Arctostaphylos alpina
| Arctostaphylos alpina | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 1 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-6.5 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 0.2' |
| Width: | 0.4' |
| Blooms: | Mid Spring-Early Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Arctostaphylos alpina (common name: alpine bearberry)
Propagation: Seed - best sown in a shady position in a greenhouse as soon as it is ripe[1]. Pre-soak dried seed and sow as early in the year as possible[2]. The seed usually germinates in 2 - 3 months at 15°c[2]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in greenhouse or cold frame for at least their first winter. Plant out in late spring or early summer.
Cuttings of side shoots, 5 - 8cm with a heel, August to December in a frame. Takes one year[1].
Division in early spring. Take care because the plant resents root disturbance[3]. Pot the divisions up and keep them in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame or greenhouse until they are growing away actively.
Layering in spring[3].
Cultivation: Requires a deep moist well-drained light or medium lime-free loam in sun or semi-shade[4][3]. Prefers a cool damp position[5].
Plants resent root disturbance and should be placed in their final positions as soon as possible[2]. Grows well in a rock garden[5].
This plant is placed in a separate genus, as Arctuous alpinus, by some botanists due to its deciduous habit[5][3].
Range: N. Europe, including Britain, N. Asia to Japan, west to Greenland and northern N. America..
Habitat: Mountain moors[6] and stony places on calcareous Alps up to 2500 metres.
Edibility: Fruit - raw or cooked[7][8][9]. Very juicy but slightly bitter[10]. Another report says that they are juicy but insipid[11]. The flavour is much improved by cooking[11]. Not as nice as many other wild fruits, but nor are they unpleasant[7]. The fruit is about 6 - 9mm in diameter[3][12], it is not usually produced very freely[11].
Medicinal: An infusion of the pounded plant has been used as an external wash in the treatment of rheumatism and general illnesses[11].
A decoction of the bark is used in the treatment of internal blood diseases[11].
The leaves are narcotic and have been smoked to cause intoxication[11].
Pollinators: Bees, self
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: Arbutus alpina. Arctous alpina. (L.)Niedenzu.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheat, Wilfrid. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. St Martin, 1948.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Rice, Graham. Growing from Seed Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan, 1988.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray, 1992.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Elias, Thomas. A Field Guide to North American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1982.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Turner, Nancy. Edible Wild Fruits and Nuts of Canada. National Museum of Natural Sciences, 1978.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ Flora of China. 1994.