What is this?

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Posted by Meister_Z8b 8b (My Page) on

Thu, Nov 13, 14 at 11:09

I found this tree on some land my company

just bought. It kinda looked like a peach/medlar to me. I didn't know if it was edible or not. Anyone have an insight?

I'm in central Texas - zone 8b.

This post was edited by Meister_Z8b on Thu, Nov 13, 14 at 14:20

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RE: What is this?

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Posted by Meister_Z8b 8b (My Page) on
Thu, Nov 13, 14 at 11:09

Another close-up pic:

RE: What is this?

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Posted by floral_uk 8/9 SW UK (My Page) on
Thu, Nov 13, 14 at 11:40

What is the scale of the picture? And what is the habit of the plant? Vine? Bush? The leaves, hips and thorns look like a rose. It's not a peach or a medlar.

RE: What is this?

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Posted by Meister_Z8b 8b (My Page) on
Thu, Nov 13, 14 at 12:22

Hi floral, the "fruits" in the picture were at head height (6 ft). This plant was like a smaller multi-trunked tree similar to a yaupon perhaps.

RE: What is this?

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Posted by Bradybb wa8 (My Page) on
Thu, Nov 13, 14 at 13:01

If possible,it may be helpful to get different camera angles of the fruit and cut one open.I'd like to see the outer end. Brady

RE: What is this?

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Posted by milehighgirl CO USDA 5B/Sunset 2B (My Page) on
Thu, Nov 13, 14 at 13:55

Pomegranate?

Here is a link that might be useful: Pomegranate seeds Large fruit

RE: What is this?

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Posted by insteng (My Page) on
Thu, Nov 13, 14 at 14:25

It looks like a pomegranate to me as well.

RE: What is this?

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Posted by lucky_p z6 W.KY (My Page) on
Thu, Nov 13, 14 at 14:55

Not a pomegranate.
But, I don't know what it IS.

RE: What is this?

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Posted by Appleseed70 6 MD (My Page) on
Fri, Nov 14, 14 at 0:08

I've never seen anything like it. I even just searched photos of "unusual tree fruit" and although I saw a lot of wild stuff...I seen nothing like this. Can you pick one and get us some close-ups and cut it for some cross-sectional photos?
I'm intrigued to say the least.

RE: What is this?

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Posted by Meister_Z8b 8b (My Page) on
Fri, Nov 14, 14 at 9:22

Hey all. Just FYI, I plan to go out to the land again this weekend

to pick some of these fruits and branches for better pictures. So far I agree with floral the most, the closest thing I think it looks like now is a rose hip, but it is still white and fuzzy which still seems off.

I'll post more pics when I get the fruit, and I'll take some cross-sectional shots.

This post was edited by Meister_Z8b on Fri, Nov 14, 14 at 9:23

RE: What is this?

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Posted by floral_uk 8/9 SW UK (My Page) on
Sat, Nov 15, 14 at 10:52

If you look at the whole picture and not just the fruit you'll see the leaves are pinnate and the stems have large thorns - so not a pomegranate.

RE: What is this?

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Posted by milehighgirl CO USDA 5B/Sunset 2B (My Page) on
Sat, Nov 15, 14 at 11:20

It's the stem of the fruits that has me intrigued. The fruit looks like a medlar but the leaves do not. It does look like it's from the Rosaceae family. (Okay, I love a mystery but I have not formal education, just guessing)

RE: What is this?

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Posted by MrsG47 7 RI (My Page) on
Sat, Nov 15, 14 at 13:18

Love this one! I'm with milehigh, my first thought was medlar. Look at the leaves, those are not leaves of a rosebush.

RE: What is this?

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Posted by Appleseed70 6 MD (My Page) on
Sat, Nov 15, 14 at 13:23

The fruit looks more like a medlar to me but the foliage looks more like rose hips. I'm going on wiki info, because as far as I can remember I've never seen either of these things in my life.

RE: What is this?

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Posted by floral_uk 8/9 SW UK (My Page) on
Sat, Nov 15, 14 at 15:13

The leaves absolutely rule out medlar. I have one and it does not have pinnate leaves, nor does it have thorns and nor does it have fuzzy fruit. But the fuzziness is weird for a rose too. At the moment we don't know the size of the fruit - that would be helpful.

RE: What is this?

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Posted by colonel_kernel (My Page) on
Sun, Nov 16, 14 at 7:37

Try: http://www.foragingtexas.com/?m=1

Maybe email these people to see if they know.

This post was edited by colonel_kernel on Sun, Nov 16, 14 at 7:38

RE: What is this?

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Posted by rhizo_1 7a AL (My Page) on
Sun, Nov 16, 14 at 8:21

I would post your additional images on the Name That Plant forum.

RE: What is this?

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Posted by plantloverkat 9a north Houston (My Page) on
Sun, Nov 16, 14 at 8:33

Could it be a McCartney Rose? I've seen large mounds of them blooming in open fields in the Katy area before, but I've never seen them up close. I'm posting a link that has good photos of the leaves, stems and immature hips.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mccartney Rose

RE: What is this?

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Posted by floral_uk 8/9 SW UK (My Page) on
Sun, Nov 16, 14 at 8:40

plantloverkat - I think you've got it.

RE: What is this?

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Posted by plantloverkat 9a north Houston (My Page) on
Sun, Nov 16, 14 at 8:43

Here is a link for a book called "Grasses, Pods, Vines, Weeds: Decorating with Texas Plants" By Quentin Steitz. The link should open to the page on the Mccartney Rose (Rosa bracteata). If you scroll down to look at the heading "Pod Stage", you can find this description:
"During development, the hip become fully round and the greenish color mellows to tan, followed by reddish tones.....Five very pointed sepals decoratively top the hip, creating a star like crest. Deepening to reddish mahogany, the hip develops firmly to a smooth surface, having lost the velvety texture, and becomes a decorative pod."

If I am understanding this correctly, then it seems like the hip would be velvety tan colored at some stage, before maturing to a smoother reddish hip. The photos that were posted look like a velvety tan hip to me.

Here is a link that might be useful: Grasses, Pods, Vines, Weeds: Decorating with Texas Plants By Quentin Steitz

RE: What is this?

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Posted by lucky_p z6 W.KY (My Page) on
Sun, Nov 16, 14 at 14:40

Interesting; I'd been checking back to see if an ID was made - but also brings a point to the fore...sometimes something to lend an inkling of size/scale is helpful.
I was looking at those 'fruits' and envisioning something comparable in size to a pomegranate...

RE: What is this?

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Posted by milehighgirl CO USDA 5B/Sunset 2B (My Page) on
Sun, Nov 16, 14 at 14:58

The stem and sepal of the fruit do not look like a Macartney rose to me, nor do the thorns of the tree.

RE: What is this?

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Posted by milehighgirl CO USDA 5B/Sunset 2B (My Page) on
Thu, Nov 20, 14 at 19:34

Meister,

Were you able to get to the property? If so, I'm dying to figure out this mystery.

RE: What is this?

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Posted by Meister_Z8b 8b (My Page) on
Mon, Nov 24, 14 at 10:12

Sorry to all about not updating like I said. I was able to go out to the land, but I was unable to find the bush/tree again.

I think my boss might have bulldozed it! I am still checking with him to see if that is the case.

Based on the responses so far, I think it might be/have been a rose hip of some kind, but there were some qualities that looked unique to me.

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