food forest

Almond

Arbendolondo

Native to central Asia, one of the first nut trees to be domesticated. A key ingredient in "turron". Beautiful pink blossom.

Olive

Olibondo

Latin name: Olea europae
Light: Full sunlight
Size: 6-4m
Cultivation: Winter

Rustic, needs light and no wind on floration.
Do not heavy prune.

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Origins can be traced to the Mediterranean basin in the ‘fertile crescent’ & Anatolia. The Greeks are thought to have planted olive trees for their oil around 7th century BC. Olives are harvested when green & remain unedible at that stage. Some trees live for centuries.

Persimmon

Kakia

Latin name: Diospyros spp.
Light: Full sunlight
Size: 4 - 6m or more
Cultivation: Winter

Loves the sun, doesn't like to be transplanted.

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Native in China & Japan. Belongs to the genus Diospyros kaki hence the name for the fruit in Spanish being ‘kaki’.

Mullberry

Masusta arbola

Latin name: Morus spp
Light: Partial shade tolerant
Size: 5-10m. smaller by running
Cultivation: winter or early spring

M. nigra (black), alba (white), rubra (red)

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Native to Iran & S.W.Asia. fruits can be white, red or black. The leaves of the white Mulberry are the sole food source of the silkworm whose cocoon is used to make silk. In Iran the fruit is known as “shah tut”, tut being the word for raspberry.

Strawberry tree

Gubitza

Latin name: Arbutus unedo
Light: Partial shade tolerant
Size: shrubby 6-8m
Cultivation: Winter on acid or neutral soil

Slow growing
Flowers October November. Same time as it ripens.

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Native to the Mediterranean region. Not related to the strawberry plant. Fairly drought resistant. It forms part of the Madrid coat of arms.

Tangerine

Mandarina

Latin name: Citrus reticulata
Light: Full sunlight
Size: 4,5 / 4,5 (planting framework)
Cultivation: Winter

Fertile and aerated soil needed.

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Thought to be native in Vietnam & S.W. China. The word in Chinese is ‘kan’. Our word tangerine (citrus reticula) derives from the port of Tangiers from where they were exported. Difference between tangerines & mandarins is their skin colour, tangerines being darker.

Orange

Laranjondo

Latin name: Citrus sinensis
Light: Full sunlight
Size: 4 / 6m (planting framework) 3-5m high
Cultivation: Winter

Needs abundant watering

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Native to southern China & N.E. India. The name ‘orange’ derives from the Sanskrit ‘naranga’. Because Portuguese merchants introduced the sweet orange to Europe, the name for orange in many languages is ‘portughal’, such as in Persian or Turkish.

Avocado

Ahuakateondo

Latin name: Persea Americana
Light: Full sunlight
Size: 10m... or more
Cultivation: Winter

Superficial roots. Little acid soils. Lots of organic matter. High rainfall.(no flood). Cross pollination. No wind.
Where oranges will grow. Transplant in March/April (not colder months)

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Believed to have originated in Mexico; the name is a corruption of the Aztec ahuacatl; hence the Spanish name aguacate. Can be grown quite easily from its stone.

Chesnut

Gaztainondo

Latin name: Castanea sativa
Light: Full sunlight
Size: 15m- 10m
Cultivation: Winter

Coppice them every 10 years with 8 m high.
Likes sun and well drained acid- neutral soil.
Good pollinator. cross pollination.

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Native to southern Europe & near East. Distantly related to the horse chestnut. Its Latin name castanea is thought to come from the ancient Greek town of Kastanea in Thessaly, northern Greece. Often grown for coppicing.

Walnut

Intxaurrondo

Latin name: Juglans regia
Light: Full sunlight
Size: 20m- 15m
Cultivation: Winter (Give sunny site. dislikes transplanting)

Allelopathic substance leaves and roots! apples, beans, tomatoes

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Indigenous to Anatolia & as far east as Afghanistan. The Greek name was Dios balanos or God’s acorn. The Romans translated this as Jovis glans but later transferred that name to the walnut, hence Juglans.

Apricot

Albertxiko

Latin name: Prunus armeniana
Light: Full sunlight
Size: 4m wide x 4m high
Cultivation: Winter

A relatively small, yet beautiful tree. A late frost can wipe out the crop so we will be on our guard. The unique micro-climate at Olabe means that we get very few frosts, but we will protect it just in case with sheep's wool at its base.

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From the Arabic al-barqu’uq, 1st cultivated in Moorish Spain, but native to northern China. Introduced by Arab traders.

Sweet Cherry

Gereizondoa

Latin name: Prunus avium
Light: Some shade tolerant
Size: 6m wide x 8-10m high
Cultivation: Winter

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Native to the Near East and E. Europe. The name cherry derives from the Latin cerasum, which in turn came from Giresun, Turkey, via Greek traders.

Plum

Okarana

Latin name: Prunus domestica
Light: Partial shade tolerant
Size: 6/2,5 - 7/5m
Cultivation: Winter

Bullaces naturalized on english hedgerows. Black, yellow green. Dont need annual prunning. (Tip bearers)

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Native to Syria, Iran & Anatolia. Also grown in China & Japan long before Europe. Possibly one of the first fruits to be domesticated. Cultivars of the plum (prunus) include greengages & damsons.

Elderberry

Intsusa

Latin name: Sambucus spp.

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Used to make wine from the berries. Uncooked, they can cause vomiting. Often used as a pigment for food colouring.

Lemon

Limoiondoa

Latin name: Citrus
Light: Full sunlight
Size: 5m wide x 5m high
Cultivation: Winter

Needs loads of water and nutrients. Will need to protect it from the wind.

