DESKTOP 3298 - FRUITING

 Decorative berries and fruits on ornamental plants provide food for birds and animals in the garden.

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

DESKTOP 3232 - IN SEASON

Apples are in season at the moment in Melbourne and we are able to enjoy a large variety of organic local produce, wonderfully displayed here at the CERES shop.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the My Corner of the World meme,
and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

DESKTOP 3223 - AUTUMN FRUIT

On a walk in the parklands I found some wild fruit growing on trees and bushes. The most unfamiliar to Northern Hemisphere dwellers perhaps may be the lilly-pilly, Syzygium smithii, (formerly Acmena smithii). This is a summer-flowering, winter-fruiting evergreen tree, belonging to the myrtle family Myrtaceae. It shares the common name "lilly-pilly" with several other plants, however in New Zealand, it is commonly known as 'monkey apple'.

It is planted as shrubs or hedgerows, and features: rough, woody bark; cream and green smooth, waxy leaves; flushes of pink new growth; and white to maroon edible, slightly tart berries that may be made into jam. Unpruned, it will grow about 3–5 m tall in the garden.

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

DESKTOP 3183 - PERSIMMONS

Autumn means that the persimmons are ripening and their bright orange colour ensures that only do they please the taste buds, but also the eyes. Some people do not like eating these. What about you? Are you a persimmon eater or a persimmon hater?

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the My Corner of the World meme,
and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

DESKTOP 3127 - KANGAROO APPLES

Solanum laciniatum is a soft-wooded shrub native to the east coast of Australia, notably Victoria and Tasmania. It also occurs in Western Australia and New Zealand, where some authorities consider it to be introduced. It is similar to Solanum aviculare, with which it shares the common name kangaroo apple. The common name refers to the likeness of the leaf shape to a kangaroo paw print. This plant is currently being cultivated to produce corticosteroid drugs.

This post is part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the My Corner of the World meme,
and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

DESKTOP 3113 - APPLES

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the My Corner of the World meme,
and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

DESKTOP 3099 SUMMER FRUIT

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the My Corner of the World meme,
and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

DESKTOP 3084 - COLOUR MY SEASON

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also the Blue Monday meme,
and also the Seasons meme.

DESKTOP 2953 - CASUARINA FRUIT

Casuarina is a genus of 17 tree species in the family Casuarinaceae, native to Australia, the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, islands of the western Pacific Ocean, and eastern Africa. It was once treated as the sole genus in the family, but has since been split into four genera.

 

They are evergreen shrubs and trees growing to 35 m tall. The slender, green to grey-green twigs bearing minute scale-leaves in whorls of 5–20. The apetalous flowers are produced in small catkin-like inflorescences. Most species are dioecious, but a few are monoecious.

 

The fruit is a woody, oval structure superficially resembling a conifer cone, made up of numerous carpels, each containing a single seed with a small wing. The generic name is derived from the Malay word for the cassowary, kasuari, alluding to the similarities between the bird's feathers and the plant's foliage, though the tree is called rhu in current standard Malay. 

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the My Corner of the World meme,
and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

DESKTOP 2876 - CALLERY PEAR

Pyrus calleryana, or the Callery pear, is a species of pear tree native to China and Vietnam, in the family Rosaceae. It is most commonly known for its cultivar 'Bradford', widely planted throughout the United States and increasingly regarded as an invasive species.

 

Pyrus calleryana is deciduous, growing to 5 to 8 m tall, often with a conical to rounded crown. The leaves are oval, 4 to 8 cm long, glossy dark green above, on long pedicels that make them flash their slightly paler undersides in a breeze. The white, five-petaled flowers are about 2 to 2.5 cm in diameter. They are produced abundantly in early spring, before the leaves expand fully. Many people find the odour of the flowers objectionable, finding it a little fishy...

 

The inedible fruits of the Callery pear are small (less than one cm in diameter), and hard, almost woody, until softened by frost, after which they are readily taken by birds, which disperse the seeds in their droppings.

 

In summer, the shining foliage is dark green and very smooth, and in autumn the leaves commonly turn brilliant colours, ranging from yellow and orange to more commonly red, pink, purple, and bronze. However, since the colour often develops very late in autumn, the leaves may be killed by a hard frost before full colour can develop.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the My Corner of the World meme,
and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

DESKTOP 2873 - WILD PEARS

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

DESKTOP 2841 - AUTUMN'S BOUNTY

Autumn comes laden with its bounty. It is indeed a season of "mellow fruitfulness, close bosom-friend of the maturing sun..." The figs have ripened until they are luscious and honey sweet. Quinces are fragrant and tart, begging to be made into delicious quince paste, the grapes beckon the vintner, but even to the teetotaller provide a sweet delight with their ripe juiciness. Citrus begins to blush and apples crisp and red give taste buds a treat. Pumpkin, chestnuts and winter cherries vie for attention, but the winter cherries - with their brash overcoats on - win hands down...

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the My Corner of the World meme,
and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

DESKTOP 2818 - AUTUMN

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

DESKTOP 2799 - CRAB APPLES

Malus is a genus of about 30–55 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae, including the domesticated orchard apple (M. domestica syn. M. pumila) – also known as the eating apple, cooking apple, or culinary apple. The other species are commonly known as crabapples, crab apples, crabtrees, or wild apples. The genus is native to the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere.

 

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the My Corner of the World meme,
and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

DESKTOP 2796 - CURRY TREE

The curry tree (Murraya koenigii) is a tropical to sub-tropical tree in the family Rutaceae (the rue family, which includes rue, citrus, and satinwood), and is native to Asia. The plant is also sometimes called sweet neem, though M. koenigii is in a different family to neem, Azadirachta indica, which is in the related family Meliaceae. Its leaves, known as curry leaves, are used in many dishes in the Indian subcontinent, especially curries.

It is a small tree, growing 4–6 m tall, with a trunk up to 40 cm diameter. The aromatic leaves are pinnate, with 11–21 leaflets, each leaflet 2–4 cm long and 1–2 cm broad. The plant produces small white flowers which can self-pollinate to produce small shiny-black drupes containing a single, large viable seed. The berry pulp is edible, with a sweet flavour.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

DESKTOP 2790 - AUTUMNAL MOOD

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

DESKTOP 2775 - FRUIT

Late Summer/early Autumn brings lots of lovely fruit, amongst them - from top left to bottom right - are: Passionfruit (=grenadilla); mango; and dragonfruit.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

DESKTOP 2726 - PRICKLY PEAR

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

DESKTOP 2678 - VEGIES

Eating Vegetables Provides Health Benefits:

• The nutrients in vegetables are vital for health and maintenance of your body.
• Eating a diet rich in vegetables may reduce risk for stroke, cancer, heart diseases and type-2 diabetes.
• One to four cups of vegetables are recommended each day, depending on how many calories you need.

 

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,

and also part of the Seasons meme.

DESKTOP 2623 - YELLOW

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.