Cyathodes straminea
a perennial woody evergreen member of the Cyathodes genus in the family Epacridaceae.
Taxonomy and growth
- Family
- Epacridaceae
- Genus
- Cyathodes
- Life cycle
- perennial
- Foliage
- evergreen
- Woodiness
- woody
- Growth rate
- slow
- Flower type
- hermaphrodite
Uses
Edible uses
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Fruit - raw or cooked. More astringent and less palatable than C. glauca[2].
- Plant part
- Fruit
Environment
- Range
- Australia - Tasmania.
- Habitat
- Alpine and sub-alpine zones.
- Shade tolerance
- partial shade
- Water
- moderate
- Soil textures
- sandy, loamy, clay
- 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 - surface sow in ericaceous soil, February/March in a cold frame. Do not exclude light. Germination can take place within 1 - 2 months at 18°c but often takes 3 - 5 years. Scarification will reduce the germination time and 2 or 3 periods of 4 - 6 weeks cold stratification alternated with 4 weeks warm stratification can also help. Perhaps sowing the seed as soon as it is ripe would also be beneficial. The seedlings can be very slow to form roots and need to be potted up with great care. Grow them on for at least two years in the greenhouse before planting them out in late spring or early summer. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Neither easy nor reliable. Air layering.
Cultivation
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Requires a moist well-drained lime-free humus rich soil in a sheltered site in partial or dappled shade[1][3][4]. Plants are very susceptible to drought[4]. A good rock garden plant[1]. Slow growing[1]. This species is not very hardy in Britain, it might succeed outdoors in the mildest areas of the country otherwise it is best grown in a cold greenhouse. Plants are hardy to at least -7°c in Australian gardens though this cannot be translated directly to British gardens because of our cooler summers and longer, colder and wetter winters. Plants grow best in areas with moderate winters and cool moist summers[4]. Plants have very fine root systems and great care must be taken when transplanting them[4].
References
Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981-00-00
Cribb. A. B. and J. W. Wild Food in Australia. Fontana 1976-00-00 ISBN 0-00-634436-4
Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan. 1990-00-00
Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5