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Peraphyllum ramosissimum

Common name:	Squaw Apple	Family:	Rosaceae
Author:	Nutt.	Botanical references:	11, 60, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Western N. America.
Habitat:	Dry hillsides[11].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Squaw Apple [P], Squaw-apple [B],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	aphyllum = leafless; ramosissimum = branching the most;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rosales. Rose family

Physical Characteristics

A decidious shrub growing to 1.8m. It is hardy to zone 5. It is in flower from April to May. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. 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 and neutral soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge.

Edible Uses

Fruit.

Fruit - raw or cooked[11]. Sour when unripe, the fruits are slightly bitter as they ripen and when fully ripe are sweetish but with a bitter after-taste[85, 183]. Those fruits that have fully ripened and dried on the plant are the sweetest and most desirable[85, 183]. Ripe fruits can also be used in making jellies or prepared like spiced crab apples[85, 183]. Fruits are rarely borne in Britain[11, 200].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Requires a good well-drained neutral or lime-free loam and the maximum possible sunshine in a sheltered position[11, 200]. Does well in hot dry summers[200].
Closely related to the Amelanchier species[11].

Propagation

Seed - we have no information on this species but suggest sowing the seed in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe if this is possible otherwise as soon as stored seed is received. Stored seed is likely to require a period of cold stratification. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse or cold frame for their first winter, planting out in late spring.
Layering in spring. Takes 12 months[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

[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.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[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

[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.

[60] Hitchcock. C. L. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press 1955
A standard flora for Western N. America with lots of information on habitat etc. Five large volumes, it is 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.

[85] Harrington. H. D. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press 1967 ISBN 0-8623-0343-9
A superb book. Very readable, it gives the results of the authors experiments with native edible plants.

[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

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Bibliography

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?Peraphyllum+ramosissimum
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Peraphyllum+ramosissimum

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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.