Staphylea colchica Black Beauty

Staphylea colchica Black Beauty is a variety of false pistachio that stands out for its glossy foliage coloured in chocolate purple. If the classic Staphylea colchica is already a remarkable and very accommodating shrub, 'Black Beauty' surpasses it with the beautiful contrast it offers between the dark colour of its vegetation and its white blooms. Its spring flowering in large deliciously scented panicles is followed by curious swollen fruits that remain decorative until winter. This false pistachio earns its rightful place in a country-style hedge, a large wild grove, or the garden of a collector keen to leave room for nature.

The False Pistachio is a shrub of the Staphyleaceae family, composed of the only 11 species belonging to the genus Staphylea. All these shrubs are native to the moist undergrowth of the temperate northern hemisphere. Staphylea colchica is native to a Georgian region south of the Caucasus called Colchis. The cultivar 'Black Beauty' is a recent horticultural creation.

The growth of Staphylea Black Beauty is fast, reaching approximately 3.25 m (11ft) in all directions in a few years, forming a small tree with a bushy and wide habit. Its bark is quite decorative, with whitish stripes, and the young shoots are of a beautiful russet hue. The plant blooms in April-May. At the end of its branches, clusters of pendulous bells appear with a subtle fragrance of almond and orange blossom. The flowering will be more abundant after a hot summer. These campanulate corollas, measuring 9 to 12 mm (1in) in length, are composed of 5 petals of a pearly white colour, slightly shiny. They are followed by the formation of pendulous fruits in the shape of membranous and swollen capsules, resembling small wineskins, with two or three "horns", evoking goat udders. Greenish-white in colour, these capsules turn brown as they ripen. They persist on the branches long after the leaves have fallen. The deciduous foliage is composed of opposite leaves, divided into 3 to 5 ovate to lanceolate leaflets, finely toothed along the edges. They emerge green in colour, then gradually turn bronze, purplish-violet to brownish. Their colour then turns yellow and orange at the end of the season, before falling.

Perfectly adapted to our continental and cold climates, Staphylea colchica Black Beauty is perfectly hardy and tolerates all types of soil as long as it does not dry out too much in summer. Its wild shrub appearance makes it suitable for rural settings and natural areas of the garden. In an informal hedge, at the boundaries of the garden, it can accompany e.g. rowan trees, hazel trees, medlars, hawthorns, elderberries, or even field maples with their beautiful autumn colours. To further enhance this ensemble, include some white spireas (arguta, Van Houttei), lilacs, mock oranges, botanical roses (Rosa hugonis, complicata, moyesii, pteracantha), and viburnums (lantana, carlesii, rhytidophyllum), or a caragana arborescens - all of which are equally robust and easy-to-grow shrubs.

In Georgia the flower buds, with a taste similar to capers, are preserved in vinegar. Inside the fruits are small seeds the size of a pea. When roasted, these seeds have a flavour reminiscent of pistachio or almond.