Herb latin name: Cornus hongkongensis


Family: Cornaceae (Dogwood Family)



Edible parts of Cornus hongkongensis:

Fruit. Eaten raw and used for making wine. In some forms, the fruit is sweet and tasty.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Evergreen
Shrub

Height:
15 m
(49 feet)

Flowering:
April
to June

Habitat of the herb:

Thickets, broad-leaved evergreen forests, roadsides, by streams, valleys, slopes and forests at elevations of 400 - 2500 metres.

Other uses of Cornus hongkongensis:

The hard wood is used as building material and agricultural implments.

Propagation of the herb:

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame or in an outdoors seedbed if there is sufficient seed. The seed must be separated from the fruit flesh since this contains germination inhibitors. Stored seed should be cold stratified for 3 - 4 months and sown as early as possible in the year. Scarification may also help as may a period of warm stratification before the cold stratification. Germination, especially of stored seed, can be very slow, taking 18 months or more. Prick out the seedlings of cold-frame sown seeds into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and grow the plants on for their first winter in a greenhouse, planting out in the spring after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe side shoots, July/August in a frame. Cuttings of mature wood of the current year's growth, taken with a heel if possible, autumn in a cold frame. High percentage. Layering of new growth in June/July. Takes 9 months.

Cultivation of Cornus hongkongensis:

Thickets, broad-leaved evergreen forests, roadsides, by streams, valleys, slopes and forests at elevations of 400 - 2500 metres.

Medicinal use of the herb:

None known

Known hazards of Cornus hongkongensis:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.