From north to south, the red shoots herald the arrival of spring and mark the beginning of the growing season. Its Chinese name, xiangchun, literally means the "fragrance of spring". Although it is horticulturally Chinese in origin it has spread to many countries, including the United States and Europe.

My husband remembers seeing avenues of toon trees in Washington DC when he was a foreign correspondent there. I remember toon trees in Brussels, a stone's throw from the EU headquarters.

My introduction to eating toon shoots was memorable.

As a new daughter-in-law arriving in Beijing I had my first taste of toon leaves at my mother-in-law's courtyard home in the hutong. The shoots came from a tree behind the house which my brother-in-law had deftly clambered up and harvested.

His wife had then blanched the leaves, chopped them up and served it with a cold tofu salad. My mother-in-law noted I was looking at the pile of green and white dubiously and had patted my hand.

"Try a little. If you don't like it, don't eat it."