Aralia mandschurica

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Aralia mandschurica
Light:Full Sun Part Shade
Moisture:Mesic
Hardiness:4
Soil pH:5.6-8.4
Height:11'
Open Woods Forest
Native to:
Edible Rating:PFAF Edibility RatingPFAF Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating:PFAF Medicinal RatingPFAF Medicinal Rating
Tea:Yes
Poisonous

Aralia mandschurica (common name: manchurian angelica tree)

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 position in semi-shade. Requires a sheltered position. Plants are hardier when grown on poorer soils.

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 plant is very closely related to A. elata and is included in that species by many botanists[4].

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

Habitat: Forests on rich well moistened slopes, 900 - 2000 metres in N. Hupeh. Thickets and thin woods in lowland and hills in Japan[4].

Edibility: Young shoots - cooked. They can also be blanched and used in salads.

Medicinal: Anodyne, carminative.

The root, and especially the bark, stimulates the central nervous system[5].

The plant is said to restore the appetite, memory, vigour etc[5].

Pollinators: Insects

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

Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.

Flower Type: Hermaphrodite

Links

References

  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 Ohwi, Jisaburo. Flora of Japan. Smithsonian Institution, 1965.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.