Gleditsia macracantha
| Gleditsia macracantha | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 6 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 59' |
| Speed: | Moderate |
| Blooms: | Mid Spring-Late Spring |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Nitrogen Fixer | |
| Medicinal Rating: | |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Gleditsia macracantha
Propagation: Seed - pre-soak for 24 hours in warm water and then sow in spring in a greenhouse[1]. The seed should have swollen up, in which case it can be sown, if it has not swollen then soak it for another 24 hours in warm water. If this does not work then file away some of the seed coat but be careful not to damage the embryo[1]. Further soaking should then cause the seed to swell. One it has swollen, the seed should germinate within 2 - 4 weeks at 20°c. As soon as they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual deep pots and plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer. Give the plants some protection from the cold for their first few winters outdoors.
Cultivation: Easily grown in a loamy soil, requiring a sunny position[2]. Succeeds in most soils[3] including sandy ones[4]. Tolerates drought once established[5] and atmospheric pollution[3].
Rather tender when young, it grows best in S. Britain[2].
Trees have a light canopy, they come into leaf late in the spring and drop their leaves in early autumn[3] making them an excellent top storey tree in a woodland garden.
The flowers have a delightful vanilla fragrance[6].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[3].
This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[3].
Range: E. Asia - China.
Habitat: Streamsides and open country at low altitudes[7].
Medicinal: The twigs and the leaves contain the alkaloids gleditschine and stenocarpine[8]. Stenocarpine has been used as a local anaesthetic whilst gleditschine causes stupor and loss of reflex activity[8].
Usage: A soap substitute is obtained from the seedpods[9][10][7].
Wood - strong, durable, coarse-grained[11].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Pollution: Tolerates environmental pollution.
Seed Ripens: Mid Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheat, Wilfrid. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. St Martin, 1948.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Brickell, Christopher. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Dorling Kindersley Publishers, 1990.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Genders, Roy. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale, 1994.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Wilson, Ernest and Charles Sargent. Plantae Wilsonianae.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Sargent, Charles. Manual of the Trees of North America. Dover, 1965.