Hey TFF, been really hoping to get my hands on some Lemon Aspen seeds since I saw them last year. Also really interested in lots of different syzygiums! Would love to know if anyone is in Australia and has access.
Thanks!
I actually wouldn't recommend lemon aspen. A better and prettier tree with more utility is the Lemon Myrtle ( Backhousia citrodoria). The Cinnamon myrtle is also a real winner.
There are many , many different syzygiums in Australia.I'm yet to encounter any I'd consider a top shelf fruit, but they are beautiful trees, often. The weeping lilly pilly is a stunner. There is a szygium endemic to the north QLD region that grows large white cauliflrous fruit which supposedly aren't bad.
This site might be of interest to you:
http://www.bushfoodshop.com.au/lemon-myrtle/
Have you tried the fruit on either the lemon aspen or lemon myrtle? I was really drawn to how interesting the lemon aspen's fruits looked. Definitely interested in syzygium more as a botanical interest, really dig the diversity and I would love to find some that have the cauliflory. Thanks for the info and link!
I couldn't get down with the lemon aspen fruit. Not something you'd eat fresh out of hand, might be good for use in sauces etc. My grandmother used to make a sort of tea cake from the leaves and (flowers) of the Lemon Myrtle which I remember being incredibly delicious. It's a beautiful tree, the only downside being that they are susceptible to myrtle rust.
Be careful importing szygium, they are affected by some kind of boring insect that lays its eggs in the seed of the fruit. When I was trading seeds I wouldn't send them to places like Brazil for this reason.
I'd say if you wanted one with edible fruit you'd probably be looking at szygium paniculata. I used to eat these as a kid ( and often end ed up with a bellyache which is what happens when you at too many of them).