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Debregeasia longifolia

Common name:	Wild Rhea	Family:	Urticaceae
Author:	(Burm.f.)Wedd.	Botanical references:	200, 266
Synonyms:	Debregeasia velutina (Gaud.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	E. Asia - China to the Himalayas.
Habitat:	Mainly found on old cultivated land to 2100 metres in the Himalayas[146]. Along the banks of streams at elevations of 500 - 2200 metres in Nepal[272].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Urtica longifolia[G]
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	longifolia = long leaved
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Urticales. Nettle family

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen shrub growing to 5m. It is hardy to zone 8 and is frost tender. It is in leaf all year, in flower from July to September, and the seeds ripen from October to February. The flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant). We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland). It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge.

Edible Uses

Fruit.

Fruit - raw or cooked[158, 177, 272]. The fruit is up to 12mm in diameter[200].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Parasiticide.

The juice of the leaves is applied to areas of the skin affected by scabies[272].

Other Uses

Fibre.

A strong fibre is obtained from the stem bark[272]. It is used for making twine and rope[146, 158].
Wood is used mainly for fuel[272].

Cultivation details

Prefers a fertile well-drained loam with some shelter at the hottest part of the day[200].
Plants tolerate occasional lows to about -5° c[260]. This species is probably not very hardy in Britain and will probably require greenhouse protection, though it might be possible to grow it outdoors in the mildest areas of the country, especially if it is given the protection of a warm wall.
A very variable species[266].
Dioecious, male and female plants must be grown if seed and fruit is required.

Propagation

Seed - sow late winter to mid-summer in a greenhouse and only just cover the seed. Germination usually takes place within 1 - 2 months at 20° c[175]. 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.
Softwood cuttings in early summer[1].

Suppliers

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

Web References

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

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

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[146] Gamble. J. S. A Manual of Indian Timbers. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh 1972
Written last century, but still a classic, giving a lot of information on the uses and habitats of Indian trees. Not for the casual reader.

[158] Gupta. B. L. Forest Flora of Chakrata, Dehra Dun and Saharanpur. Forest Research Institute Press 1945
A good flora for the middle Himalayan forests, sparsly illustrated. Not really for the casual reader.

[175] Bird. R. (Editor) Focus on Plants. Volume 5. (formerly 'Growing from seed') Thompson and Morgan. 1991
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Corydalis spp.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[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.

[260] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Conservatory and Indoor Plants Volumes 1 & 2 Pan Books, London. 1998 ISBN 0-330-37376-5
Excellent photos of over 1,100 species and cultivars with habits and cultivation details plus a few plant uses. Many species are too tender for outdoors in Britain though there are many that can be grown outside.

[266] Flora of China 1994
On-line version of the Flora - an excellent resource giving basic info on habitat and some uses.

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
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Debregeasia+longifolia
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