Pentachondra pumila
Family: Epacridaceae
What it is like
Pentachondra pumila is an evergreen Shrub growing to 0.1 m (0ft 4in) by 0.5 m (1ft 8in). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 8. It is in leaf all year, in flower from June to July. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs). Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid and neutral soils and can grow in very acid soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.
Height (m): 0.1
Where it is found
Boggy and peaty ground on heaths, tall alpine herb fields and sod-tussock grassland in the alpine and sub-alpine zones of Australia.
Australia - New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria. New Zealand.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 1
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.
Medicine
Rating: 0
Other
Rating:
How it is grown
Requires an open position in a moisture-retentive gritty peaty pocket of lime-free soil in a rock garden. Plants are intolerant of drought. Prefers mild winters and relatively cool moist summers. Plants are difficult to grow in cultivation, especially in hot dry areas. This species only succeeds outdoors in the mildest areas of the country, it is hardy to about -5°c. In Australia the green fruit hangs on the plant overwinter and ripens in the following early summer. Plants rarely fruit in Britain.
Propagating it: 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.
Best place to grow: Cultivated Beds;
Habit: Shrub
Hardiness: 7-10
Growth:
Soil: Light (sandy), medium
Shade: No shade
Moisture: Moist