Billardiera cymosa
Sweet Appleberry
an evergreen member of the Billardiera genus in the family Pittosporaceae.
Taxonomy and growth
- Family
- Pittosporaceae
- Genus
- Billardiera
- Foliage
- evergreen
- Flower type
- hermaphrodite
Uses
Edible uses
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Fruit - raw or cooked[2]. A delightful aniseed flavour[5]. The fruit is up to 1.5cm long[5].
- Plant part
- Fruit
Ecology and functions
- Ecosystem niche
- Climber
Environment
- Range
- Australia - South Australia, Victoria.
- Light
- full sun
- Shade tolerance
- light shade
- Water
- moderate
- Soil textures
- sandy, loamy
- Soil pH
- acid, neutral
- Drainage
- well drained
- Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
- No
- Drought
- intolerant
Propagation
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Seed - best sown in a warm greenhouse as soon as it is ripe. Only just cover the seed. Sow stored seed in early spring in a warm greenhouse. The germination of fresh seed is usually prolific, but stored seed can take a year to germinate[6]. 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. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 10 - 12cm with a heel, July/August in a frame. Fair percentage. Layering.
Cultivation
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Requires a moist, well-drained, humus-rich, lime-free soil in sun or semi-shade with a cool root run[6]. Plants are hardy to at least -7°c in Australian gardens[4] but this cannot be translated directly to British gardens due to our cooler summers and longer colder and wetter winters. They probably require greenhouse protection in Britain[1], though they may succeed outdoors in a selected area in the milder areas of this country. Mulching the roots in winter will provide extra protection for the plant and even if the top is cut back by the cold it might resprout from the base[6].
References
F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00
Cribb. A. B. and J. W. Wild Food in Australia. Fontana 1976-00-00 ISBN 0-00-634436-4
Ewart. A. J. Flora of Victoria.
Wrigley. J. W. and Fagg. M. Australian Native Plants. Collins. (Australia) 1988-00-00 ISBN 0-7322-0021-0
Low. T. Wild Food Plants of Australia. Angus and Robertson. 1989-00-00 ISBN 0-207-14383-8
Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5