English: Dead man's fingers; Blue bean plant; Blue sausage fruit.
Chinese: Mao er shi shu.
Dutch: Augurkenstruik.
Genus: one or two species, depending on taxonomic opinion.
Region: eastern Asia, China, Nepal, Myanmar.
Habitat: cooler temperate climates; fertile, well-drained soil; tolerant of temperatures as low as −15 °C.
Use: ornamental for its foliage and decorative fruit, bright blue in many cultivated specimens; fruit for food.
BotanyShrubs or small trees; up to 5 to 8 meters tall.
Stem: pachycaul; up to 20 centimeters in diameter
Leaves: deciduous; 60 to 90 cm long; pinnate, with up to 25 leaflets each up to 15 cm long and 10 cm broad.
Inflorescence: drooping panicles; 25 to 50 cm long.
Flowers: 3 to 6 cm wide; greenish-yellow sepals; no petals.
Fruit: soft; greenish-yellow to blue-black pod-like follicle; bluish in Decaisnea fargesii.; up to 10 cm long and 3 cm diameter; with transparent, glutinous, jelly-like pulp and numerous, ± 40 seeds; fruit edible, sweet, similar to watermelon, gelatinous, bland, jelly-like.
Seeds: flat; black; 1 cm wide; not edible.