|
Habitats
|
|
|
Woodland Garden Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade; Shady Edge; not Deep Shade; Hedge;
|
|
Edible Uses
|
|
Edible Parts: Fruit; Seed.
Edible Uses:
Fruit - raw or cooked[105, 177]. About the size of a large blackcurrant, though the seed is also quite large[K]. A nice sub-acid flavour when fully ripe but astringent if eaten before then[K]. Can be made into preserves, drinks etc[183]. The oval fruit is about 15mm long[200]. Seed - raw or cooked. It can be eaten with the fruit though the seed case is rather fibrous[K]. A taste vaguely reminiscent of peanuts[K]. The seed contains 42.2% protein and 23.1% fat on a zero moisture basis[218].
|
|
|
Composition
|
|
|
Figures in grams (g) or miligrams (mg) per 100g of food.
|
|
|
Seed (Dry weight)
|
|
- 0 Calories per 100g
- Water : 0%
- Protein: 42.2g; Fat: 23.1g; Carbohydrate: 0g; Fibre: 0g; Ash: 0g;
- Minerals - Calcium: 0mg; Phosphorus: 0mg; Iron: 0mg; Magnesium: 0mg; Sodium: 0mg; Potassium: 0mg; Zinc: 0mg;
- Vitamins - A: 0mg; Thiamine (B1): 0mg; Riboflavin (B2): 0mg; Niacin: 0mg; B6: 0mg; C: 0mg;
- Reference: [ 218]
- Notes:
|
|
|
|
Medicinal Uses
|
Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Antiasthmatic; Antitussive; Astringent; Cancer.
The fruit of many members of this genus is a very rich source of vitamins and minerals, especially in vitamins A, C and E, flavanoids and other bio-active compounds. It is also a fairly good source of essential fatty acids, which is fairly unusual for a fruit. It is being investigated as a food that is capable of reducing the incidence of cancer and also as a means of halting or reversing the growth of cancers[214]. The leaves and the stems are concocted and used in the treatment of asthma, cough, diarrhoea, haemorrhoids etc[147, 218]. The seed is used to treat watery diarrhoea[218]. The root is astringent and is applied to sores, itchy skin etc[147, 218].
|
|
|
Other Uses
|
Hedge; Hedge.
Plants can be grown as a hedge in exposed positions, tolerating maritime exposure[75]. Succeeds when planted under trees that have become bare at the base, in time it will scramble up into the tree and fill out the bottom[75].
|
|
|
Cultivation details
|
|
|
Succeeds in most soils that are well-drained[11, 200]. Dislikes very alkaline soils[202]. Prefers a soil that is only moderately fertile, succeeding in poor soils and in dry soils[[11, 200]. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Very drought and shade resistant[200]. Tolerates maritime exposure[75]. Plants are hardy to about -15°c[200]. The foliage can be damaged in severe wind-chill conditions[202]. This is a potentially valuable fruit crop, fruiting as it does in April and May[K]. There are a number of named varieties[200, 202] and so there is plenty of scope for improving size and quality of fruit by selective breeding. Most cultivars are variegated and therefore slower-growing than the species[K]. This species is notably resistant to honey fungus[88, 200]. The small flowers have a sweet but pungent aroma. They pervade the garden for some distance on sunny days[245]. Closely related to E. glabra[11]. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[200]. An excellent companion plant, when grown in orchards it can increase yields from the fruit trees by up to 10%.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Propagation
|
|
|
Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame[78]. It should germinate freely within 4 weeks, though it may take 18 months[K]. Stored seed can be very slow to germinate, often taking more than 18 months. A warm stratification for 4 weeks followed by 12 weeks cold stratification can help[98]. The seed usually (eventually) germinates quite well[78]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pot as soon as they are large enough to handle and plant out when they are at least 15cm tall. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 7 - 10cm with a heel, July/August in a frame. Good percentage[78]. It is best to take the cuttings in June[202]. Cuttings of mature wood of the current year's growth, 10 - 12cm with a heel, November in a frame. Leave for 12 months. Fair to good percentage[78]. Layering in September/October. Takes 12 months[78].
|
 You can download this page as a PDF
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Botanical References
|
|
|
11200266
|
|
|
|
|
|
Links / References
|
|
|
[K] Ken Fern Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
|
[11]Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement.
|
|
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
|
|
|
[75]Rosewarne experimental horticultural station. Shelter Trees and Hedges.
|
|
A small booklet packed with information on trees and shrubs for hedging and shelterbelts in exposed maritime areas.
|
|
|
[78]Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers.
|
|
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.
|
|
|
[88]RHS. The Garden. Volume 112.
|
|
Snippets of information from the magazine of the RHS. In particular, there are articles on plants that are resistant to honey fungus, oriental vegetables, Cimicifuga spp, Passiflora species and Cucurbits.
|
|
|
[98]Gordon. A. G. and Rowe. D. C. f. Seed Manual for Ornamental Trees and Shrubs.
|
|
Very comprehensive guide to growing trees and shrubs from seed. Not for the casual reader.
|
|
|
[105]Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
|
|
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
|
|
|
[147]? A Barefoot Doctors Manual.
|
|
A very readable herbal from China, combining some modern methods with traditional chinese methods.
|
|
|
[177]Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption.
|
|
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
|
|
|
[183]Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants.
|
|
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
|
|
|
[184]Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Shrubs.
|
|
Excellent photographs and a terse description of 1900 species and cultivars.
|
|
|
[200]Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
|
|
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
|
|
|
[202]Davis. B. Climbers and Wall Shrubs.
|
|
Contains information on 2,000 species and cultivars, giving details of cultivation requirements. The text is terse but informative.
|
|
|
[214]Matthews. V. The New Plantsman. Volume 1, 1994.
|
|
A quarterly magazine, it has articles on Himalayacalamus hookerianus, hardy Euphorbias and an excellent article on Hippophae spp.
|
|
|
[218]Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China
|
|
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.
|
|
|
[245]Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World.
|
|
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.
|
|
|
[266] Flora of China
|
|
On-line version of the Flora - an excellent resource giving basic info on habitat and some uses.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
QR Code
|
|
|
|
What's this?
|
|
This is a QR code (short for Quick Response) which gives fast-track access to our website pages. QR Codes are barcodes that can be read by mobile phone (smartphone) cameras. This QR Code is unique to this page. All plant pages have their own unique code. For more information about QR Codes click here.
|
|
1. Copy and print the QR code to a plant label, poster, book, website, magazines, newspaper etc and even t-shirts.
|
|
2. Smartphone users scan the QR Code which automatically takes them to the webpage the QR Code came from.
|
|
3. Smartphone users quickly have information on a plant directly for the pfaf.org website on their phone.
|
|
|
|
Rate This Plant
|
|
|
Please rate this plants for how successful you have found it to be. You will need to be logged in to do this. Our intention is not to create a list of 'popular' plants but rather to highlight plants that may be rare and unusual and that have been found to be useful by website users. This hopefully will encourage more people to use plants that they possibly would not have considered before.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Add a comment/link
|
|
|
If you have important information about this plant that may help other users please add a comment or link below. Only comments or links that are felt to be directly relevant to a plant will be included. If you think a comment/link or information contained on this page is inaccurate or misleading we would welcome your feedback at admin@pfaf.org. If you have questions about a plant please use the Forum on this website as we do not have the resources to answer questions ourselves.
* Please note: the comments by website users are not necessarily those held by PFAF and may give misleading or inaccurate information.
|
Subject : Elaeagnus pungens
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|