Gevuina avellana
| Gevuina avellana | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 9 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-7.3 |
| Evergreen | |
| Height: | 33' |
| Width: | 33' |
| Speed: | Slow |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Late Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Gevuina avellana (common name: chilean hazel)
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse. Sow stored seed as soon as possible in the year. The seed often germinates well but then sickens and dies, it has been suggested that this is due to the plants need of a symbiotic relationship with a soil-borne fungus. Adding some soil from around a growing plant to the seed compost might improve success rates. 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, and consider giving them some protection from the cold for their first winter or two outdoors.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame.
Layering - hard pruning provides lots of material.
Cultivation: Requires a lime-free soil and a sheltered position[1]. Requires a well-drained moist fertile soil[2]. Best grown in semi-shade[3], the plant prefers woodland conditions[4].
A very ornamental plant[5][6], when dormant it is hardy to -10°c[7] in a sheltered woodland environment, but succeeds outdoors only in the milder areas of Britain, growing well in Devon and Cornwall[8][9]. The young growth in spring, even on mature plants, is frost-tender and so it is best to grow the plants in a position sheltered from the early morning sun[K]. Plants flower and set viable seed every year at Coleton Fishacre in S. Devon[10]. In general, however, flowering is unreliable in cool temperate zones[3].
The leaves are very variable in shape, ranging from pinnate to bipinnate, the leaflets varying in number from 3 to 30.
There is probably some form of symbiotic relationship with a fungus in the soil that the plants are dependant upon.
Plants are very intolerant of root disturbance[6].
Range: S. America - Chile.
Habitat: Wet mountain forests, where it rapidly colonizes cleared areas[3]. Grows from the snow-line down to the coast along the Pacific coast of the Andes[11]. It is seldom found in groups[11].
Edibility: Seed - raw or cooked. A pleasant taste, similar to cob nuts[8][12][11][13]. A popular food in Chile where it is often sold in local markets and is a much sought after item of diet[14]. The seed contains about 12.5% protein, 49.5% oil, 24.1% carbohydrate[13].
The roasted seed is used as a coffee substitute[11].
Usage: The seedcase is a source of tannin[11].
Wood - light, strong, easily worked, elastic, not very durable. It is used for furniture, oars, roof-shingles etc[15][6][11].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
In Leaf: Evergreen
Seed Ripens: Mid Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray, 1992.
- ↑ Brickell, Christopher. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Dorling Kindersley Publishers, 1990.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Taylor, Jane. The Milder Garden. Dent, 1990.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Rosengarten Jr., Frederic. The Book of Edible Nuts. Dover, 1984.
- ↑ Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Shrubs. Pan Books, 1989.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ Thurston, Edgar. Trees and Shrubs in Cornwall. Cambridge University Press, 1930.
- ↑ RHS. The Garden Volume 111. Royal Horticultural Society, 1986.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 Reiche, Karl. Flora de Chile.
- ↑ Howes, Frank. Nuts. Faber, 1948.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.