Herb: Ogeechee Lime


Latin name: Nyssa ogeche


Synonyms: Nyssa candicans, Nyssa capitata


Family: Nyssaceae (Tupelo Family, Sour Gum Family)



Edible parts of Ogeechee Lime:

Fruit - cooked. It is used in preserves. A lime substitute. Large with an agreeably acid flavour, they make good preserves and a refreshing lemonade-like drink. The fruit is produced in small clusters of 2 - 3, it is up to 4cm long, has a thick, juicy, very acid flesh and contains a single seed.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Deciduous
Tree

Height:
15 m
(49 feet)

Flowering:
March
to May

Habitat of the herb:

Wet swamps on the coastal plain. Found in permanently wet sites or those that are inundated for part of the year.

Other uses of Ogeechee Lime:

Wood - coarse-grained, light, soft, tough, not strong and difficult to split. It has an intricately contorted and twisted grain. The tree is too rare and small to be economically important.

Propagation of the herb:

The seed can be sown in late winter in a cold frame but would probably benefit from an earlier sowing if the seed can be obtained any sooner. Three months stratification at 5°C improves germination. Germination rates are variable. As soon as 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. Give the plants some protection from the cold for their first winter outdoors. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Layering.

Cultivation of Ogeechee Lime:

Wet swamps on the coastal plain. Found in permanently wet sites or those that are inundated for part of the year.

Medicinal use of the herb:

None known

Known hazards of Nyssa ogeche:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.