Stauntonia hexaphylla
| Stauntonia hexaphylla | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 9 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Evergreen Cross Pollinated | |
| Height: | 33' |
| Width: | 23' |
| Speed: | Moderate |
| Blooms: | Mid Spring |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Stauntonia hexaphylla
Propagation: Seed - sow early spring in a greenhouse. The seed can take 18 months to germinate. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots once they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer and consider giving them some protection from the cold for their first winter or two outdoors[K].
Cuttings.
Cultivation: Requires a well-drained moisture retentive soil in a sheltered position[1]. Succeeds in acid or alkaline soils, in full sun or in semi-shade[1]. It grows best if its roots are in a shady position and the top is allowed to grow into the sun[K].
A very ornamental plant, it is only hardy outdoors in the milder areas of Britain[2][3][4], tolerating temperatures down to about -10°c when the plant is fully dormant[5]. The young growth in spring, however, can be damaged by late frosts. It is cultivated for its edible fruit in Japan.
The flowers have a pleasant sweet perfume[6].
A climbing plant that supports itself by twining around other plants and supports[7].
Plants are dioecious but females have borne fruit at times in the absence of a male pollinator[3][1]. In Britain fruit is usually only formed in sunny summers[8][7]. Hand pollination may improve fruit set[8]. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.
Range: E. Asia - Burma, Japan, Korea.
Habitat: Thickets and woodland in lowland from C. Japan southwards[9].
Edibility: Fruit - raw or cooked[10][2][9][11]. Sweet and watery[3] with a honey-like flavour[12], it is highly esteemed as a dessert fruit in Japan[13]. The fruit is up to 5cm long[14].
Medicinal: The roots, stem and fruits are antirheumatic and diuretic[15]. The juice of the fruit is used in the treatment of ophthalmia[10].
Pollinators: Insects, hand
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
In Leaf: Evergreen
Flower Type: Dioecious
Also Known As: Rajania hexaphylla.
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 Simmons, Alan. Growing Unusual Fruit. David and Charles, 1972.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ Thurston, Edgar. Trees and Shrubs in Cornwall. Cambridge University Press, 1930.
- ↑ Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Shrubs. Pan Books, 1989.
- ↑ Genders, Roy. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale, 1994.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Grey-Wilson, Christopher and Victoria Matthews. Gardening on Walls. Collins, 1983.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Taylor, Jane. The Milder Garden. Dent, 1990.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Ohwi, Jisaburo. Flora of Japan. Smithsonian Institution, 1965.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Read, Bernard. Famine Foods Listed in the Chiu Huang Pen Ts'ao. Taipei Southern Materials Centre, 1977.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Brickell, Christopher. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Dorling Kindersley Publishers, 1990.
- ↑ Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.