My first impression is camellia (seed pods). I see a web reference to sasanqua varieties in Colorado Springs trained as small trees.

Typically, a small percentage of camellia blossoms will form pods.

Perhaps the man could tell you what the blossoms looked like.

I got the styrax nut right last week on another posting, now don't let me down!

jujube

Here is a link that might be useful: jujube picture

Anybody here eaten a fresh jujube? What do they taste like? The best I remember, I don't care for the dried ones very much.

I eat them all the time. I love them. Generally, to me they taste like an apple, only less juicy.

Lang jujube are a little less sweet than an apple.

Li jujube, depending on the variety, are as sweet or sweeter than an apple. I ate some last week, an unamed Li, that tasted like it was laced with honey.

>Li jujube, depending on the variety, are as sweet or sweeter
>than an apple. I ate some last week, an unamed Li, that
>tasted like it was laced with honey.

Isn't Li a specific cultivar?

Thank you all for your help. Is there a way to find out what cultivar the one pictured above is?

I have read that Li is the earliest ripening, but I will get more fruit if I have another. Can someone suggest another one to pollinate it? Also, the tree near me does not have thorns. I'd like one that doesn't.

OK, batting average now .500. Jujube is a much better result than camellia.

Not so fast, larry gene! While the plant and fruit look like a jujube, sure enough, I dont' think a jujube is supposed to grow in Denver. And I don't see a planter in the photo, so unlikely the very elderly man is wheeling it in for the winter.....hmmmmmmmmm...! Misterbaby

Thanks for the rescue attempt, but the OGW catalog lists jujube for zone 5, -20 degrees. And the one-word execution by murky was painless.

>Li jujube, depending on the variety, are as sweet or sweeter
>than an apple. I ate some last week, an unamed Li, that
>tasted like it was laced with honey.

>Isn't Li a specific cultivar?

Well, I suppose technically you are right. But, as I've read jujube are classed as Li or Lang, with named varieties within each, such as Honey Jar, Texas Tart, Sherwood, Tigertooth, etc.

Yes, that is Jujube. Both the leaves and the fruit give it away. And if the yard is unmowed, you may notice suckers growing up around the tree with wicked little spikes on the branches (this comes from the grafted rootstock).

Li and Lang are the "popular" (relatively speaking) varieties in the U.S. The fruit in the photos above look closer to Lang than to Li, but I am voting for some other variety. The Lang in my yard have more of a pear shape.

Jujube are famously hardy and can survive drought, Texas heat, and temperatures well below freezing (I've read subzero). I doubt they would have any problem growing in Denver. But they aren't really very popular anywhere in the U.S. -- the flavor is indeed comparable to apple, but much less juicy, and the fruit does not store well unless dried (the preferred form in much of Asia). I use it in apple recipes (pie, bread, butter and so on) for which it is very well suited, though it takes longer to peel the smaller-than-apple sized fruit.

The main advantage to jujube as a fruit tree is you don't have to spray for bugs or disease... serious.

There are some other cultivars out there. I have Shanxi Li and Honeyjar growing in a pot; the latter is supposedly a much improved, sweeter fruit than Li or Lang.

Do a web search on Roger Meyer for more info on jujubes.

akochera, Funny, but I just sent an email to Roger. I decided to try Shanxi Li. Have you had it's fruit? I have not read about it's thorns.

I'm thinking that the tree I found down the street is a Lang because I haven't found any thorns. And I don't find any suckers around, so he must have been keeping them cut.

I was so sad to see him not being able to enjoy his wonderful yard, which he has obviously put a lot of work into. The squirrels were enjoying his jujube which is planted next to a Japanese chestnut, (I think), which is next to what looks like a pawpaw, which is next to.......

No fruit, I'd just ordered dry root Shanxi Li and Honeyjar earlier this year and planted them in a pot. When they grow a bit, I'll transfer them to ground somewhere. They both flowered and tried to put out numerous fruit, but I picked them off as soon as I'd notice them. I'll probably do this the next 2 years so they can put their energy into roots and branches.

My Lang have no real thorns either; it's those root suckers that have them. The first time you try to pick one off the ground bare handed, you will remember.

Few squirrels in my neighborhood, but many many rabbits. Jujube that drop to the ground are gone the next day.