medicinal herbs
Aristotelia serrata
 

• Medicinal herbs
• Natural herbs
• Latin names
• Common names

Herb latin name: Aristotelia serrata

Synonyms: Aristotelia racemosa, Dicera serrata

Family: Elaeocarpaceae

Medicinal use of Aristotelia serrata:

Antirheumatic, ophthalmic, poultice.

Description of the plant:

Habitat of the herb:

Forest and scrub from lowland to montane areas in North, South and Stewart Islands.

Edible parts of Aristotelia serrata:

Fruit - raw or cooked. A delicious taste. The fruit is about 7mm in diameter.

Other uses of the herb:

Yields a blue/black dye. No further details are given. The wood is used in cabinet making, turnery, inlay etc as well as for making charcoal.

Propagation of Aristotelia serrata:

Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Once the plants are at least 20cm tall, plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Consider giving them some protection from the cold for at least their first winter outdoors. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Cuttings of mature wood of the current season's growth in early winter. Take cuttings 15 - 30cm long and plant them in pots or the open soil in a greenhouse. They normally root very easily and can be potted up in early summer then planted out late the following spring.

Cultivation of the herb:

Forest and scrub from lowland to montane areas in North, South and Stewart Islands.

Known hazards of Aristotelia serrata:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.