Unusual tree

Penny
11/20/2011 - 17:48

When walking in the woods in the mountains this weekend we saw a tree I have never seen before. It has leaves like a birch and hadfruit growing in clusters. The fruit were apple green (about the size of small plums), smelt like apples and had a texture like an apple. Anyone got any ideas what it was?

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Unlikely to be this one (my money is on Cassini's Mediterranean medlar) but at least it proves Grape trees do exist. wink Ding, ding, seconds out.

Try looking at Malus sikkimensis - I found various snaps of this (on google) whichseem promising, but haven't looked further to see if maturation time, leaves, etc. are correct. I tend to go along with Gala that if it smells like an apple it probablybears a close relationship to an apple!

I wouldn't say the leaves were like birch, and it isn't likely to smell like an apple, but the fruiting time and grape like bunches sound okay, and it would just about survive (hardy to about minus 6degC). It's evergreen, and there is a b+w illustration on ths page.

Alright clever clogs - perhaps it aint a Wampee - perhaps it's a grape tree. wink How the Hell d'ya upload photo's here?

indecisionYou have (in the blue corner) advocates of malus sikkinensis (which at least has the potential to smell like an apple) or in the red corner, the acknowledgley unlikely wampee. I know (from previous forum experience) that Penny is a nicely 'serious' person, and I'm sure she is more than willing to hike up into her mountain and take a reaaly high res snap of the fruit upon which she has stumbled. Seriously -we need a pic! I was thining of suggesting underripe arbutos unedo - or (do not slap me down here) the possibility that the fuit belonged to a neighbouring tree and was hanging about looking as if it 'belonged'!

OK - not sure if we're getting closer or further away to be honest. The fruit grows just like a wampee but they were not translucent and were a bright apple green colour. The wampee fruit looked like some kind of gooseberry. The birch-like leaves might be a red-herring as the tree was mingled with lots of others. The tree is a hour's drive away but next time I am over that way I wll definitely take a photo if it's still in fruit! Driving me mad :-)

Did they look like this? The clusters of Wampee fruit can be much bigger and closer together - just like a bunch of grapes -than this picture shows, but you can at least see the colour and relative size of the fruit. If not, then I guess that mountain hike is on the cards.. smiley