Correa alba
| Correa alba | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 9 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-7.3 |
| Evergreen | |
| Height: | 5' |
| Width: | 5' |
| Blooms: | Mid Spring-Early Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Correa alba (common name: cape barren tea)
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse. Fresh seed usually germinates in 1 - 3 months at 20°c[1]. Stored seed can be difficult to germinate, leaching with water can help, or perhaps a short burst of fire will initiate germination[2]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the 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.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a shaded frame[3]. Cuttings are generally quite easy to root[2].
Cultivation: Requires a freely draining lime-free peaty soil or a sandy soil rich in organic matter and a sunny position[4][3]. Another report says that plants do best in a well-drained, rather poor soil with some limestone[2]. Plants are very resistant to salt spray[5].
This species is hardy to at least -7°c in Australian gardens[5], though this cannot be translated directly to British gardens due to our cooler summers and longer, colder and wetter winters. Plants can tolerate at least short-lived frosts down to about -5°c in Britain[3] and they can be grown on a sunny wall in the milder parts of the country[4][6]. In S. Cornwall they succeed as free-growing shrubs[4].
Range: Australia - New South Wales, Tasmania.
Habitat: Sandy and rocky habitats by the coast[7][5][3].
Edibility: The leaves can be used as a tea substitute[8][9][10]. They are pleasantly aromatic with a sweetish flavour[11][7].
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Wind: Tolerates maritime wind exposure
In Leaf: Evergreen
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ Bird, Alfred. Growing from Seed Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan, 1990.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Conservatory and Indoor Plants Volumes 1 & 2. Pan Books, London, 1998.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Wrigley, John and Murray Fagg. Australian Native Plants. Collins, 1988.
- ↑ Taylor, Jane. The Milder Garden. Dent, 1990.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Ewart, Alfred. Recording Census of the Victorian Flora. 1923.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Cribb, Alan and Joan Cribb. Wild Food in Australia. Fontana, 1976.