Buddhist pine

Photo: Alpsdake — CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Survives zone 7 through 9

Harvest calendar

Ripens: Fruit (the fleshy receptacle) ripens in autumn, typically October

Best planted in early spring after your last frost, or in fall before the ground freezes, depending on your climate.

The genuinely edible part is not the seed. It's the swollen, fleshy stalk (the receptacle) the seed sits on, which turns purplish-red and sweet as it ripens, almost like a small plum. The blue-black waxy seed itself contains toxic compounds and is not eaten — picking the receptacle off and discarding the seed is standard practice, the same relationship yew (Taxus) has between its sweet red aril and its poisonous seed. One of the most widely planted hedging and topiary conifers in warm-climate gardens and city landscaping (kusamaki in Japan), which makes it an easy plant to find even though it is rarely grown for its fruit.

Hardiness

Zone 7–9

Habit

Tree

Edible part

Fruit

Ripens

Fruit (the fleshy receptacle) ripens in autumn, typically October

Mature size

Large shrub or small tree, usually 3–9 m tall by 2–4 m wide in cultivation (wild trees can reach 15 m or more); very tolerant of clipping and often kept much smaller as a hedge

Light

Full sun to part shade

Soil pH

Below 6.0 (acidic); well-drained — intolerant of waterlogged soil

Environment

Warm temperate to subtropical

Native range

Southern and southeastern China north to Myanmar, Taiwan, and Japan (Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku) — forests, thickets and roadsides from near sea level to 1,000 m. Widely planted and locally naturalised well beyond this range, including the southeastern United States, Hawaii and Great Britain.

Status

Both wild and cultivated

Growth speed

Slow

Spacing

200 cm (79 in) apart — about 4 m² (43 sq ft) per plant

Leaf shape

Narrow, flat, linear leaves 5–12 cm long, dark glossy green, spirally arranged — unusually broad for a conifer, which is where 'macrophyllus' (large-leaved) comes from

Fruit description

Not a true fruit: the actual seed is a blue-black, waxy, olive-sized structure that sits atop a separate swollen stalk (the receptacle), which turns fleshy and purplish-red as it ripens. Only the receptacle is eaten — the seed itself is toxic and is discarded.

Propagation

Semi-ripe cuttings in summer, or fresh seed sown in a warm frame — stored seed germinates poorly

Pollination

Wind-pollinated; dioecious — a female plant needs a male nearby to set fruit

The edible parts listed above are a starting point, not a field guide. Identify a plant with certainty — ideally against a local authority — before eating any part of it, and read the full disclaimer. Spotted something wrong? Report it.