Do you know some little-known facts about bayberry?

If we were to talk about the most popular summer fruit, besides watermelon, bayberry would definitely be on the list. Ripe bayberry is deep red in color, which makes people want to grab a few and put them in their mouths immediately. Bayberry is sweet with a hint of sourness. Often, before you even see the bayberry, your mouth starts to drool uncontrollably, making people love and fear it at the same time.

Photographed by Guo Yanqing

Even such a common fruit has its own growth secrets. If you don't believe it, let's take a look today.

Part 1

Do bayberry trees need to be in a mate to produce fruit?

If you plant a strawberry seedling, you can harvest ripe strawberries after a while; if you plant a lychee tree, you can harvest a tree full of lychees. However, if you only plant a bayberry tree and it is the only one around, you may never wait for it to bear fruit.

Bayberry leaves are leathery, obovate or oblong-ovate, with a cuneate base (Photo by Guo Yanqing)

Bayberry trees are different from other fruit trees. They are dioecious, so if you want to harvest fruit, you need to plant at least a pair. Dioecious means that the female flowers and male flowers grow on different individuals. Pollen is transmitted from the male plant to the female plant, so that the female plant can be fertilized successfully and bear fruit. Dioecious plants are not common in nature. The most common ones are monoecious plants (accounting for about 80%), such as corn, peaches, etc.

Male bayberry plant (photographed by Wang Yuan)

Female bayberry plant (photographed by Zhang Qixiang)

Part 2

Can bayberry be grown in the north?

As a southern fruit, bayberry likes a humid and warm environment, and is also picky about the pH of the soil. As can be seen from the picture, the main production areas of bayberry are basically south of the Yangtze River. It seems that no one is willing to cross the Yangtze River. This is actually because bayberry trees like acidic soil, and the soil in the south is suitable for growing bayberry trees. The soil in the north of the Yangtze River is neutral or alkaline, which is not conducive to the growth of bayberry trees. As for those who want to grow in the north, you can try to adjust the soil pH and pot it in a greenhouse, but large-scale planting has yet to be studied by scientists.

Part 3

Which part of bayberry is eaten?

When you see this question, everyone will say, isn't this nonsense? Of course, the fruit of bayberry is what we eat. So, let's answer this question, which part of the bayberry fruit do we eat? I think many people don't know this.

Photographed by Guo Yanqing

The edible part of bayberry is not only the fleshy mesocarp, but also the columnar protrusions of cell tissue (cystic body) derived from the exocarp, also called flesh column. The flesh columns are closely attached to each other, but there are still gaps, which provides a place for some uninvited guests to live.

(Photo by Diana)

Pick up a bayberry, and you may occasionally see white worms crawling around. These white fleshy worms are actually harmless fruit fly larvae. Even if you accidentally eat them, the highly corrosive stomach acid of humans will digest them, so there is no need to worry too much. After soaking the bayberry in salt water, most of the fruit fly larvae will be expelled, and then you can enjoy the bayberry, because the salt water environment is not conducive to the survival of fruit fly larvae.

Dongkui Bayberry (Photographed by Guo Yanqing)

The sweet and sour bayberry is not suitable for long-term storage and can only be stored for a short period of time at room temperature. Bai Juyi said in the preface to the Lychee Picture: "If it is separated from the branch, its color will change in one day, its fragrance will change in two days, its taste will change in three days, and after four or five days, its color, fragrance and taste will all be gone." It was originally about lychees, but it is not an exaggeration to use it to describe bayberries.

Palm-sized Dongkui bayberry (photographed by Zhang Qixiang)

Processing fresh bayberry into bayberry products can not only increase the shelf life of bayberry, but also allow people to taste different bayberry flavors, such as ice bayberry juice, dried bayberry, bayberry wine, bayberry preserves, etc.

Dried bayberry, candied fruit (Photo by Zhang Yanling)

Bayberry wine (Photo taken by Zhang Yanling)

Although bayberry is delicious, it is not advisable to eat too much at one time, and pay attention to the sharp core at both ends of the bayberry. The bayberry core is composed of cellulose, lignin and other substances, which are very hard and cannot be digested and absorbed by the human body. Don't worry if you accidentally eat a small amount, the human body can excrete it. But if you accidentally swallow it, it may still cause damage to the gastric mucosa and intestinal mucosa, bleeding, perforation, etc. Therefore, it is not advisable to talk when eating bayberry, and you need to be extremely careful.

