Blue Sausage Fruit
Decaisnea fargesii
Family: Lardizabalaceae
What it is like
Decaisnea fargesii is a deciduous Shrub growing to 4 m (13ft) by 4 m (13ft) at a medium rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in leaf from April to October, in flower in June, and the seeds ripen from September to October. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs). The plant is self-fertile. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.
Height (m): 4
Where it is found
Moist woods and thickets to 1600 metres. Mixed forests, scrub on mountain slopes, wet area in ravines at elevations of 900 - 3600 metres.
E. Asia - W. China
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
Asia, Australia, Canada, China*, Himalayas, North America, USA,
How it is used
Food
Rating: 3
Fruit - raw. A sweet taste, but rather insipid. A very nice delicate flavour according to our palates. The fruit looks like a bright blue sausage or broad bean pod and is up to 10cm long. You peel off the skin in much the same way as you would peel a broad bean pod, this reveals a line of seed running the entire length of the fruit surrounded by a relatively thin layer of flesh.
Medicine
Rating: 0
Other
Rating: 0
Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.
How it is grown
An easily grown plant succeeding in most soils, but it prefers a rich moist loamy soil and a sunny position sheltered from cold winds. Succeeds in partial shade. Prefers partial shade, succeeding in full sun if the soil is reliably moist. Dislikes drought. A very cold-hardy plant when fully dormant, but the flowers and young growth in spring can be damaged by late frosts. Plants usually fruit well and regularly in Cornwall and a specimen has been seen on a number of occasions at Kew Botanical gardens laden down with fruit. The flowers are produced at the tips of the new upright growths in the spring. Plants take some years from seed to produce fruit. A very ornamental plant. It is fairly fast growing but it looks gaunt and open in the winter. Plants do not usually require pruning. In some new floras, this species is seen as no more than a synonym for D. insignis. The plant is heat tolerant in zones 9 through 7. (Plant Hardiness Zones show how well plants withstand cold winter temperatures. Plant Heat Zones show when plants would start suffering from the heat. The Plant Heat Zone map is based on the number of "heat days" experienced in a given area where the temperature climbs to over 86 degrees F (30°C). At this temperature, many plants begin to suffer physiological damage. Heat Zones range from 1 (no heat days) to 12 (210 or more heat days). For example Heat Zone. 11-1 indicates that the plant is heat tolerant in zones 11 through 1.) For polyculture design as well as the above-ground architecture (form - tree, shrub etc. and size shown above) information on the habit and root pattern is also useful and given here if available. The plant growth habit is multistemmed with multiple stems from the crown.
Propagating it: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame, it then usually germinates freely in early spring. Sow stored seed in February in a greenhouse. This usually germinates well, within 1 - 3 months at 18°c. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and grow them on under protection for their first winter. Plant out in late spring after the last expected frosts. Cuttings.
Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade;
Habit: Shrub
Hardiness: 4-8
Growth: Medium
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: Semi-shade, no shade
Moisture: Moist
Things to keep in mind
Its other names
Local names
Wu-yueh-kua-t'eng, Maoshigua, Yexiongjiao, Maoershi,