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Gleditsia japonica

Common name:		Family:	Leguminosae
Author:	Miq.	Botanical references:	11, 58, 200
Synonyms:	Gleditsia horrida (non Salisb.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	E. Asia - Japan.
Habitat:	Damp sandy soils[200]
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Fagara horrida[G] G. japonica var. japonica[G] G. japonica var. koraiensis[G]
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Fabales. Renamed to Fabaceae -- Pea family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Japan

Physical Characteristics

A decidious tree growing to 20m by 12m at a medium rate. It is hardy to zone 6. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. It can fix Nitrogen. We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 1/5 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 and can tolerate drought. It can tolerate atmospheric pollution.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Canopy.

Edible Uses

Leaves Seed.

Seed - cooked. The seed is roasted, dehusked, soaked until soft then boiled and eaten with sugar[179]. The seed contains 22.4% protein and 2.8% fat[218].
Young leaves - cooked[105]. A famine food used when all else fails[177].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antitussive Astringent Expectorant Haemostatic Skin VD.

Antitussive, astringent, expectorant, haemostatic, skin[174]. Treats syphilitic skin diseases[174].

Other Uses

Soap.

A soap is obtained from the pulp contained in the seedpods[11, 46, 61, 174]. It is obtained from the seed according to another report[105].
Wood - strong, durable, coarse-grained[82].

Cultivation details

Easily grown in a loamy soil, requiring a sunny position[11]. Succeeds in most soils[200]. Tolerates drought once established[1] and atmospheric pollution[200].
A rather tender plant, especially when young, it is seen at its best in southern Britain[11]. Older trees, however, are completely hardy in Britain[11]. Trees at Kew produced lots of pods and fertile seeds in the hot summer of 1989, they also fruited well in the cool summer of 1993 and also in 1994, 95 and 96[K].
Trees are cultivated for their seedpods in Japan[61].
Trees have a light canopy, they come into leaf late in the spring and drop their leaves in early autumn[200] making them an excellent canopy tree for a woodland garden.
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[200].
This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[200].

Propagation

Seed - pre-soak for 24 hours in warm water and then sow in spring in a greenhouse[78]. The seed should have swollen up, in which case it can be sown, if it has not swollen then soak it for another 24 hours in warm water. If this does not work then file away some of the seed coat but be careful not to damage the embryo[78]. Further soaking should then cause the seed to swell. One it has swollen, the seed should germinate within 2 - 4 weeks at 20° c. As soon as they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual deep pots and plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer. Give the plants some protection from the cold for their first few winters outdoors.

Suppliers

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

Web References

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Gleditsia japonica var. japonica (a possible synonym).

[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

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

[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]).

[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.

[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.

[58] Ohwi. G. Flora of Japan. (English translation) Smithsonian Institution 1965
The standard work. Brilliant, but 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.

[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.

[174] Kariyone. T. Atlas of Medicinal Plants.
A good Japanese herbal.

[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.

[179] Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 1977
A translation of an ancient Chinese book on edible wild foods. Fascinating.

[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.
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