Bayberry core (Photographed by Guo Yanqing)

Except for white bayberry, all bayberries are rich in water-soluble anthocyanins. Once the bayberry pulp is damaged, it is easy to dye the water red, which is a normal phenomenon.

Have you ever eaten white bayberry? (Photo by Zhang Yanling)

Anthocyanins will show different colors under different acid and alkaline conditions: under acidic conditions, for example, adding white vinegar to bayberry juice, the color of the bayberry juice will turn red, but because bayberry itself is acidic, the change is not obvious; under alkaline conditions, for example, adding baking soda to bayberry juice, the bayberry juice will slowly turn blue, and as the concentration of baking soda increases, the bayberry juice will turn green, yellow, etc.

From left to right: 1. Add white vinegar, 2. Original juice, 3-6. Baking soda concentration increases in sequence (Photo by Guo Yanqing)

References:

[1] Wu Changwang, Lin Mingming, Zhao Chengdong, Wu Haifeng, Wang Chengan, Wu Xiaoyan, Zhou Zuorong, Ren Haiying. Control effect of Bacillus brevis on bayberry fruit fly and its effect on fruit quality[J]. Chinese Southern Fruit Trees, 2022, 51(03): 59-62. DOI: 10.13938/j.issn.1007-1431.20220075.

[2] Ma Jian, Lu Gaoyong, Chen Zhiling, Gao Zhihong, Li Zhiqiang, Wang Yu, Ma Yanhong. Optimization of preparation process of bayberry juice by compound enzyme method and quality analysis[J]. Food Research and Development, 2022, 43(07): 82-88.

[3] Wu Min, Cheng Yu, Mo Zhongmei, Shi Tian, ​​Zhao Cai. Genetic relationships and geographical distribution patterns of dwarf bayberry, a plant endemic to the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau[J]. Molecular Plant Breeding, 2022, 20(06): 1965-1971. DOI: 10.13271/j.mpb.020.001965.

[4] Zhang Cong, Li Wen, Li Chengyue, Chen Lifang, Qiu Dongliang. Comparison of quality and anthocyanin components of bayberry fruits at different maturity[J]. Subtropical Agricultural Research, 2022, 18(01): 41-45. DOI: 10.13321/j.cnki.subtrop.agric.res.2022.01.007.

[5] Chang Guoli, Fang Xiangjun, Chen Ming, Zhao Miaomiao, Lü Xianzhe, Cai Chenggang. Optimization of extraction of bayberry seed polyphenols and study of their in vitro antioxidant and hypoglycemic activities[J]. Food Science and Technology, 2022, 47(01): 212-218. DOI: 10.13684/j.cnki.spkj.2022.01.018.

[6] Zhao Chen, Sun Binbin, Zhou Guohua, He Ling, Zeng Daoming. Research and application of ecological geological adaptation model of Bayberry in Longhai, Fujian Province[J]. Geophysical and Geochemical Exploration, 2021, 45(05): 1121-1129.

[7] Gao Tiantian, Yang Xiulian, Zeng Qipeng, Li Gaoyang, Liu Wei, Zhang Juhua. Optimization of bayberry wine fermentation process and analysis of aroma components[J]. Food Industry, 2021, 42(06): 150-155.

[8] Lin Yuqing, Yang Ying, Lu Shengmin. Functional characteristics and comprehensive utilization of bayberry[J]. Food Science and Technology, 2020, 45(07): 108-111. DOI: 10.13684/j.cnki.spkj.2020.07.020.

Produced by: Science Popularization China

Author: Guo Yanqing (Shanghai Urban Wilderness Studio)

Liu Lumei (Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Producer: China Science Expo

The article only represents the author's views and does not represent the position of China Science Expo

This article was first published in China Science Expo (kepubolan)

Please indicate the source of the public account when reprinting

Please indicate the source of the reprint. Reprinting without authorization is prohibited.

For reprint authorization, cooperation, and submission matters, please contact [email protected]