23. The Wonderful Jade Vine
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As a total nerd for Botanical Gardens, I follow quite a few on Instagram. When I saw that the Jade Vine (Strongylodon macrobotrys - same family as peas and beans) at the Hortus Botanicus Leiden was flowering, I knew we had to drive over and check it out. The Jade Vine is indigenous to the damp rainforests of the Philippines, where Nico grew up - although he said he never saw one as a kid, unfortunately. It is becoming increasingly endangered due to destruction of its surrounding environment and thus the saddening decrease in natural pollinators. These beautiful tendrils can grow up to three meters long. At the Hortus, they lined a pathway, allowing each turquoise thorn to gently graze passers-by, welcoming them to this beautiful ceremony of flowering. Just like the cherry blossoms, magnolias and bulbs galore, the Jade Vine flowered early this year due the past month of almost pure sun and warmth.
One of their main pollinators are pollinating bats, who are drawn to their luminescent neon colour blinking through the night landscape. If the pollination is successful, the Jade Vine can actually fruit, the fruit looks like a cross between a melon-fava-cherimoya. I heard that the Kew Gardens in the U.K. were successful in producing fruit and possibly the Eden Project in Cornwall, but I am unsure if the Hortus at Leiden has been so far.
In the Western world, these Jade Vines are viewed as purely ornamental, but you can actually eat the flowers (often in salads or stews). Apparently the seed pods are edible as well, but I could not find research that coupled with any recipe ideas. Some reports say that the Jade Vine can be mildly toxic, but I think it means the way that stinging nettle can also be mildly toxic, even the sap from fig trees. These evolutionary protective traits that the plants have developed to prevent being tampered with and/or becoming endangered, but they are still edible. I love a botanical garden but I really think the culinary and botanical science worlds should merge more, might allow for some switching up in the ‘only one type of banana’ for sale in North American grocery scene. On another note, I was able to find this lovely article by an herbalist about how to turn a Jade Vine flower into an energetic and decorative cosmetic balm.
The beautiful hue stands out through all the greenery at the Tropical Greenhouse in Leiden. If you live in the Netherlands, I recommend a visit, or if you live in the UK, the Kew has quite an assortment as well.
Some things nourishing me this week:
Terrasse season has begun
And so has green smoothie season - to combat the habits of terasse season, yes that is a cherry blossom
Ageing Grano Violetto favas
Magnolias everywhere
I’ve heard that the bulbs have started to poke out in colder places around the world so I hope that if you are in a colder city in the Northern Hemisphere, spring is on the way as well, and that your seedlings are starting to sprout. Nico and I decided not to grow any seedlings this year and instead nurture the citrus babies, welcome the rebirth of a certain sumac (more on that later), and pray that our dahlias grow in time for summer. We also sprinkled wildflower seeds just about everywhere. Enjoy the start of that springtime air and flirting with hay fever. I’ll see you all next week!
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