fruitless olive

GARDENING NOTES: this iconic and lovely tree requires supplemental water when young; although olives are listed as an invasive species by the California Invasive Plant Council, they are not likely to be eradicated from our landscapes given their important role in agriculture; nonetheless, homeowners should take care that their landscape olives do not have easy access to surrounding ecosystems.

California Pepper Tree

THIS MASSIVE “CALIFORNIA”

pepper tree is one of 8 trees that were on this site when the garden broke ground in 2005. The common name is a misnomer, since the species is endemic to Peru and parts of Chile.

Schinus molle trees produce pink fruit “peppercorns” that are eaten by humans and birds—but be cautious! The tree is a member of the cashew family and presents a potential danger to people with nut allergies. In fact, there was a widely-publicized dust-up between the FDA and France about the health effects of pink peppercorns in the 1980s.

Authorities continue to disagree about the risks associated with eating the fruits even for non-allergic people: an official Queensland Australia government website lists them as toxic to humans as of the publication of this guide (2023) and others continue to caution about dangers specifically to children, pigs, and poultry. That said, they continue to be widely sold and eaten in the United States, and they have been fermented and consumed in Peru for over a thousand years.

Durand House

This tree was once part of the gardens of the strange and fabulous Durand House, a 50-room mansion home to John Durand, a wealthy wholesaler from Chicago. The mansion was designed in the style of a baronial French chateau and included intricate wood carvings, a red sandstone exterior, and gardens with high-maintenance plantings: roses, orange trees, and palms.

It was so extravagant that the Los Angeles Times heralded it as “the most peculiar and at the same time the most lavishly finished residence not only in Southern California but in the whole country.” It was peculiar both for its sheer extravagance — the interior “locks, hinges, doorknobs, drawer handles, etc.” were made of expensive gold alloy — but also for such strange amenities as a light switch next to Mrs. Durand’s bed that turned on “every light in the house from cellar to roof,” more than 600 lights, apparently as a form of burglar deterrence.

The Durand property and its furnishings were sold at auction in the 1960s and then razed to the ground. The only traces left of the mansion are a small walkway and a fragment of the original sandstone facade built into Arlington’s Pomegranate Amphitheater.

Caltrans later set aside the property as a staging ground for the 710 freeway expansion, but local opposition to the freeway halted construction. The lot remained empty for 40 years until the creation of the garden in 2005 by a group of dedicated Pasadena residents. In the decades since, the original trees — such as this California pepper tree — have ended up in the middle of a swiftly growing forest. What do they think of the new arrivals?

An Ancient Alcohol

The Wari (Huari) empire in the Andes flourished between 650 to 1000 CE and was an agricultural civilization predating the Inca. Archeological evidence shows that “elites” among the Wari drank copious amounts of alcohol made from Schinus molle berries. This alcohol was probably similar to a beverage that Spanish later called chicha, which continues to be made from ingredients including corn and quinoa and — now very infrequently — Schinus molle. The Spanish Jesuit cont. p.38 »

CALIFORNIA PEPPER TREE: Schinus molle, Peruvian pepper tree, molle del Peru (Spanish), mulli (Quechua)

ORIGIN: Peruvian Andes, central Chile, and parts of Argentina

Mature height and width: 35-45 ft. tall and 50-75 ft. wide