Practical
Plants

Calligonum aphyllum

a perennial woody evergreen member of the Calligonum genus in the family Polygonaceae.

No photo available

Taxonomy and growth

Life cycle
perennial
Foliage
evergreen
Woodiness
woody
Height
1.2 m
Flower type
hermaphrodite

Uses

Edible uses

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

Young shoots - cooked[2]. An edible gum or mucilage is obtained from the leaves[2]. The pounded root furnishes an edible mucilaginous substance resembling gum tragacanth (see Ferula species)[4][3]. One report says that the plant has an edible fruit[2]. This possibly refers to the seed.

Plant part
Fruit
Product or use
Gum
Plant part
Leaves

Environment

Range
Europe to Asia - Caspian Sea.
Habitat
Sandy soils in dry arid regions[1][6].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
no shade
Water
moderate
Hardiness
Zone 4+
Soil textures
sandy, loamy
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 - we have no information on this species. The seed is probably best sown in late winter in a greenhouse. Prick out the seedlings when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant out in early summer of the following year.

Cultivation

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

Requires a dryish sunny position and a sandy loam[1]. Plants are tolerant of extreme cold but they are impatient of shade or excessive moisture[1].

References

  1. F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00

    ↩1↩2↩3

  2. Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976-00-00

    ↩1↩2↩3

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

    ↩

  4. Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972-00-00 ISBN 0-486-20459-6

    ↩

  5. Flora of China 1994-00-00 http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/

  6. ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964-00-00

    ↩

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