Celastrus scandens
| Celastrus scandens | |
| Light: |    |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 2 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-7.3 |
| Cross Pollinated | |
| Height: | 26' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Late Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Shelter | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Celastrus scandens (common name: climbing bittersweet)
Propagation: Seed - gather when ripe, store in dry sand and sow February in a warm greenhouse[1]. Three months cold stratification leads to a higher germination rate[2]. Remove the flesh of the fruit since this inhibits germination[2]. Germination rates are usually good[1]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Layering in August of the current seasons growth. Takes 12 months[1].
Root cuttings, 6mm thick 25mm long in December. Plant horizontally in pots in a frame[1].
Cultivation: Prefers a deep loamy soil[3]. Dislikes chalky soils[4]. Succeeds in full or partial shade[5]. Requires a humus-rich soil if it is to be at its best[6].
A rampant climber, it requires ample space and is best grown into an old tree. It climbs by means of twining and also by prickles on the young stems[7]. Plants do not normally require pruning[6].
The foliage of some wild plants is variegated[8]. There are some named forms, selected for their ornamental value[9].
A good bee plant[4].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[9].
Plants are usually dioecious, in which case male and female plants must be grown if seed is required[7]. This species seldom fruits freely in Britain[7].
Range: Eastern N. America - Quebec, south to North Carolina and New Mexico..
Habitat: Rich soils[8] in dense moist thickets, woods and along river banks[10][11].
Edibility: Bark and twigs - they must be cooked[12]. The thickish bark is sweet and palatable after boiling[13][14][15]. Another report says that it is the inner bark that is used, and that it is a starvation food, only used when other foods are in short supply[16]. Some caution is advised in the use of this plant since there are suggestions of toxicity.
Medicinal: Climbing bittersweet was employed medicinally by a number of native North American Indian tribes, though it is scarcely used in modern herbalism[16].
The root is diaphoretic, diuretic and emetic[17]. It is a folk remedy for chronic liver and skin ailments (including skin cancer), rheumatism, leucorrhoea, dysentery and suppressed menses[17]. A strong compound infusion, usually combined with raspberry leaf tea, has been used to reduce the pain of childbirth[16]. A poultice of the boiled root has been used to treat obstinate sores, skin eruptions etc[16].
Externally, the bark is used as an ointment on burns, scrapes and skin eruptions[17].
Extracts of the bark are thought to be cardioactive[17].
Many plants in this genus contain compounds of interest for their antitumour activity[18].
Pollinators: Bees
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Seed Ripens: Mid Fall
Flower Type: Dioecious
Known Hazards: The fruit is poisonous[17]. All parts of the plant are potentially toxic[17].
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Sheat, Wilfrid. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. St Martin, 1948.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Dirr, Michael and Charles Heuser. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press, 1987.
- ↑ Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 International Bee Research Association. Garden Plants Valuable to Bees. International Bee Research Association, 1981.
- ↑ Brickell, Christopher. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Dorling Kindersley Publishers, 1990.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Grey-Wilson, Christopher and Victoria Matthews. Gardening on Walls. Collins, 1983.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Thomas, Graham. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray, 1992.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Britton, Nathaniel and Addison Brown. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1970.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ Stuart, Malcolm. The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism. Orbis Publishing, 1979.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 17.5 Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
- ↑ Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.