Pentachondra pumila
a perennial woody evergreen member of the Pentachondra genus in the family Epacridaceae.
Taxonomy and growth
- Family
- Epacridaceae
- Genus
- Pentachondra
- 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 or cooked[1]. Sweet and watery[7]. The fruit is a fleshy drupe about 12mm in diameter and comprising about 5 - 10 one-seeded nuts[8].
- Plant part
- Fruit
Environment
- Range
- Australia - New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria. New Zealand.
- Habitat
- Boggy and peaty ground[8] on heaths, tall alpine herb fields and sod-tussock grassland in the alpine and sub-alpine zones of Australia[2].
- Light
- full sun
- Shade tolerance
- no shade
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- Zone 8+
- Soil textures
- sandy, loamy
- Soil pH
- very acid, acid, neutral
- Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
- No
- Drought
- intolerant
Propagation
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn. Seed can be very slow to germinate, sometimes taking 5 years. Stored seed and perhaps also freshly sown seed is best scarified[4]. Sow stored seed as soon as it is received. Two or three periods of 4 - 6 weeks cold stratification can also help to reduce the germination time[4]. 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. Consider giving the plants some protection from the cold for at least their first winter outdoors. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame[8]. Subsequent growth is slow[3]. Division of rooted offsets[8].
Cultivation
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Requires an open position in a moisture-retentive gritty peaty pocket of lime-free soil in a rock garden[5][8]. Plants are intolerant of drought[8]. Prefers mild winters and relatively cool moist summers[8]. Plants are difficult to grow in cultivation, especially in hot dry areas[6]. This species only succeeds outdoors in the mildest areas of the country, it is hardy to about -5°c[8]. In Australia the green fruit hangs on the plant overwinter and ripens in the following early summer[3]. Plants rarely fruit in Britain[8].
References
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
Bird. R. (Editor) Focus on Plants. Volume 5. (formerly 'Growing from seed') Thompson and Morgan. 1991-00-00
Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-7195-5043-2
Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
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