The Biosphere Blog

This is the final post for the year, and what better subject to end the year with than this awesomely bright and cheerful masterpiece Bee Hotel, made by my friend Sandra! This belongs in a gallery, so I shall caption it as though it were: This will… more »

Back on 17th October I began what was intended to be a photo diary of awakening buds and their shoots. Naturally that one tree I specifically picked out refused to cooperate any further and has since died (no green sap any more). On 12th November I… more »

Updated: This Post Back on 1st October I wrote about this little Si-Hong: I mentioned how it had just one branch, a single fruiting mother branch, circled below: Yes, that knobbly protrusion is a branch! It grows just a few millimetres a year and… more »

The Bud Diary: Part 1: Introduction I wrote some posts recently as introductions to the unusual branch structure of jujube trees — here and here — but these were pretty much informal segues not at all clear from the titles. So instead of continuing, I… more »

What Would You Make of This Tree? Below is one little Si-Hong, grafted in 2023, in a pot of 190 mm diameter and height. Is your first impression somewhat unfavourable?! I find this little fellow so charming and full of heart, that I can’t help but… more »

Which Tree Would You Choose? The three trees below are all 2022 grafted Li. The trunk of the tallest is about 500 mm high. These and a few others had lovely thick roots, but these were not especially long or dense. There was absolutely nothing wrong… more »

On Grafting A very common practice in horticulture and agriculture is to graft (attach) an above-ground piece from one species onto the well-rooted stump of another species. The two parts are left to fuse together and become one. After several years it… more »

The Spermatophytes The spermatophytes are the seed-producing plants, of which there are two groups: the Gymnospermae which produce cones and exposed seeds, and the Angiospermae which produce flowers and seed enclosed by fruits. Gymnospermae… more »

Below is a photo of a Chico taken by Kim Sau, who has kindly given permission to use it: This tree is a perfect size to use as an exercise in identifying both the graft and all four branch types of a jujube tree, so let us begin! (Please consider this… more »

The Angiospermae Angiospermae, also called angiosperms, are the flowering plants. Flowers, when fertilised, produce fruit containing seeds. The only other seed-producing group, the Gymnospermae or gymnosperms, produce seeds in cones. Both angiosperms… more »

Introduction Jujube tree trunks and branches are, botanically-speaking, stems. A stem is one of several plant organs, and, like all organs plant or animal, is specialised for specific roles. A stem is the plant organ which provides structure and… more »

Have you ever seen these very smooth round and oval shapes in leaves before, and not known what made them? These aren’t caused by caterpillars, which produce jagged edges. These very smooth edges are the tell-tale sign (to those in the know!) of… more »

What is a Fruit? A fruit, botanically speaking, is the seed-bearing structure which develops from the ovary of a flowering plant. Last week was a brief introduction to the diverse categories of fruits that exist — with maybe a few surprising revelations… more »

Fruits Bananas, peaches, apples, watermelons, and yes, jujubes are all immediately known and recognised as ‘fruits’, and if asked what makes a fruit a fruit, one may perhaps use words such as ‘food’, ‘juicy’,… more »

Last week we covered the location of jujube tree nodes and the two types of buds present at each node. (That post has since been updated to include a crash-course description of the branch types as well.) The post ended with a summary of what each bud… more »