Ptelea trifoliata
| Ptelea trifoliata | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 20' |
| Width: | 20' |
| Speed: | Slow |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Mid Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Ptelea trifoliata (common name: hop tree)
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame[1]. Stored seed requires 3 months cold stratification at 5°c and should be sown as early as possible in the year[2]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in light shade in the cold frame for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Very little of the seed produced in Britain is viable[3].
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame[2].
Layering.
Cultivation: Succeeds in any fertile well-drained moisture retentive soil in full sun or light part day shade[3][1].
The young growth in spring can be damaged by late frosts.
A very ornamental plant[4], it is slow-growing and short-lived in the wild[5].
The sub-species P. trifoliata mollis. Torr.&Gray. is the form that is eaten by children[6].
The leaves are aromatic[7]. All parts of the plant emit a disagreeable odour[8]. The flowers are especially pungent and are pollinated by carrion flies[5].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[1].
Range: Eastern N. America - Quebec and New York to Florida, west to Texas and Kansas.
Habitat: Moist places, rocky slopes, edges of woods[9], alluvial thickets and gravels[10]. It is found in many different soil types[8].
Edibility: Fruit. A very bitter flavour, though it is eaten by young children[6]. The fruit is also used as a hop substitute when making beer and it is added to yeast to make it rise more quickly when making bread[11][12][13]. The fruit is produced abundantly in Britain[14], though very little of it is fertile[3]. The fruit is very thin and about 25mm long[1].
Medicinal: The root-bark is anthelmintic, antibacterial, antiperiodic, stomachic and tonic[15][9][16][17][18]. It has been mixed with other medicines in order to give added potency[19][20][21]. It has a soothing influence on the mucous membranes and promotes the appetite, being tolerated when other tonics cannot be retained[15]. It is also taken in the treatment of intermittent fevers such as malaria, heartburn, roundworms, pinworms and poor digestion[18]. Externally it is applied to wounds[18]. The roots are harvested in the autumn, the bark peeled off and dried for later use[18].
The roots are a tonic, used in the treatment of asthmatic breathing, fevers, poor appetite etc[20].
The leaves are said to be useful in the treatment of wounds and also in the destruction of intestinal worms[19][20].
Usage: Sometimes used as a hedge plant in N. America[22].
Wood - hard, heavy, close grained[17][23]. It weighs 51lb per cubic foot[8] but the tree does not grow large enough for commercial exploitation[5].
Pollinators: Carrion flies
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Seed Ripens: Mid Fall-Late Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: This species can cause photosensitization of the skin[24].
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Dirr, Michael and Charles Heuser. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press, 1987.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ Tutin, Tom et al.. Flora Europaea. Cambridge University Press, 1964.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Elias, Thomas. The Complete Trees of North America. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1980.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.
- ↑ Brickell, Christopher. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Dorling Kindersley Publishers, 1990.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Vines, Robert. Trees of North Texas. University of Texas Press, 1982.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lust, John. The Herb Book. Bantam Books, 1983.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ McPherson, Alan and Sue McPherson. Wild Food Plants of Indiana. Indiana University Press, 1977.
- ↑ Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Sargent, Charles. Manual of the Trees of North America. Dover, 1965.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Weiner, Michael. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books, 1980.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
- ↑ Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ Lauriault, Jean. Identification Guide to the Trees of Canada. Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 1989.
- ↑ Vines, Robert. Trees of Central Texas. University of Texas Press, 1987.
- ↑ Diggs, George and Barney Lipscomb. Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas. Botanical Research Institute, 1999.