnesses but mostly on native species)

Many thanks yves72177. I will get photos of the flower when it starts flowering this year and send them to you. Again, thanks for looking at this.

Cheers,
Adam

adam1234 wrote:Many thanks yves72177. I will get photos of the flower when it starts flowering this year and send them to you. Again, thanks for looking at this.

Cheers,
Adam

Hello,

So, flowers in May and here are photos of the flowers. From the discussion people were saying Viburnum but from the flowers doesn't look so. Any ideas???









Cheers,
Adam

Petal shape and color is very similar to several viburnum varieties. While flowers are usually in clusters, apparently some species or cultivars are not. Check: https://www.google.com/search?q=Viburnum+sp.&client=firefox-a&hs=ui1&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=S2qXUdGVE-rC4APflIDICA&ved=0CC4QsAQ&biw=1600&bih=727 and you will find this cluster of flowers which look a bit like yours.



There are others that are enough like it that Viburnum seems a likely name for your plant. You may not be able to pin it down more than that. There are more than 150 species of Viburnum and many times more than that in cultivars.

I'm not buying that it's a viburnum, but that said...I have no idea what it could be. I've gone through my Dirr's book, my catalogs of exotic fruits, and done google image matching...haven't found it.

When I first saw those flowers, my immediate thought was "kiwi". The shape of the flowers, in particular the ovary/developing fruit and the way the flowers cluster are very similar to my hardy kiwis (actinidia), which bloom late (June) here:



It's not kiwi (at least, not the variety I have), as the flower clusters are borne in the leaf axils of new growth. But maybe something related?

I'd second the suggestion to take a branch (with leaves/flowers) to a garden center or university botany department. I really want to know what this is! Surprised that no one has come up with a definite answer yet.

Thanks jim.

Viburnum flowers have 5 petals while this has 4. Also, the viburnum fruit has a single seed while this has more than one. I don't see how it could be a viburnum. A bit of a a conundrum this is. I also do not think it could be tropical since it has lived outside for most of its life and nothing tropical survives here unless it is under glass with heat.

Cheers,
Adam

Hi Chris,

Wow that image is just to die for. Have you got the name of that Kiwi in the picture. I'll look up kiwi and see if it comes close. Our large garden centres are not that good and that plant was given to me by a lecturer at our botanical gardens and he had no clue, so. Thanks for the interest.

Cheers,
Adam

Adam,

It's Actinidia arguta, but I don't know the cultivar name (if any). They were sold just as "male" and "female". The pictured flowers are female. It's a really great plant - attractive and fragrant flowers, and the delicious little "kiwi" fruit in the fall. Very aggressive, vining type of growth.

I have a question about the fruit - you showed 2 photos, in one the fruit appeared pink, in the other it appeared dark green, almost brown. Did the color change as the fruit ripened?

Chris

P.S. Kiwi fruit, almost ripe (the size of a large grape):

Hi Chris,

The other photo with the 3 green things are the seeds that came out of the fruit. The fruit is like a tiny 1cm little apple. Thanks for the kiwi name, I'm going to grow that in my garden. I already have the Actinidia kolomikta with the 3 coloured leaf but the flowers are quite insignificant.

Cheers,
Adam

It looks very similar to beautyberry (Callicarpa). It's definitely not Callicarpa americana, but everything looks the same except the berry color and the size of the leaf serrations. May be one of the other species of the genus or a cultivar or hybrid.

Here is a link to American beautyberry with pictures for comparison.

bucknbonsai wrote:maybe its something extremely poisonous

I thought it was Sarcandra, but no..... I feel so stupid.

I can help you stay alive though. I think that is important. hihihihihihi

Next time you in the bush, and you want to find out whether something is edible or not?

Simply squeeze the juice of the fruit over your wrist on you palm side.

If it is poisonous is should start to burn, and go red, within 15 min. If it doesn't...you are safe and gobbble up as much as you.

Don't try this with Mushrooms....consider them all poisonous, unless you know what you are doing.

Love and light

Hi Andre,

This is unlike Sarcandra as it is more like a small tree than a shrub and Sarcandra forms flower spikes at terminals. Thanks for the advice on the poisonous test and next time I'm in the bush I'd be sure to use your method on someone else first with the words "Someone experienced called Andre who does bonsai in south Africa told me.....". I've been to East Africa, Kenya, some few years back and the amount of animal life everywhere was just astonishing. I don't think though I'd be worrying about rubbing poisonous berries on my wrist but rather the poisonous snake I'd be stepping on to get to the berries if I'm ever in the African bush. No snakes here in Ireland St. Patrick got rid of them . I'd be happy if someone narrowed it down to a genus.

Cheers and love and light,
Adam

Hi,

The good clever people at Dave's garden and UBC plant identification forums have returned a result. Aristotelia serrata or commonly called wineberry.

Wikipedia says
"Aristotelia serrata, wineberry, is a tree endemic to New Zealand. The tree, called makomako in Maori, is common throughout New Zealand, in damp disturbed forest margins and damp river edges. It can be classified as a shrub or small tree and can grow to 9 m (30 ft). Its leaves are broad, greenish in colour but can have flushes of pink and grow between 5–12 cm (2–5 in) in size with a long petiole. The edges of the leaf are distinctively serrated. Flowers on the tree are of a red-white colour. The tree produces red or black edible fruits berries between 6–9mm (0.2–0.4 in). Wineberry is an attractive tree, with pinkish foliage and rose coloured flowers in spring. Wineberry is a dioecious tree or shrub with male and female individuals; male and female flowers arise on separate plants, so both sexes are required for the production of red-black berries. Māori children used to feast on the berries, which were also squeezed and strained to make a sweet drink. Although slightly bitter they are not unpleasant to eat and would certainly be useful as an emergency food if you were lost in the bush."

So, It is not poisonous but just watch out for the snakes Andre.

A million thanks to everyone who had a go.

Cheers,
Adam