Chrysolepis sempervirens
| Chrysolepis sempervirens | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 6 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-7.3 |
| Evergreen | |
| Height: | 10' |
| Width: | 16' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Chrysolepis sempervirens (common name: dwarf golden chinquapin)
Propagation: Seed - best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe, the seed must be protected from mice etc[1]. The seed has a short viability and should not be allowed to dry out. If stored overwinter it should be kept cool and moist. As soon as 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, and consider giving them some protection from the cold for their first winter outdoors.
Cultivation: Requires a lime-free soil[2]. Prefers a sheltered semi-shaded position and a light deep moist soil[2][3].
Plants can only be grown in oceanic and Mediterranean climates, thriving in Britain[1]. In N. America this plant grows better at low elevations than C. chrysophylla. A specimen at Edinburgh Botanical Gardens is 3.5 metres tall and 6 metres across[3].
A very ornamental shrub[4].
Range: South-western N. America - California.
Habitat: Alpine regions of the coastal ranges and the Sierra Nevada[5].
Edibility: Seed - raw or cooked[6]. Very sweet and much appreciated, tasting somewhat like a hazel nut[4].
Pollinators: Wind
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
In Leaf: Evergreen
Flower Type: Monoecious
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Sargent, Charles. Manual of the Trees of North America. Dover, 1965.
- ↑ Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.