Photo by Linda Lee If the fruit be not ripe it will draw a man’s mouth to much torment.

— Capt. John Smith

Indeed, it is very, very true. The unripe fruits are hard and green, slowly ripening to a beautifully frosted pink–-orange. Before they are ripe, the fruits are inedible. They are extremely bitter, some use the word astringent. I have bitten into an unripe fruit just to see what it’s like and, of course, the inside of my mouth turned into medicinal cardboard, a taste that took a long while to go away.

On one of my class field trips, I invited a student to bite into one of these things. Not knowing any better, he did and was similarly treated to terrible cardboard mouth. I still feel guilty and have vowed never to play a trick on a student again. Well, not that trick anyway.

Photo by John Nelson This is a common tree from New England into the Midwest and south through all of Florida and over to Texas. It is usually a small, or medium–sized tree, although one of the largest in the world is over 120’ tall, right here in central SC. Its bark is rough and checkered, broken into dark, scaly blocks. The leaves, 4–6” long, are deep green in the summer (somewhat chalky on the lower side) and turn a brilliant yellow or orange–red in the fall.

Interestingly, wherever a leaf has been chewed on or otherwise wounded the tissue right around the wound turns black. The trees are either male or female, bearing unisexual flowers. The wood of this species is dark, hard, and very durable. In fact, during the era of King Cotton, this tree was an important source of loom shuttles in mills.

This species is entirely confined to North America, but has about 200 close relatives in Africa and Indonesia, some of which are prized for their fruits which are often available in markets. One other relative grows in central Texas.

All of these species are members of the ebony family. It is the true ebony tree, whose dark, hard wood has historically been the source for piano keys.

Our mystery plant isn't very picky about where it grows, and it does well in a variety of settings and soils. The combination of handsome bark, attractive foliage, and fruit make this an excellent choice for the home landscape.

When they are fully ripe, the fruits are delicious. They are ready to eat when they are soft, almost mushy, and you can gather them from the ground. There are plenty of recipes for savory puddings, bread, and even ice cream.

Answer to last week’s mystery plant

Carob,

Ceratonia siliqua

Dr. John Nelson is the curator of the USC Herbarium.

To learn more about the Herbarium, call him at

777-8196. His department also offers free plant identification.

www.herbarium.org