b'The Orme Oasis UpdateISSUE #7G reetings from the Garden,W hen you think of Orme, what do you imagine first? Is it the mesquite bosque that surrounds the school, dotted with cattle and cacti? Maybe you think of the buildings with our multiple architectural styles and plaques that tell stories of the people that built them? Or do you think of the soaring heights of the trees on campus that raise our natural roof to well over 50 feet? Likely, it is all three, but Id like to spend this issue tipping my floppy garden hat to the trees here in particular.D own by Ash Creek, you can see the trees that are classic of this riparian corridor: desert willows, sycamore, cottonwood, desert hackberry, and mesquite. They grow on campus as wellanybody else love the walk from Keating dorm to Founders through the sycamores? But long ago, we began to add to the diversity of trees from far-flung lands and forever change the face of our desert. Many of these trees are edible, which is, of course, my focus. After two full years here, this is the list I have compiled of Intentional Edible Trees:I ts ok to be impressed. Humans areBlack Walnutpretty amazing. Todays star: The Mulberry. It rarely makes it to thePecangrocery store for a few reasons, and none of them are related to their tasteFigs (multiple varieties)or nutrition. For one, they are hard to adapt to commercial production.ApricotA long, rolling harvest is good for a daily snack but bad for mechanizationPlumand scale. Ripe fruits are designed to fall off easily so heavy winds and rainPeachcan affect quantity. They have a short shelf life, even under refrigeration,Pearand they have a higher water content than other berries. But let me tell youApplethat they are delicious, fun to harvest, nutritious, and prolific for a long time! PistachioLucky me, my walking routes around campus are dictated by the nearestMulberryone and how low their branches are. The best trees are near Club 60, theOlivemusic annex, and the baseball field. Cholla enjoys the berries as well andJujube (new this year!)while I grab from low-hanging boughs she gobbles up the freshly fallen. Such a treat.O riginating in Asia, this tree has traveled the globe. Due to the ease of hybridization, a vast number of varieties exist. Fruits range from the size of an index finger to tiny clusters no bigger than your pinky nail. They are also the tree that is the sole diet of the silkworm. The larvae eat the leaves of mulberries before enveloping themselves within a finely spun cocoon that is harvested for fiber and woven into some of the finest textiles ever created. Ever heard of the Silk Road? Fueled by mulberry trees. Ever worn silk? Then youve worn digested mulberry leaves. W ant to go harvest your own? Either take a ladder and a bucket and harvest them one by one, or Im told you can drape a clean sheet beneath the tree and shake the branches. The ripest fruits should fall en masse (but so will other stuff, beware). Eat them right then and there, freeze them for a smoothie, boil them with some water and mash them up for a quick sauce, or steep them with some lemon balm for a refreshing tea. Enjoy and give thanks to the spread of good trees and ideas. I encourage you in your own neighborhoods to harvest the secret abundance that others would let merely stain their sidewalks. Will you help harvest the abundance?M any thanks,J . Wolfe'