Conandron ramondioides
a perennial member of the Conandron genus in the family Gesneriaceae.
Taxonomy and growth
- Family
- Gesneriaceae
- Genus
- Conandron
- Life cycle
- perennial
- Height
- 0.3 m
- Spread
- 0.2 m
- Flower type
- hermaphrodite
Uses
Edible uses
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Leaves - cooked. Used as a famine food when all else fails[2].
- Plant part
- Leaves
Environment
- Range
- E. Asia - Japan, Taiwan.
- Habitat
- Wet rocky cliffs in the mountains of C. and S. Japan[5]. Streamside rocks, rocky cliffs in forests at elevations of 600 - 1300 metres in China.
- Shade tolerance
- partial shade
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- Zone 9+
- Soil textures
- sandy, loamy, clay
- Soil pH
- very acid, 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 - surface sow as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse[1]. Do not let the pots dry out and give artificial light during the winter. The seed can also be surface sown in spring. 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 in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Division in spring.
Cultivation
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Succeeds in a shady crevice of a cool rock garden in a humus-rich well-drained acidic soil[1][3]. This species is not quite hardy when grown outdoors in Britain and is best grown in the alpine house or with some protection when grown outdoors[1][3]. A pane of glass to cover the plant is probably sufficient[1].
References
F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00
Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 1977-00-00
Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Flora of China 1994-00-00 http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/
Ohwi. G. Flora of Japan. (English translation) Smithsonian Institution 1965-00-00