Elaeocarpus angustifolius seed

Elaeocarpus angustifolius (or grandis) is a species of flowering plant in the Elaeocarpaceae family, bearing bitter edible fruit. It is commonly known as Blue Marble tree, and also as Blue Fig or Blue Quandong.

The fruit of this species is round and blue, between 20 and 30 mm across, and has a hard shell with deep convolutions in its shell.

Flowers are greenish or white, bell-shaped, with 5 fringed petals, in numerous racemes borne along branches from leaf scars. The white flowers in summer are followed by metallic blue fruits 3 cm diameter, which contain a hard pitted center.

Jams and pickles can be made with the fruit, and the large, attractive, pitted seed is often used in art/jewelry making.

The trees will easily grow to 50 feet or more, and has both brilliant red leaves as well as deep green foliage, set against a very dark straight trunk. The trees are fairly hard to come by, but are worth the cost and time to locate them. I planted some in 2005 and the seedlings were already 7 feet tall after 18 months. The trees are undemanding in their culture, but do like regular watering and plenty of sunlight. The seeds are fickle regarding germination; they can take 4-12 months to sprout even with bottom heat and scarifying the seeds.