Aciphylla colensoi
| Aciphylla colensoi | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 7 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Evergreen Cross Pollinated | |
| Height: | 3' |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Aciphylla colensoi (common name: wild spaniard)
Propagation: Seed - best sown in a greenhouse as soon as it is ripe[1]. Stored seed should be sown in a greenhouse in late winter or early spring. Germination can be very slow. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter before planting them out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Cultivation: Requires a perfectly drained gritty soil in full sun[2]. Prefers a climate with rather damp air[2].
Plants are hardy to about -10°c and are succeeding outdoors in a mild garden in N. Ireland[2].
Dioecious. Female plants sometimes have a few male flowers but usually male and female plants must be grown if seed is required[1].
Range: New Zealand.
Habitat: Montane to sub-alpine altitudes in North and South Islands between latitudes 38 and 43° 30' south[3].
Edibility: Root - cooked. Aromatic[4].
The plant yields a resin that is used as a chewing gum[4].
Shoots[4]. No further details.
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
In Leaf: Evergreen
Flower Type: Dioecious
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Thomas, Graham. Perennial Garden Plants. J. M. Dent & Sons, 1990.
- ↑ Allan, Harry. Flora of New Zealand. Government Printer Publications, 1961.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Crowe, Andrew. Native Edible Plants of New Zealand. Hodder and Stoughton, 1990.