Symplocos paniculata (Sapphire Berry)
Leonardslee Gardens near Lower Beeding in West Sussex.
Finally ... some sunshine! The perfect day for a wander around the gardens enjoying the blue sky and fresh air. And flowers ... Magnolias, Camellias, early flowering Rhododendrons, Hellebores, Daffodils, and the amazing Acacia in the entrance house.
Wallabies, possibly with joeys in their pouches ... ducks, geese, pheasants ... buzzards flying overhead, and a pair of cormorants sitting in a tree. Songbirds were singing their spring song.
And there were the sculptures. Possibly a few new ones? Otherwise it was the old ones seen in a different light. A good day out.
Symplocos paniculata, called Asiatic sweetleaf or sapphire-berry, is a species of tree in the family Symplocaceae. It is native to all of eastern Asia and was introduced to the United States in around 1871. It is a tree reaching 12 metres (39 ft) in favourable conditions, though it is often more shrub-like, and is used as an ornamental due to its visually striking blue fruit from which it derives its common name.
The intensely blue fruits are relatively short-lived, as the fleshy berries are quickly eaten by birds. The foliage is neat and the flowers are often fragrant. The species blooms in early summer after leaves have developed. The whitish blooms are formed in lateral clusters, with each hermaphroditic flower bearing five petals and thirty stamens, the latter of which give the flower clusters a fluffy appearance. The ovoid fruits usually bear a single seed.
The fruit can be made into jam, although it may be difficult to obtain enough berries since the plants do not pollinate themselves. Traditional Bangladeshi healers use the bark as an anti-diarrhoeal as it contains an antispasmodic similar to cromakalim.
Symplocos paniculata (Sapphire Berry)
Leonardslee Gardens near Lower Beeding in West Sussex.
Finally ... some sunshine! The perfect day for a wander around the gardens enjoying the blue sky and fresh air. And flowers ... Magnolias, Camellias, early flowering Rhododendrons, Hellebores, Daffodils, and the amazing Acacia in the entrance house.
Wallabies, possibly with joeys in their pouches ... ducks, geese, pheasants ... buzzards flying overhead, and a pair of cormorants sitting in a tree. Songbirds were singing their spring song.
And there were the sculptures. Possibly a few new ones? Otherwise it was the old ones seen in a different light. A good day out.
Symplocos paniculata, called Asiatic sweetleaf or sapphire-berry, is a species of tree in the family Symplocaceae. It is native to all of eastern Asia and was introduced to the United States in around 1871. It is a tree reaching 12 metres (39 ft) in favourable conditions, though it is often more shrub-like, and is used as an ornamental due to its visually striking blue fruit from which it derives its common name.
The intensely blue fruits are relatively short-lived, as the fleshy berries are quickly eaten by birds. The foliage is neat and the flowers are often fragrant. The species blooms in early summer after leaves have developed. The whitish blooms are formed in lateral clusters, with each hermaphroditic flower bearing five petals and thirty stamens, the latter of which give the flower clusters a fluffy appearance. The ovoid fruits usually bear a single seed.
The fruit can be made into jam, although it may be difficult to obtain enough berries since the plants do not pollinate themselves. Traditional Bangladeshi healers use the bark as an anti-diarrhoeal as it contains an antispasmodic similar to cromakalim.