Ehretia dicksonii
| Ehretia dicksonii | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 7 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 33' |
| Width: | 33' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Late Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Ehretia dicksonii
Propagation: Seed - we have no information on this species but suggest sowing it as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse. Sow stored seed in late winter or early spring. 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 frame.
Cultivation: Prefers a moderately fertile well-drained sandy loam in a sunny position[1]. Requires a sheltered position[1]. Plants are shade tolerant in continental climates but they require more sun in maritime areas in order to ripen the wood[1]. Rich fertile soils tend to encourage soft sappy growth which is then subject to frost damage over winter[1]. Succeeds on chalky soils[1].
Mature plants are frost hardy, though young plants are often cut back by the frost[1]. The young growth in spring is also susceptible to frost-damage[K].
A tree was 6 metres tall at Kew in 1989[K].
This species closely resembles Ehretia macrophylla Wall. of the E. Himalaya, but the latter has the thin chartaceous, narrower leaves without scabrous on the upper surface and with sparse pubescent hairs on the lower surface, and smaller drupes, ca. 8 mm in diam[2].
The flowers, which are borne on the ripened wood of the previous season's growth, emit a powerful spicy fragrance[3].
Range: E. Asia - Japan and southern China.
Habitat: Warm rocky valleys in the warmer areas of C. and S. Japan[4]. In evergreen forests near the sea[2].
Edibility: Fruit[5][6]. No further details. The fruit is about 2cm in diameter[1].
Usage: Wood - light and tough. Used for carrying poles[7][8].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Flora of Japan.
- ↑ Genders, Roy. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale, 1994.
- ↑ Ohwi, Jisaburo. Flora of Japan. Smithsonian Institution, 1965.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Wilson, Ernest and Charles Sargent. Plantae Wilsonianae.