Goumi fruit from a tree native to Asia. Photo: Karley Duhon, Ruby, LA.

Goumi Fruit

Karley wanted to identify a fruit tree on a family homestead, “I live in Ruby, La- in central Louisiana. My family and I live on my grandparents’ old place. As long as I can remember my grandmother told me this was a Russian Olive tree and that birds eat the berries, but they were poisonous to humans. I recently started doubting her (God rest her soul) and put it on a gardening page to see if anyone could positive ID. I got all kinds of opinions (imagine that). The one that looked most similar was called a Goumi tree. Do y’all have any does what it could be? I went from thinking it was poisonous, to considering making jelly out of it! 🤣🤣 Any guidance is appreciated!”

Yes, Karley is correct in identifying this as a goumi tree. Your grandmother is correct in that the goumi tree is related to Russian olive. A website of The University of Victoria in British Columbia shared this narrative, “Referred to as either Goumi or Gumi, but also as Cherry silverberry and scientifically as Elaeagnus multiflora, this small rounded, deciduous, and thorny shrub is an undiscovered plant in North America. Introduced over one hundred years ago from Asia, and highly valued specifically in Korea, China and Japan, Goumi is non-native and thus far non-invasive to North America. It is a close relative to Autumn Olive, and overall is a hardy plant being drought tolerant and rarely having disease or insect problems. Goumi stands 2-4m in height and produces small round red berries 1-2 cm in diameter. Ripening in mid to late summer [in British Columbia], berries are a deep scarlet red at their ripest and have a slight acidic flavor, they are commonly used in jams and pies. This plant may become more popular in the future because it has great environmental benefits as a nitrogen fixer and strong insectary attractant and has not been found to hold invasive properties.”

Burclover, both a farm and a landscape weed. Photo: DD Lamartiniere, Marksville, LA.

Burclover

DD, a member of a Master Gardener class in Avoyelles Parish, sent an image of a weed and asked for identification.

DD has a weed found in both landscapes and in agriculture called bur clover or California burclover. The fruits are sticky burs with slight hooks at the tips. Treatments with broad-leaf herbicides, like Weed B Gone™, in January and February would prevent these unwanted burs.

A stand of sedges, a wetland plant. Photo: Lesley Hooks, DeRidder, LA.

Wetland Sedges

Lesley in DeRidder asked, “What do I have? It is prolific! & I am loving it!”

Based on Lesley’s image, this site has sedges, and sedges like “wet feet.” At this writing, our area is about thirteen inches behind in rainfall, so this site is drier than normal, but the sedges are thriving despite the lack of moisture.

Fruit of a maypop or passion vine. Photo: NC State Extension.

Maypop Fruit

Patricia is interested in cultivating a native plant, “I live in Ragley, LA [&] I grew up in Sulphur, LA. and at the back of our property growing wild were , what my grandmother called ‘maypops.’ They were medium green, leathery skin, egg shaped and delicious. I found seeds on line from a company named ‘ Trade Winds Fruit’ .”

I read that two passion vines, need to pollinate to produce fruit . The seeds that I bought are “ Passiflora incarnate “. I would like to know if this plant will grow in Ragley, and can the same vine pollinate itself.

Yes, NC State Extension and other websites confirm that maypops are native to southeastern United States so this fruiting plant will grow in Ragley. According to the University of Florida, these plants, sometimes called “passion fruit” tend to require another plant to pollinate.

Also, before planting, instructions are to put seeds in a glass of water for 24 hours. How much water[do maypops need]? All I have are nine seeds. Are they to float around or just be covered in the bottom , I am not sure [&] need help. I want Maypops, fruit not just vine. HELP”

Marie Iannotti, a Master Gardener in New York, wrote a blog on propagating passion fruit at www.thespruce.com :

[Maypops] can also be propagated from seed. Follow these steps to grow passionflower from seed.

1. To save seeds, allow the fruits to ripen completely. Open the pods and remove, clean, and dry the seeds before storing them. If you are saving seeds from a hybrid variety, remember that they will not grow true to seed, but will revert to the appearance of the parent species.
2. Passionflowers seeds can be slow to germinate. Start your seed indoors by scarifying them and soaking them for one to two days in warm water. Discard any floating seeds, as these are not viable.
3. Place the well-soaked seeds on the surface of damp potting mix, pat down, but do not cover since they need light to germinate. Place the pot into a plastic bag and seal to retain moisture. If you can provide bottom heat (via a heat mat) to the pot, you will speed up germination.
4. It can take anywhere from 10 to 20 days for passionflower seeds to sprout. Always keep the soil moist. When sprouts do appear, keep them out of direct sunlight until there are true leaves. Grow lights are your best light source during this stage of the process.
5. Harden off the plant for 10 days to two weeks by slowly introducing it to outdoor conditions, extending the amount of sunlight it receives each day.
6. Transplant once the plant gets large enough and possesses several sets of leaves.
7. If direct-sowing seeds outdoors, wait until the danger of frost has passed and temperatures reach at least 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

In general, maypops and other plants require about one inch rain per week once they are in the ground.