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Ehretia anacua

Common name:	Anaqua	Family:	Ehretiaceae
Author:	(Terán.&Berl.)I.M.Johnst.	Botanical references:	82, 200
Synonyms:	Ehretia elliptica (DC.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	South-western N. America - S.E. Texas to Mexico.
Habitat:	Develops into a tree when growing in river valleys in fertile soils, it is also found as a shrub on dry barren ridges[82].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Gaza anacua[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Knockaway [B,P], Sandpaper Tree [DEN2],

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen tree growing to 5m. It is hardy to zone 8 and is frost tender. It is in leaf all year, in flower from October to March, and the seeds ripen from October to March. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). 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 dry or moist soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

Fruit.

Fruit - raw[105, 149, 161, 183]. Sweet and rather juicy but it has a thin flesh[82]. The fruit is about 8mm in diameter[200].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Wood.

Wood - heavy, hard, not strong, close grained, difficult to split. Used for tool handles, yokes, axles, wheel spokes etc[46, 61, 82, 149].

Cultivation details

Prefers a moderately fertile well-drained sandy loam in a sunny position[200]. Tolerates exposed positions[200]. Plants are shade tolerant in continental climates but they require more sun in maritime areas in order to ripen the wood[200]. Rich fertile soils encourage soft sappy growth which is then more susceptible to winter damage[200].
This species is not very hardy in Britain, but dormant plants have survived temperatures down to -13°c when growing in a suitable position. The young growth in spring, even on mature plants, is frost-tender and so it is best to grow the plants in a position sheltered from the early morning sun[K].
Spreads by means of suckers[149].

Propagation

Seed - we have no information on this species but suggest sowing it as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse. Sow stored seed in late winter or early spring. 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, July/August in a frame.
Division of suckers in the growing season.

Suppliers

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

Web References

[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant 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

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

[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.

[82] Sargent. C. S. Manual of the Trees of N. America. Dover Publications Inc. New York. 1965 ISBN 0-486-20278-X
Two volumes, a comprehensive listing of N. American trees though a bit out of date now. Good details on habitats, some details on plant uses. Not really for the casual reader.

[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.

[149] Vines. R. A. Trees of Central Texas. University of Texas Press 1987 ISBN 0-292-78958-3
Fairly readable, it gives details of habitats and some of the uses of trees growing in Texas.

[161] Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture.
A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[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.

Readers Comments

Ehretia anacua

Mark Lee (markl@nytec.com) Mon Mar 24 19:40:45 2003

propagation from seed: seed purchased from J.L. Husdon, first seed germinates in 10 days at 80'F on moist towel in plastic bag

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.