medicinal herbs
Japanese Photinia
Photinia glabra

Herb: Japanese Photinia

Latin name: Photinia glabra

Synonyms: Crataegus glabra, Sorbus glabra

Family: Rosaceae (Rose Family)

Medicinal use of Japanese Photinia:

Anthelmintic. Also used in the treatment of obstinate dysentery, piles and jaundice.

Description of the plant:

Plant:

Evergreen
Shrub

Height:

6 m
(20 feet)

Flowering:

May

Habitat of the herb:

Hills in Szechwan. Slopes, mixed forests a elevations of 500 - 800 metres.

Edible parts of Japanese Photinia:

Fruit - dried. The fruit is about 5mm in diameter.

Other uses of the herb:

The wood is hard and heavy, suitable for making furniture and other small articles.

Propagation of Japanese Photinia:

Seed - best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe in the autumn. Stored seed will probably require stratification and should be sown as early in the year as possible. Germination is usually good. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Basal cuttings in a frame. Harvest the shoots with plenty of underground stem when they are about 8 - 10cm above the ground. Pot them up into individual pots and keep them in light shade in a cold frame or greenhouse until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the summer. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 7 - 10cm with a heel, July/August in a frame. They take about 2 months to root and should be overwintered in a greenhouse, planting out in late spring. Fair to good percentage. Cuttings of almost ripe side shoots, 7 - 12cm with a heel, October/November in a cold frame. Lift the following autumn and plant in their permanent positions. Layering in autumn. Partially sever the layer about 12 months later and lift in the following spring. High percentage.

Cultivation of the herb: