Persoonia arborea
| Persoonia arborea | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-7.3 |
| Evergreen | |
| Height: | 20' |
| Speed: | Slow |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Persoonia arborea
Propagation: Seed - scarify the seed and sow it in a greenhouse as soon as it is ripe in the autumn. Keep the seed tray in a sunny position during the following summer and the seed should germinate in the autumn. About 46% germination can be expected. Carefully prick the young seedlings out into individual pots within 1 - 2 days of emerging, the root is very brittle and plants are easily killed[1]. Grow the plants on in the greenhouse for at least their first 2 winters and plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer. Give some protection from winter cold for at least their first winter outdoors.
Cultivation: We have very little information on this species and do not know how hardy it will be in Britain. It is a slow growing species[2]. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus.
Requires a warm position in full sun in a freely draining preferably sandy slightly acid soil, preferring a pH around 6.3 to 6.5[1]. Soils should be low in nutrients, especially nitrates and phosphates[1].
Range: Australia - Victoria.
Habitat: Moist shady woods to the alpine and sub-alpine zones[2].
Edibility: Fruit - raw or cooked]. The fruit has a sweet fibrous pulp that is fixed to one large seed, it tastes somewhat like sweet cotton wool and is relished by the Australian Aborigines[3][2][4].
Usage: Wood - tough and hard[2].
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
In Leaf: Evergreen
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
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 2.2 2.3 Ewart, Alfred. Recording Census of the Victorian Flora. 1923.
- ↑ Cribb, Alan and Joan Cribb. Wild Food in Australia. Fontana, 1976.
- ↑ Low, Tim. Wild Food Plants of Australia. Angus and Robertson, 1989.