Aralia cordata

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Aralia cordata
Light:Part Shade Full Shade
Moisture:Mesic
Hardiness:8
Soil pH:5.6-8.4
Height:6'
Blooms:Mid Summer-Late Summer
Open Woods Forest
Native to:
Edible Rating:PFAF Edibility RatingPFAF Edibility RatingPFAF Edibility RatingPFAF Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating:PFAF Medicinal RatingPFAF Medicinal RatingPFAF Medicinal RatingPFAF Medicinal Rating
Tea:Yes
Poisonous

Aralia cordata (common name: udo)

Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as ripe in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 3 - 5 months of cold stratification. Germination usually takes place within 1 - 4 months at 20°c[1]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in light shade in a greenhouse for at least their first winter. Once the plants are 25cm or more tall, they can be planted out into their permanent positions, late spring or early summer being the best time to do this.

Root cuttings 8cm long, December in a cold frame[2][3]. Store the roots upside down in sand and pot up in March/April. High percentage[3].

Division of suckers in late winter[2]. Very easy, the suckers can be planted out direct into their permanent positions if required.

Cultivation: Prefers a good deep loam and a semi-shady position[4][1]. Requires a sheltered position[4]. Plants are hardier when grown in poorer soils[5]. Tolerates a pH in the range 5.0 to 7.4.

Dormant plants are hardy to about -25°c[6]. The young growth in spring, even on mature plants, is frost-tender and so it is best to grow the plants in a position sheltered from the early morning sun[K].

This is a commonly cultivated food crop in Japan, where it is grown for its edible shoots. There are several named varieties[7][8][9][10].

Range: E. Asia - China, Japan, Korea.

Habitat: Thickets and thin woods, esp. by streams and ravines, all over Japan[9][11].

Edibility: Young branched shoots - cooked or raw[7][8][12][13][14][15]. They can be up to 1.5 metres long and have a mild and agreeable flavour[10]. They are usually blanched and are crisp and tender with a unique lemon-like flavour[16]. They can be sliced and added to salads, soups etc[17]. The shoots contain about 1.1% protein, 0.42% fat, 0.8% soluble carbohydrate, 0.55% ash[18].

Root - cooked[19][13][14]. Used like scorzonera[7].

Medicinal: The root is sometimes used in China as a substitute for ginseng (Panax species)[20]. It is said to be analgesic, antiinflammatory, carminative, diuretic, febrifuge, stimulant, stomachic and tonic[20][15]. The root contains an essential oil, saponins, sesquiterpenes and diterpene acids[15]. It is used in Korea to treat the common cold and migraines[15].

Pollinators: Bees

Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.

Flower Type: Hermaphrodite

Also Known As: A. edulis. A. nutans.

Links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Rice, Graham. Growing from Seed Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan, 1988.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sheat, Wilfrid. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. St Martin, 1948.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
  5. ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
  6. ↑ Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Perennials - The Definitve Reference. Pan Books, 1991.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Ohwi, Jisaburo. Flora of Japan. Smithsonian Institution, 1965.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Oriental Herbs and Vegetables, Vol 39 No. 2. Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 1986.
  11. ↑ Flora of Japan.
  12. ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Medicinal Plants in the Republic of Korea. World Health Organisation, 1998.
  16. ↑ Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
  17. ↑ Larkcom, Joy. Oriental Vegetables. John Murray, 1991.
  18. ↑ Read, Bernard. Famine Foods Listed in the Chiu Huang Pen Ts'ao. Taipei Southern Materials Centre, 1977.
  19. ↑ Douglas, James. Alternative Foods.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.


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