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Coriaria sarmentosa

Common name:	Tuhu	Family:	Coriariaceae
Author:	G.Forst.	Botanical references:	11, 44, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	All parts of the plant, except the 'fruit' (actually the petals) are highly poisonous[61, 153, 173].
Range:	New Zealand.
Habitat:	Open places, especially on debris slopes, from the coast to the upper montane areas on North, South and Stewart Islands[44].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	coriaria = leather like; sarmentosa = producing runner;
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	New Zealand

Physical Characteristics

A decidious shrub growing to 1m. It is hardy to zone 8. It is in flower from July to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). It can fix Nitrogen. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

Fruit.

Fruit - raw or used as a beverage[11, 46, 61, 105, 153]. The pressed fruit is drunk raw or fermented into a wine[2]. Use with great caution since most parts of the plant, including the seed[173], are very toxic and some reports suggest the fruit should not be used at all[11].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Dye.

A black ink is obtained from the leaves, it can also be used as a dye[46, 139, 153]. The bark can also be used, it is rich in tannin.

Cultivation details

Prefers a fairly good loamy soil in a sunny sheltered position[11, 164, 200. Succeeds in light shade[200].
This species is not very hardy in Britain, it tolerates temperatures down to about -5°c and succeeds outdoors from Sussex and westwards[200].
There is some confusion over the name of this species, some botanists unite this species with the S. American C. ruscifolia whilst others maintain that they are distinct[11, 200].
The roots of plants in this genus bear nitrogen-fixing nodules[218]. Whilst much of the nitrogen will be utilized by the growing plant, some of it will become available for other plants growing nearby[K].

Propagation

Seed - sow February/March in a greenhouse[78]. The seed usually germinates in 1 - 3 months at 15°c[164]. 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.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 7cm with a heel, July/August in a frame. Fair percentage[78].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Coriariaceae.

To be included in the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[44] Allan. H. H. Flora of New Zealand. Government Printer, Wellington. 1961
The standard work, in 3 volumes though only the first two are of interest to the plant project. Very good on habitats.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[139] ? Flora of Chile. (in Spanish)
Some information about the useful plants of Chile.

[153] Brooker. S. G., Cambie. R. C. and Cooper. R. C. Economic Native Plants of New Zealand. Oxford University Press 1991 ISBN 0-19-558229-2
An interesting and readable book on the useful plants of New Zealand.

[164] Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan. 1990
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Yuccas, one on Sagebrush (Artemesia spp) and another on Chaerophyllum bulbosum.

[173] Crowe. A. Native Edible Plants of New Zealand. Hodder and Stoughton 1990 ISBN 0-340-508302
A very well written and illustrated book based on the authors own experiments with living on a native diet.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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