We have 4 palm trees outside our house, each year they produce some kind of a long, flat pods which open up into lots of small 'flowers' for want of a better word. Small, pale, almost rubbery feeling buds. Eventually the whole branch-like pod thing dries up and the next year the trees do it all again. Next door however, their palm trees produce a long pod which opens up and from it hang loads and loads of green, large, coffee- bean -shaped seeds. They always drop off, usually after they've gone brown but are always dried up. We've always assumed that they are the seed.
Until this summer, when we were next door talking to Miguel and Marie-Carmen and he said that the datiles still weren't ready even though they were dropping onto the ground and some were brown. Datiles? You mean dates that we can eat? 10 years living next door and I didn't know we had fresh dates growing! Wait till they're brown - and we are assuming they also have to be sticky feeling like the ones you see in the shops - and then help yourselves.
So we are waiting and waiting. Today they looked like this -
going brown maybe, but not there yet.
This time last year, well actually November, we discovered that the nispero tree that we'd thought was a medlar, was actually a lumquat. Wonder what we will find out next year!
Odd things flowering still, the iris now has even more blooms on it and yesterday I found this honeysuckle in flower!
Last but not least, sunrise this morning. There was a thin cloud below Sierra Gador, hugging the ground, with the sun coming up as we went out for our walk at 8.15.
I hope they turn out to be edible dates. They're delicious! That last pic is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteI did read recently that dates are difficult to pollinate and are best done by hand so we are wondering whether these are not pollinated and therefore not edible? I did try one yesterday just in case, but they are rock-hard and more like an acorn! They seem more like a hard seed than a soft fruit right now.
ReplyDelete