Arctostaphylos manzanita
| Arctostaphylos manzanita | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 8 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-6.5 |
| Evergreen Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 7' |
| Width: | 7' |
| Blooms: | Late Winter-Mid Spring |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Arctostaphylos manzanita (common name: manzanita)
Propagation: Seed - best sown in a greenhouse as soon as it is ripe. Pre-soak dried seed in boiling water for 10 - 20 seconds or burn some straw on top of them and then stratify at 2 - 5°c for 2 months[1][2]. Another report says that the seed requires 60 days warm followed by 60 days cold stratification[3]. The seed usually germinates in 2 - 3 months at 15°c[4]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a cold frame or greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant out in late spring or early summer.
Cuttings of side shoots of the current season's growth, 5 - 8cm with a heel, August to December in a frame. Takes one year[5][6].
Division in early spring. Take care because the plant resents root disturbance. 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[2].
Cultivation: Requires a deep moist well-drained light or medium lime-free loam in sun or semi-shade but plants produce less fruit when they are grown in the shade[2]. Prefers a warm sunny position[7][8]. Tolerates maritime exposure[9][8][10].
Plants are not hardy in the colder parts of Britain, they tolerate temperatures down to between -5 and -10°c[2].
Pollination is often poor in Britain[7]. Another report says that the plant does not fruit in this country[1].
This species is called A. pungens manzanita by some botanists[1]. A specimen seen at Cambridge B.G. was 2.5m tall in 1989[K].
Plants resent root disturbance and should be placed in their final positions as soon as possible[1][4].
Range: South-western N. America - California.
Habitat: Dry coastal slopes and in canyons up to 1200 metres[11][2].
Edibility: Fruit - raw or cooked[7][12][13]. An agreeable acid flavour but the fruit is dry and mealy[14]. Hard to digest, the fruit should be eaten in moderation[14]. It can be dried and ground into a powder[15][16] and then used as a flavouring in soups, bread etc[17][18]. A cooling drink can be made from the fruit[16]. The berries can be crushed to make a sweet, unfermented cider[18].
Medicinal: A poultice of the chewed leaves is applied to sores and headaches[18]. The leaves are chewed as a treatment for stomach ache and cramps[18]. An infusion of the leaves is used to treat severe colds and diarrhoea[18].
A cider made from the fruit is used in the treatment of stomach complaints and as an appetizer to create appetite[18].
Usage: A yellowish-brown dye is obtained from the leaves, it does not require a mordant[19].
The leaves can be boiled and the yellowish-red extract used as a cleansing body wash[18].
The wood makes an exceedingly fine fuel[18].
Pollinators: Bees, self
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Wind: Tolerates maritime wind exposure
In Leaf: Evergreen
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: A. pungens manzanita. Uva-ursi manzanita.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Natural Food Institute. Wonder Crops 1987.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Rice, Graham. Growing from Seed Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan, 1988.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Sheat, Wilfrid. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. St Martin, 1948.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Simmons, Alan. Growing Unusual Fruit. David and Charles, 1972.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Taylor, Jane. The Milder Garden. Dent, 1990.
- ↑ Arnold-Forster, William. Shrubs for the Milder Counties.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray, 1992.
- ↑ Munz, David. A California Flora. University of California Press, 1959.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Saunders, Charles. Edible and Useful Wild Plants of the United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1976.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.
- ↑ Weiner, Michael. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books, 1980.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.5 18.6 18.7 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ Grae, Ida. Nature's Colors. MacMillan Publishing, 1974.