Coprosma billardieri
| Coprosma billardieri | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 9 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-7.3 |
| Evergreen Cross Pollinated | |
| Height: | 10' |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Coprosma billardieri (common name: native currant)
Propagation: Seed - probably best sown as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse or cold frame[K]. Sow stored seed in spring in a cold frame[1]. Germination can be slow, often taking more than 12 months even when fresh seed is used[K]. When the seedlings are large enough to handle, prick them out into individual pots. Grow on the plants for at least their first winter in a greenhouse and plant out in late spring or early summer. Give the plants some protection from the cold for their first winter outdoors[K].
Cuttings of mature wood of the current year's growth, autumn in a frame.
Cultivation: Requires a moist, very well-drained neutral to slightly acid soil in full sun or light shade[1]. Succeeds in most soils[2].
Somewhat intolerant of frost, this species is only likely to succeed outdoors in the mildest areas of Britain[1]. Plants are hardy to at least -7°c in Australian gardens[3] though this does not translate directly to British gardens due to our cooler summers and longer, colder and wetter winters.
Hybridizes freely with other members of this genus[1][2].
Plants are tolerant of heavy clipping or pruning[2].
Plants are normally dioecious, though in some species the plants produce a few flowers of the opposite sex before the main flowering and a few hermaphrodite flowers are sometimes produced[2]. Male and female plants must usually be grown if seed is required.
Range: Australia - New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria.
Habitat: Shady mountain gullies in moister forests to the montane zone[3].
Edibility: Fruit - raw or cooked. Sweet and juicy[4][3][5], but with little flavour[2]. The red fruit is about 7mm in diameter[1][2].
The roasted seed is an excellent coffee substitute[6].
Usage: A yellow dye is obtained from the wood, it does not require a mordant[6].
Pollinators: Wind
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
In Leaf: Evergreen
Flower Type: Dioecious
Also Known As: C. quadrifida. (Labill.)Robinson.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Knees, Sabina. The New Plantsman Volume 2. Royal Horticultural Society, 1995.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Wrigley, John and Murray Fagg. Australian Native Plants. Collins, 1988.
- ↑ Cribb, Alan and Joan Cribb. Wild Food in Australia. Fontana, 1976.
- ↑ Crowe, Andrew. Native Edible Plants of New Zealand. Hodder and Stoughton, 1990.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Brooker, Stanley. Economic Native Plants of New Zealand. Oxford University Press, 1991.