The Jiaogulan plant also goes by names such as women's ginseng and five-leaf ginseng. This gives an idea of how healthy this plant is for us humans. However, the focus of all reports is only on the green leaves. What about their black, spherical berries? They look inviting, but are they edible?
The berries of the immortality herb should not be eaten until they are jet black
Autumn is berry season
Jiaogulan forms fruits that have the shape of small berries. Before that, however, comes the heyday. Since the immortality herb only flowers in midsummer in July and August, the first berries can only be expected in late summer or autumn.
- Berries are initially dark green in color
- when ripe they are completely black
- they are small and spherical
- the diameter is approx. 8 mm
Since the small flowers of the Jiaogulan appear on long panicles, the berries also grow in several specimens in a kind of cluster.
Suitability for consumption
Is a plant whose leaves are so healthy even capable of producing poisonous fruit? At least the Immortality Herb can't do that. You can eat its little berries, that's for sure. However, do not expect any health benefits or a rejuvenating effect. The berries play no role in medicine, there must be a reason for that.
Nothing can be found in reports in this country about the taste of these berries. The author of this text has not tried it personally. Maybe their aroma is similar to liquorice like that of the leaves. A personal taste test is certainly the most meaningful here.
tips
In autumn, cut off the tendrils that are still green and then dry the leaves. Of the conditionally hardy immortality herb, only the rhizome overwinters outside anyway.
At least two plants are necessary
If you are now wondering which berries we are talking about, the following lines can provide the answer. It is not the fault of an unsuitable location or insufficient care if no berries appear on a fully grown Jiaogulan plant.
In order for flowers to form berries at all, they must first be fertilized. Two plants are absolutely necessary for this: a male and a female. As a dioecious plant, an immortality herb can only have either male or female flowers at a time. So if you only have one plant at home, it will bloom but not bear any berries.