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Like most citrus trees, the lemon is native to southern China & N.E. India. The word lemon is a corruption of the Arabic limoon which in turn derived from the Sanskrit nimbu.

Quince

Irasagar

Latin name: Cydonia oblonga
Light: Full sunlight
Size: 2.5m wide x 4m high
Cultivation: Winter

Quince grows well in the Basque Country and doesn't require much pruning. Its fruit makes excellent quince jelly or "membrillo", which is delicious when paired with sheep's cheese and walnuts.

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Native to northern Iran and neighbouring Turkmenistan. Gets its name from the Greek Cydonian apple which comes from the genus Cydonia. Difficult to eat raw. Main ingredient of the Spanish dessert membrillo.

Fig

Pikuondo

Latin name: Ficus carica
Light: full sun-shade tolerant
Size: 3m wide x 6m high
Cultivation: Winter to Spring

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Thought to originate in the fertile crescent (Syria & Iraq) and further east to western Afghanistan. Common in biblical times.

Apple

Sagarrondo

Latin name: Malus domestica
Light: Full sun-partial shade tolerant
Size: Own root: 6m high. Dwarfted: 2.5/4m- 3.5m (depends)
Cultivation: Winter

Needs N K (we will plant Comfrey Symphytum, N fixers around)

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Native to eastern Anatolia (Turkey), and the Caucasus; thought to originate in central Asia (Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan).

Crab apple

Patxaka

Latin name: Malus sylvestris
Light: Shade tolerant
Size: 2m wide x 3m high
Cultivation: Winter

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Belongs to the apple, malus family. Used as a rootstock on many cultivated apple trees as well as being a good pollinator in apple orchards.

Medlar

Mizpira

Latin name: Mespilus germanica
Light: Shade tolerant
Size: 4/6m - 3/5m
Cultivation: Winter

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Native to Iran & S.W Asia; a member of the rose family. Self fertile. Has an image problem because the fruit has to be “bletted”, that is left on the tree or in storage until very soft, almost “rotten” when it can then be eaten. But worth the wait. In French the name is “cul de chien”!

Wild pear

Basamakatza

Latin name: Pyrus piraster
Light: Partial shade tolerant
Size: smaller tree
Cultivation: Winter

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Native to Europe & the Caucasus. Quite rare. Insects love its flower nectar. Fruit is almost too hard to eat, but mammals love it.

Grape

Mahatsondo

Latin name: Vitis spp.
Light: full sun

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Native to the near East (eg Armenia), central Asia & America. European vines were decimated by the phyloxera insect in the early 1900’s & replanted onto American resistant rootstock vines.

Kiwi

Kiwiondo

Latin name: Actinidia spp.
Light: Full sun-partial shade tolerant

- Cane/stake/support.
- Male /female
- Sheltered from wind. wet feet

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Also known as Chinese gooseberry. Native to central & eastern China. Became popular with New Zealand growers, hence the fruit’s name. The plant can be either male or female; commercially, you need one male plant for every 5-8 female ones.

Feijoa

Jeijoa

Latin name: Acca sellowiana

The fruit, known as feijoa maturing in autumn, is green, ellipsoid, and about the size of a chicken egg. It has a sweet, aromatic flavour, which tastes like pineapple, apple, and mint. The flesh is juicy and is divided into a clear, gelatinous seed pulp and a firmer, slightly granular, opaque flesh nearer the skin. The fruit falls to the ground when ripe and at its fullest flavour, but it may be picked from the tree prior to falling to prevent bruising.

The fruit pulp resembles the closely related guava, having a gritty texture. The feijoa pulp is used in some natural cosmetic products as an exfoliant. Feijoa fruit has a distinctive, potent smell that resembles that of a fine perfume. The aroma is due to the ester methyl benzoate and related compounds that exist in the fruit.

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Native to southern Brazil & surrounding countries; belonging to the myrtle family. Fruit resembles guava. Frost tolerant.

Blackthorn (Sloe)

Basarana

Latin name: Prunus spinosa

Great for making Patxaran. Berries typically harvested here after the first frost.

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Native to northern Europe; produces its white flower before the leaves. Its fruit, the sloe, is used to make patxaran (sloe gin). Used in stock-proof hedges due to its sharp thorns and spreading habit.

Alder

Haltza

Latin name: Alnus

Description coming soon...

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Alders have the ability to interact with certain nitrogen-fixing soil bacteria. This results in the formation of root nodules to provide fixed nitrogen to the host plant in exchange for reduced carbon.

Pear

Madaria

Latin name: Pyrus spp.

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Thought to originate from the Near East, around northern Anatolia. Basque has 3 words, udarea, madaria and makatza. Presumed that the Basques, who were pre Celt, were already cultivating pears.

A beautiful, tall and strong tree, the Ash has long been regarded a special tree.Its helicopter seeds are popular with children, and the hard wood is a favourite for tool handles and stair treads.

Hibiscus

Hibiskua

Latin name: Hibiscus spp.

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A genus in the Mallow family (malvaciae). A tea can be made from its flowers. Its flower is often depicted by surf brands as it is native to Hawaii.

Siberian pea tree

Caragana arborescens

Latin name: Caragana arborescens

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Native to Siberia, Mongolia & Kazakhstan. A member of the pea family, Fabaceae, and so a legume. It can fix nitrogen at colder temperatures than other legumes. Very useful as a windbreak.

Birch

Urkia

Latin name: Betula spp.

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National tree of Finland & Russia. Its wood has a natural resonance & so is sought after to make speaker cabinets. Native to northern hemisphere. Tolerates acid soils.