Because my mom knows more than I will ever know, I have been asking her a few things that I have always wanted to know. I asked her what she knew about Chinaberry trees, like the one we have always had on the corner of our lot. She said that the tree was here when she moved in...which was in the l940's. She said that the reason they don't have very many is that Chinaberrys spread their seeds everywhere, and you have to work hard to pull them all out. She said they grow like weeds. She said that the reason everyone doesn't have one is that they got rid of them.
Somehow, that wasn't the answer I was expecting. I thought that maybe, like gooseberrys and hyssop, they were old fashioned and that people weren't able to get them anymore. I thought the answer was a little more exotic than...they are weeds and we have one because we let it grew. Gees.
I used to climb this tree when I was a child, and each branch was a room, like a livingroom or diningroom or bedroom. I had a lot of childhood memories tied up in that old tree. One time, in sheer exuberance at being alive, I jumped up and wound my arms and legs around the lowest branch. I was 16. The limb broke. I landed on my back with the wind knocked out of me for several minutes. I think some of my life's exhuberance went out the window with that fall.
So, Chinaberry weed or no, here is a picture of the clusters of clear orange berries with black centers that mean so much to me, and so little to everyone else.
Have a great evening.
