Melicytus ramiflorus
| Melicytus ramiflorus | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 9 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Cross Pollinated | |
| Height: | 30' |
| Width: | 30' |
| Blooms: | Early Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Melicytus ramiflorus (common name: whitey wood)
Propagation: Seed - sow as soon as it is ripe or in early spring in a greenhouse[1]. 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[2]. Consider giving them some protection from the cold for their first few winters outdoors.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 5 - 10cm long with a heel, June/July in a frame[2].
Division of suckers in the dormant season[3].
Cultivation: Requires a sunny position in a well-drained moderately fertile soil[1].
This species is not very hardy in Britain, it requires the protection of a sunny wall even in the mildest areas of the country[4][5]. Some trees in Penzance in Cornwall were 6 metres tall in 1930 and withstood temperatures down to -10°c[6]. Some provenances from New Zealand should withstand at least -5°c, more if they are grown in a sunny sheltered position[1].
Pruning is tolerated if it is required[7].
Dioecious, male and female plants must be grown if fruit and seed is required.
Range: New Zealand.
Habitat: Lowland to montane light forest and forest margins, North, South and Stewart Islands[8].
Edibility: Fruit[9][10][11]. We have no more details except that the fruit is abundantly produced if male and female trees are grown[6].
Usage: A charcoal is produced from the wood[12][13].
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Dioecious
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sheat, Wilfrid. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. St Martin, 1948.
- ↑ Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica 15th edition. 1982.
- ↑ Thurston, Edgar. Trees and Shrubs in Cornwall. Cambridge University Press, 1930.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray, 1992.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ Brickell, Christopher. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Dorling Kindersley Publishers, 1990.
- ↑ Allan, Harry. Flora of New Zealand. Government Printer Publications, 1961.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.