Practical
Plants

Astroloma humifusum

Cranberry Heath

a perennial woody evergreen member of the Astroloma genus in the family Epacridaceae.

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Taxonomy and growth

Life cycle
perennial
Foliage
evergreen
Woodiness
woody
Height
0.1 m
Spread
0.5 m
Flower type
hermaphrodite

Uses

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Fruit - raw. A sweet viscid pulp[8][1][2][3][5]. The taste is somewhat like apples[6]. The fruit is a drupe about 7 - 11mm wide[6][7].

Plant part
Fruit

Environment

Range
Australia - Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania.
Habitat
Sandy loams in the mountain zone[2]. In heathland and open forests[6][7]. Also found on cleared land in a range of soils including sandstone, shale and heavy clay[7].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
no shade
Water
moderate
Hardiness
Zone 8+
Soil textures
sandy, loamy, clay
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline
Drainage
well drained
Tolerances
drought
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
tolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. The seed has a hard coat and some form of scarification is necessary or the seed can take up to 5 years to germinate. Two or three periods each of 4 - 6 weeks cold stratification can reduce the time taken to germinate[4]. As soon as 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. When large enough, plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer. Cuttings of firm young tip growths[7]. It is very difficult to obtain suitable wood[3] and the cuttings are slow to root[7].

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Succeeds in most well-drained soils[7]. Established plants are moderately drought tolerant[7]. This species is hardy to about -7°c in Australian gardens[3], but this cannot be translated directly to British gardens because of our cooler summers and longer, colder and wetter winters. Plants can survive frosts in Britain, particularly if the roots are well mulched, but they are best when grown in a cold greenhouse in this country[7]. The plants have a very fine root system which makes transplanting difficult[3].

References

  1. Cribb. A. B. and J. W. Wild Food in Australia. Fontana 1976-00-00 ISBN 0-00-634436-4

    ↩

  2. Ewart. A. J. Flora of Victoria.

    ↩1↩2

  3. Wrigley. J. W. and Fagg. M. Australian Native Plants. Collins. (Australia) 1988-00-00 ISBN 0-7322-0021-0

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4

  4. Bird. R. (Editor) Focus on Plants. Volume 5. (formerly 'Growing from seed') Thompson and Morgan. 1991-00-00

    ↩

  5. Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984-00-00 ISBN 3874292169

    ↩

  6. Low. T. Wild Food Plants of Australia. Angus and Robertson. 1989-00-00 ISBN 0-207-14383-8

    ↩1↩2↩3

  7. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5↩6↩7↩8

  8. Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959-00-00

    ↩

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