this is the name of the tree in my garden according to my landlady...what is it...it is big supposedly flowered in february and now has a nut like or thin fig like fruit that is white then dies....my landlady speaks no english and my italian is not good enough for garden questions...i did take photos but don't know how to put them here for people to see...any help will be greatly appreciated

I couldn't find anything in Italian for this - maybe it is a local term? The only plant with a similar name is calycanthus, but it is a flowering shrub, lots of photos of it on the web.

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here are 2 photos that show what I am asking about...the leaves and the fruit...they grow on a big tree...

the third photo

Joansi, are you sure about the name? Can you ask your LL to write it down? Of course it could always be a very local name.

she did write it down that is how i got this name...of course it could be calgantus but i don't think so as i spelled it out to her, strange isn't it...

Very. I've sent the pics on to a friend who's pretty good at identifying trees. I'll let you know.

thanks...i sent them on to friends in the states and they did not have a clue...

Look up the calycanthus pear - I think you might find that this is it....

alyson did you see a photo somewhere if so can you tell me where when i googled it as the calycanthus...the photos of the flowers or fruit do not look like mine...mine had either a whitish or pale yellowish small flower in february...

I took the fruit and some leaves to the rialto market today and my veggie guy(actually the whole family) said it was a almond tree...is that possible?...when i take wone of the(what I thought were dead) pods there are two nut like things in them...but when i google it they always show flowers and believe me there were no flowers unless they only last a week when we were gone..I am waiting to see what happens with the pods that are still alive do...

Hmm.. The ones I found on the net had quite big white flowers. Thing is I've seen almonds - my OH has the trees in Spain and they don't ring a bell, the leaves look too big, but then...

Take a look at this almond site and see what you think - the picture at the top could be your pod when it has matured, but almonds are normally furry and only have one nut inside. How big is the pod - I thought it was a pear as it looks quite large in your photo - almonds are no more than 2 inches normally.

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/syllabi/319/1almond.html

Almonds can have two nuts in a pod and the pod looks almond-ish. But, if it's an almond, why isn't it called the Italian for almond tree, mandorlo? Maybe ask the LL if the pods contain mandorle?

This is getting to be quite a mystery! I'd cancel almonds: the leaves should be in clusters not all strung out. I first thought of nespole (loquats) but the leaves are too smooth. If the nuts inside are black and shiny, it might just be a variety of nespole, but then why couldn't the fruttivendolo identify it? They sell them all over Italy!

Yeah, the leaves worry me, too, for an almond. They're also way too big and shiny to be nespole.

Anyone looked up walnuts? I've one in my garden, I'll have a look when I can. It's possible I suppose.

ok allyson it does not look like the web site you sent me to..there were 2 nuts in one of what i thought were dead pods...but then another one it had about 4 or 5 in them...and now i am worried that maybe my LL is talking about another plant here..it is hard when she speaks no english and my italian is limited but this is fun isn't it. so maybe when the gardner comes I can ask him...or if you want other photos let me know...I really do appreciate all of this in case you can't tell...

Here's a picture of walnuts for you - we're definitely on the right track with nuts!! Maybe we are in fact...!

http://www.danielsfarm.com/GreenWalnuts.jpg

How about pistachio?

well allyson the fruit looks more like that but not rounded more oval in shape at this point...almond shape and filomena...I looked at a pistachio tree and there are no clumps of fruit as in the photos i saw and the leaves are not as big or wavy either.....should i send in a photo of the nuts I took out from the "dead looking pod"

quote:

mine had either a whitish or pale yellowish small flower in february...

There seems to a variety of calycanthus that has smallish yellow-white flowers, but there is no pic of the fruit as far as I can tell, and of course the nuts are not shown at all. But the foliage is definitely similar. Is it deciduous and do the flowers have a perfume? Have a look here:

http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/PlantFinder/Plant.asp?Code=R990

scroll down to find a description of the fruit (but no pic). Any luck?

I had a look at that the other day. It's a shrub. We seem to be talking about a full-blown tree.

Why is this topic starting to obsess me?

I wouldn't mind seeing a photo of the "nuts" inside the pod. I wonder if they're actually seeds.

Ok so first I am going to respond to filomea and the website she sent me too and to explain one thing then I will add the photos of the tree and the pods ...I do have the calycanthus but it is not the tree I am trying to identify and it is obvious in my description to my LL she did not understand which tree i was trying to get the name and gave me the bush that is behind the tree and next to the grapes....I even drew a map in the garden for her

Ok here is the picture of the pods...