Corkwood
Leitneria floridana
Family: Leitneriaceae
What it is like
Leitneria floridana is a deciduous Shrub growing to 6 m (19ft 8in). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower in March, and the seeds ripen from May to July. The species is dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required). . The plant is not self-fertile. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid and neutral soils and can grow in saline soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist or wet soil.
Height (m): 6
Where it is found
Borders of swamps and wet ground, also on muddy saline shores. Open or forested swamps, wet thickets, roadside ditches, saw-grass-palmetto marshes, estuarine tidal shores.
South-eastern N. America - Florida to Texas and Mississippi.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 0
Medicine
Rating: 0
Other
Rating:
Wood - very light, soft, close grained. The layers of annual growth are hardly distinguishable. This is one of the lightest known woods, it weighs about 12½lb per cubic foot, is lighter than cork and is used for floats etc.
Wood: A list of the trees and shrubs that are noted for having useful wood.
How it is grown
Requires a moist lime-free humus-rich soil, succeeding in badly-drained soils. Plants grown in Britain tolerate drier conditions than their native habitat, but they still require plenty of moisture. Plants are hardy as far north in America as Boston, Massachusetts. They are unlikely to be fully hardy in all parts of Britain. Plants produce suckers. Vegetative reproduction is predominant, forming large clones from adventitious buds on shallow roots. Dioecious, male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.
Propagating it: The seed germinates better if it is given 3 months cold stratification so is probably best sown in the autumn in a cold frame. The seed can also be sown in late winter in a greenhouse but the germination is variable. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle. Young plants should be overwintered in a greenhouse for their first year and can then be planted out in late spring after the last expected frosts. Give some winter protection from the cold for their first year outdoors. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Division of suckers in the dormant season.
Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Dappled Shade; Shady Edge; Bog Garden;
Habit: Shrub
Hardiness: 4-8
Growth:
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: Semi-shade, no shade
Moisture: Moist, wet