Decaisnea fargesii is an upright, multi-stemmed, deciduous shrub that is native to woodlands, thickets, mountain slopes and ravines in western China, Bhutan, NE India, Myanmar, Nepal and Sikkim. This shrub typically grows to 20' tall and as wide. It is ornamentally grown in some areas for its long odd-pinnate leaves, its monoecious flowers in drooping racemes and its exceptional metallic blue bean-like fruit pods. Each leaf (to 36" long) has 13-25 ovate to elliptic leaflets that are dark green above and glaucous green beneath. Drooping racemes (to 18" long) of apetalous, bell-shaped, green to yellow-green flowers bloom in summer. Although individual flowers are not particularly showy, the large racemes in bloom are interesting and attractive. Flowers give way to the piece de resistance: cylindrical, bean-like seed pods (to 4" long) that ripen to blue in fall. It is these fruits (actually fleshy follicles) that distinguish this plant. Common names of deadman's fingers, blue sausage fruit, blue cucumber shrub and blue bean tree all convey the general message that the fruits are quite interesting and unique. Fruits will split open at maturity to reveal a large mass of seeds imbedded in edible pulp.