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Dodonaea viscosa - (L.)Jacq.

Native Hops

Author	(L.)Jacq.	Botanical references	154, 200
Family	Sapindaceae	Genus	Dodonaea
Synonyms	Dodonaea attenuata - A.Cunn.
Known Hazards	The leaves are slightly cyanogenic[152]. They are also said to contain saponins[181]. Although quite toxic, saponins are poorly absorbed by the body and most pass straight through without any problems. Saponins can be found in a number of common foods such as some types of beans. Saponins are much more toxic to some creatures, such as fish, and hunting tribes have traditionally put large quantities of them in streams, lakes etc in order to stupefy or kill the fish[K].
Range	Tropical and sub-tropical regions of Asia, Australia, New Zealand and N. America.
Habitat	Rocky, stony or sandy soils in the montane zone of Victoria[154]. On dry slopes, in fields and sandy soils by the coast in China[266].
Edibility Rating	2 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	2 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen Shrub growing to 3m by 1.5m.

The plant prefers light (sandy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure. It can tolerate atmospheric pollution.

Habitats

Woodland Garden; Sunny Edge; Hedge;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Seed.

Edible Uses: Condiment.

Seed[177, 183]. No further details are given. The bitter fruits are a substitute for hops and yeast in making beer[177, 181, 183]. The chewed leaves are said to be stimulating[177, 183] but they contain saponins[181] and are also said to be slightly cyanogenic[152] so their use is not very advisable.

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.

Anodyne; Diaphoretic; Febrifuge; Odontalgic; Vulnerary.

The leaves are anodyne, astringent, diaphoretic, febrifuge (the var. angustissima is normally used[152]), odontalgic and vulnerary[152, 238]. They are applied internally in the treatment of fevers[238]. Externally, they are used to treat toothache, sore throats, wounds, skin rashes and stings[238, 257]. The leaves are apparently effective in the treatment of toothache if they are chewed without swallowing the juice[238]. The bark is employed in astringent baths and poultices[240].

Other Uses

Hedge; Tannin; Wood.

The leaves contain up to 18% tannin[238]. Plants are very tolerant of pruning and make a good hedging plant for windy sites[188, 240]. Wood - heavy, tough, resistant. Used for wedges, hammers, turnery, inlay, cabinets etc[154].

Cultivation details

Requires a light well-drained soil in a sunny position[200]. Succeeds in almost any fertile soil and in a hot dry position. Resists drought, salt winds and (atmospheric?) pollution[200]. Plants are very wind hardy but are not resistant to frost[166]. They tolerate temperatures down to about -7°c in Australian gardens[157], but are damaged at about 3°c in British gardens[200]. One report says that they succeed outdoors in the mildest gardens in Britain[182]. Plants are growing very well in pots in a polyhouse on our trial grounds in south Cornwall, but they have not survived in the open ground[K]. Our seed source was from Australia, other provenances might be more hardy[K]. Plants are difficult to transplant when they are more than 60 centimetres tall[200]. Polymorphic, there are a number of sub-species[154, 157]. Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse[K]. The seed is slow to germinate according to one report[200], but it germinated in 3 weeks in a cold greenhouse with us[K]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots once they are large enough to handle and grow them on in a fairly sunny part of the greenhouse for at least their first winter. If trying them outdoors, then plant them out in early summer of their second or third year's growth after the last expected frosts and give them some protection from the cold for their next winter or two[K]. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame[188].

Links

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[152] Lassak. E. V. and McCarthy. T. Australian Medicinal Plants. 0
A very good and readable guide to the subject.

[154] Ewart. A. J. Flora of Victoria. 0
A flora of eastern Australia, it is rather short on information that is useful to the plant project.

[157] Wrigley. J. W. and Fagg. M. Australian Native Plants. Collins. (Australia) 1988 ISBN 0-7322-0021-0
A lovely book, written in order to encourage Australian gardeners to grow their native plants. A little bit of information for the plant project.

[166] Taylor. J. The Milder Garden. Dent 1990
A good book on plants that you didn't know could be grown outdoors in Britain.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[181] Pesman. M. W. Meet Flora Mexicana. Dale S. King. Arizona. 1962
Very readable flora but rather lacking botanically. A few notes on useful plants.

[182] Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray 1992 ISBN 0-7195-5043-2
Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
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.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

[266] Flora of China 1994
On-line version of the Flora - an excellent resource giving basic info on habitat and some uses.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

Dodonaea viscosa

Norman Mangnall Thu Aug 28 2008

A global map of the distribution is found in the American Journal of Botany, vol.90 issue #4. Interesting that it is not found in N Africa or the Mediterranean.

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