Herb latin name: Amelanchier humilis


Family: Rosaceae (Rose Family)



Edible parts of Amelanchier humilis:

Edible fruit - raw or cooked. Sweet. A very pleasant flavour, the fruit is juicy with a hint of apple in the taste and contains a few small seeds at the centre. The fruit is rich in iron and copper.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Deciduous
Shrub

Height:
180 cm
(6 feet)

Flowering:
April

Habitat of the herb:

Rocky or sandy shores and banks, often calcareous.

Propagation of Amelanchier humilis:

Seed - it is best harvested "green", when the seed is fully formed but before the seed coat has hardened, and then sown immediately in pots outdoors or in a cold frame. If stored seed is obtained early enough in the autumn, it can be given 4 weeks warm stratification before being left out in the winter and it should then germinate in the spring. Otherwise seed can be very slow to germinate, perhaps taking 18 months or more. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a sheltered outdoor position, planting them out once they are 20cm or more tall. If there is sufficient seed it is best to sow it thinly in an outdoor seedbed. Grow the seedlings on for two years in the seedbed before planting them out into their permanent positions during the winter. Layering in spring - takes 18 months. Division of suckers in late winter. The suckers need to have been growing for 2 years before you dig them up, otherwise they will not have formed roots. They can be planted out straight into their permanent positions if required.

Cultivation of the herb:

Rocky or sandy shores and banks, often calcareous.

Medicinal use of Amelanchier humilis:

None known

Known hazards of Amelanchier humilis:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.