Herb: Winter Apple


Latin name: Myoporum debile


Synonyms: Eremophila debilis, Myoporum diffusum


Family: Myoporaceae



Medicinal use of Winter Apple:

Used in the treatment of V.D. by the Australian Aborigines.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Evergreen
Shrub

Height:
100 cm
(3 1/4 foot)

Flowering:
July to
September

Habitat of the herb:

Open forests, grassland and dry areas in Australia. By the coast between Raglan and Kawhia in New Zealand.

Edible parts of Winter Apple:

Fruit - raw or cooked. Slightly bitter. A pleasantly salty-sweet flavour. The fruits are 6 - 8mm long. Caution is advised since the fruit probably contains a liver toxin.

Propagation of the herb:

Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse. 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 their first few winters outdoors. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 5 - 10cm with a heel, July/August in a frame. Pot up in the autumn. Good percentage.

Cultivation of Winter Apple:

Open forests, grassland and dry areas in Australia. By the coast between Raglan and Kawhia in New Zealand.

Known hazards of Myoporum debile:

The fruit of this plant probably contains a liver toxin.

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.