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Holboellia latifolia - Wall.

Author	Wall.	Botanical references	11, 200, 266
Family	Lardizabalaceae	Genus	Holboellia
Synonyms	Stauntonia latifolia - Wall.
Known Hazards	None known
Range	E. Asia - Himalayas from India to China.
Habitat	Forests, shrubberies and shady ravines below 4000 metres[51]. Forests, mixed forests by streams or other shady moist sites, forest margins on mountain slopes, along valleys 600 - 3000 m[266].
Edibility Rating	3 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	0 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen Climber growing to 4m.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats

Woodland Garden; Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade; Shady Edge; Deep Shade; North Wall By; East Wall By; South Wall By; West Wall By;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Fruit.

Fruit - raw[51, 177, 272]. A mealy texture and often considered to be insipid[2, 146, 243], though it is considered to be very palatable in the Himalayas[183]. The fruit is large[105], purple, sausage-shaped with many black seeds in the white pulp[183].The fruit is up to 10cm long[200].

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.

None known

Other Uses

None known

Scented Plants

Flowers: Fresh

The flowers are sweetly and heavily scented.

Cultivation details

Easily grown in any fertile soil in sun or part shade[182, 200]. Plants grow best on a shady wall or when grown into a tree[200]. They succeed in sun or deep shade, but fruits are much more likely to be produced when the plants are grown in a sunny position[200, 219]. Plants are not fully hardy in Britain, they tolerate temperatures down to about -15°c[184] and can be damaged by prolonged periods below -5°c[200]. A plant outdoors between two greenhouse at Cambridge Botanical Gardens was thriving in 1989[K]. Plants thrive in S.W. England[11, 59] but do not fruit freely in this country[11]. Plants at Dartington Hall in Devon occasionally produce fruit[11]. Hand pollination would probably help[11, 166], fruits are more likely to form in hot summers[166]. There is also some doubt as to whether the plants are monoecious or dioecious, it would be best to grow at least two distinct plants (not cuttings from one plant) and make sure that male and female flowers are present[K]. The flowers are sweetly and heavily scented. The males are produced on the previous years wood whilst females are produced on the current years wood[182]. Plants are fast growing[200] and climb by means of twining[182]. Closely related to H. coriacea[11]. This genus is closely related to Stauntonia spp[200].

Propagation

Seed - we have no details on this species but suggest sowing the seed as soon as it is ripe if this is possible, otherwise as soon as you obtain it, in a warm greenhouse. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of softwood[1]. Cuttings of half-ripe wood in late summer or autumn[188]. Layering.

Links

This plant is also mentioned in the following PFAF articles: Conservatory Plants.

References

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

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[51] Polunin. O. and Stainton. A. Flowers of the Himalayas. Oxford Universtiy Press 1984
A very readable and good pocket guide (if you have a very large pocket!) to many of the wild plants in the Himalayas. Gives many examples of plant uses.

[59] Thurston. Trees and Shrubs in Cornwall. 0
Trees and shrubs that succeed in Cornwall based on the authors own observations. Good but rather dated.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
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.

[146] Gamble. J. S. A Manual of Indian Timbers. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh 1972
Written last century, but still a classic, giving a lot of information on the uses and habitats of Indian trees. Not for the casual reader.

[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.

[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.

[184] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Shrubs. Pan Books 1989 ISBN 0-330-30258-2
Excellent photographs and a terse description of 1900 species and cultivars.

[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.

[219] Grey-Wilson. C. & Matthews. V. Gardening on Walls Collins 1983 ISBN 0-00-219220-0
A nice little book about plants for growing against walls and a small section on plants that can grow in walls.

[243] Medicinal Plants of Nepal Dept. of Medicinal Plants. Nepal. 1993
Terse details of the medicinal properties of Nepalese plants, including cultivated species and a few imported herbs.

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

[272] Manandhar. N. P. Plants and People of Nepal Timber Press. Oregon. 2002 ISBN 0-88192-527-6
Excellent book, covering over 1,500 species of useful plants from Nepal together with information on the geography and peoples of Nepal. Good descriptions of the plants with terse notes on their 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.

Holboellia latifolia

J Gardner Wed Oct 25 2006

I have had this plant growing for at least 5 years, roots in deep shade at the base of a pergola which is covered in honeysuckle, Emily Gray rose and an Armandii clematis. The plant flowers profusely and this year has set seed probably because of the very hot summer.(Isle of Wight). One seed pod has been sown now(October) in a griity mix and put into a heated propagator. Has anyone else had successful results from an Autumn sowing?

Holboellia latifolia

christine harrison Tue Mar 6 2007

Two pinky purple fruits 10cms long 6cms diameter found when pruning well established plant on 27/02/07.Holboellia had grown rampantly on a wall in the Yard garden at Bicton College,East Devon.Seed to be sown. Very good information on this page best found searhing for Holboellia.

Holboellia latifolia

Yvonne Rann Mon May 7 2007

I have two plants rampantly growing against south house wall. It was planted about 1988 -1990 by previous owner. No fruit so presumably no seed yet. Are fruits on male and female plants? Cream flowers so I presume female?? Heavenly scent for about a month during April. Trying some soft wood cuttings. May 2007

Holboellia latifolia

Mr D. P. Biggs Tue Apr 28 2009

I find this immigrated plant a lethal killer during the pollen seasons. Within 10min the inhale of the strong scented pollen has tightened up the blood cells all through my brain and around my skull and lungs thus giving me immediate migraine. The level continues to rise causing a chemical inbalance in the brain of the serotonin etc thus triggering of a blackout. It should not be sold.

Holboellia latifolia

Simon Bosworth Tue Aug 11 2009

You need several different plants (not cuttings of the same plant) to produce fruit. Only if pollenated from an unrelated flower will the fabulous fruit be produced. In my opinion it is the fruit that this should be grown for - they are a real talking point in my garden!!

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