Aristotelia chilensis
| Aristotelia chilensis | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 8 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-7.3 |
| Evergreen Cross Pollinated | |
| Height: | 10' |
| Width: | 16' |
| Blooms: | Late Spring |
| Native to: | |
| Shelter | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Aristotelia chilensis (common name: macqui)
Propagation: Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse. 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. Once the plants are at least 20cm tall, plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Consider giving them some protection from the cold for at least their first winter outdoors.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame[1].
Cuttings of mature wood of the current season's growth in early winter[2]. Take cuttings 15 - 30cm long and plant them in pots or the open soil in a greenhouse. They normally root very easily and can be potted up in early summer then planted out late the following spring[K].
Cultivation: Prefers a slightly acid, moderately fertile well-drained soil in full sun with shelter from cold drying winds[3]. Plants are fairly tolerant of maritime exposure[K].
This species is only hardy in the milder and moister areas of Britain[4] and even there can be cut back in severe winters[K]. If the plants are cut back by winter frosts, they normally put up a crowd of vigorous shoots in the spring and these will need thinning[5]. The fruits are freely produced in S.W. England[1]. There is a very good plant at Rosehill near Falmouth[6].
The flowers are very attractive to bees[6].
Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required[4].
Range: S. America - Chile, Argentina.
Habitat: A weedy shrub of cleared forests and waste ground, growing in damp humus rich soils on lower mountain hillsides by rivers between latitudes 31 and 40° south[7].
Edibility: Fruit - raw or dried for winter use[1][8][9][10][11]. A pleasant taste somewhat like bilberries[12]. The fruit is rather small, about 6mm in diameter[3].
Medicinal: A wine made from the fruit is said to have medicinal properties[1].
The plant (the exact part is not specified) is astringent, febrifuge and poultice. It is used in the treatment of throat infections and intestinal tumours[7].
Pollinators: Bees, insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
In Leaf: Evergreen
Seed Ripens: Late Summer-Early Fall
Flower Type: Dioecious
Also Known As: A. macqui. Cornus chilensis
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Thomas, Graham. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray, 1992.
- ↑ Grey-Wilson, Christopher and Victoria Matthews. Gardening on Walls. Collins, 1983.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Thurston, Edgar. Trees and Shrubs in Cornwall. Cambridge University Press, 1930.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Reiche, Karl. Flora de Chile.
- ↑ Douglas, James. Alternative Foods.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Towle, Margaret. The Ethnobotany of Pre-Columbian Peru.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.