natural herbs
Pentachondra pumila
 

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• Common names

Herb latin name: Pentachondra pumila

Family: Epacridaceae

Edible parts of Pentachondra pumila:

Fruit - raw or cooked. Sweet and watery. The fruit is a fleshy drupe about 12mm in diameter and comprising about 5 - 10 one-seeded nuts.

Description of the plant:

Habitat of the herb:

Boggy and peaty ground on heaths, tall alpine herb fields and sod-tussock grassland in the alpine and sub-alpine zones of Australia.

Propagation of Pentachondra pumila:

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn. Seed can be very slow to germinate, sometimes taking 5 years. Stored seed and perhaps also freshly sown seed is best scarified. Sow stored seed as soon as it is received. Two or three periods of 4 - 6 weeks cold stratification can also help to reduce the germination time. 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 at least their first winter outdoors. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Subsequent growth is slow. Division of rooted offsets.

Cultivation of the herb:

Boggy and peaty ground on heaths, tall alpine herb fields and sod-tussock grassland in the alpine and sub-alpine zones of Australia.

Medicinal use of Pentachondra pumila:

None known

Known hazards of Pentachondra pumila:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.