Picrasma quassioides
Nigaki
a perennial woody deciduous member of the Picrasma genus in the family Simaroubaceae.
Taxonomy and growth
- Family
- Simaroubaceae
- Genus
- Picrasma
- Life cycle
- perennial
- Foliage
- deciduous
- Woodiness
- woody
- Height
- 10 m
- Spread
- 7 m
- Flower type
- hermaphrodite
Uses
Edible uses
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Fruit[1][6]. Small and red[8]. The fruit is a berry about 7mm in diameter[10]. Young buds (the report does not say if they are flower or leaf buds) are used to make a tea[6][7][8]. A bitter substance called quassin' is extracted from (the bark of?) the tree and can be used as a hop substitute in brewing beer[8].
- Product or use
- Condiment
- Product or use
- Tea
- Plant part
- Fruit
Medicinal uses
Historical medicinal uses. These records describe reported uses. They do not establish safety or effectiveness. Ask a qualified health professional before using any plant medicinally.
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
The wood contains a number of medicinal compounds and has been shown to be anthelmintic, antiamoebal, antiviral, bitter, hypotensive and stomachic[14]. It increases the flow of gastric juices[14]. It is used in Korea in the treatment of digestive problems, especially chronic dyspepsia[14]. A decoction of the stem bark is bitter, febrifuge and tonic[15][17][3][4][5][11][12][13]. The leaves have been used to treat itchy skins[12][13]. (Probably acting by killing body parasites[K].
- Product or use
- Bitter
- Product or use
- Febrifuge
- Product or use
- Parasiticide
- Product or use
- Tonic
- Product or use
- Antiviral
- Product or use
- Anthelmintic
- Product or use
- Hypotensive
- Product or use
- Stomachic
Material uses
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
The bark is used as an insecticide[15][17]. Another report says that it is the wood that is used[12]. It is a substitute for the insecticide quassia, which is obtained from the wood of a tropical tree[12]. Quassia is a relatively safe organic insecticide that breaks down quickly and is of low toxicity to mammals. It has been used as a parasiticide to get rid of lice, fleas etc. Wood - hard, fine and close grained. Used for mosaic, utensils etc[15][17][4].
- Product or use
- Insecticide
- Product or use
- Wood
Ecology and functions
- Ecosystem niche
- Secondary canopy
Environment
- Range
- E. Asia - China, Japan, Korea.
- Habitat
- Lowland woods and hills[16]. Forests in the higher hills of the W. Himalayas, in ravines under forests of deodar, oak, fir etc, 1800 - 2400 metres[3].
- Light
- full sun
- Shade tolerance
- light shade
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- Zone 6+
- Soil textures
- sandy, loamy, clay
- Soil pH
- acid, neutral, alkaline
- 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 a cold frame. Stored seed requires 3 months cold stratification[2] and should be sown as early in the year as possible. 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, July/August in a frame[10]. Root cuttings 4cm long in December. Plant them out horizontally in pots in a greenhouse[18].
Cultivation
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Requires a fertile humus-rich moisture-retentive loam in a sunny position[10]. Plants also succeed when growing in semi-shade[9]. According to [10] this plant is only hardy to zone 10 (not tolerating frosts) but there are healthy trees in many parts of Britain including one 8.5 metres tall at Kew in 1981, one 8 metres tall seen growing in light woodland shade at Cambridge Botanical Gardens where it was bearing fruit in the autumn of 1996 and one 9 metres tall at Westonbirt in 1980[11, K].
References
Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976-00-00
Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press 1987-00-00 ISBN 0942375009
Gamble. J. S. A Manual of Indian Timbers. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh 1972-00-00
Gupta. B. L. Forest Flora of Chakrata, Dehra Dun and Saharanpur. Forest Research Institute Press 1945-00-00
Kariyone. T. Atlas of Medicinal Plants.
Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984-00-00 ISBN 3874292169
Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 1977-00-00
Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985-00-00 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986-00-00
Manandhar. N. P. Plants and People of Nepal Timber Press. Oregon. 2002-00-00 ISBN 0-88192-527-6
Medicinal Plants in the Republic of Korea World Health Organisation, Manila 1998-00-00 ISBN 92 9061 120 0
Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959-00-00
Ohwi. G. Flora of Japan. (English translation) Smithsonian Institution 1965-00-00
Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974-00-00 ISBN 0094579202
Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948-00-00