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Photinia arbutifolia

Common name:	Christmas Berry	Family:	Rosaceae
Author:	Lindl.	Botanical references:	11, 71, 200
Synonyms:	Photinia salicifolia (C.Presl.), Heteromeles arbutifolia ((Aiton.)M.Roem.), Crataegus arbutifolia (Dryander.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	South-western N. America - California.
Habitat:	Semi-dry brushy slopes and in canyons below 1200 metres[71]. It is usually found in the neighbourhood of streams or on dry hills, especially on north-facing slopes[82]. Often on steep sea-cliffs[82].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Heteromeles arbutifolia var. arbutifolia[B,P] Heteromeles salicifolia[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	California-christmas-berry [B], Toyon [P,DEN2,FEIS],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rosales. Rose family

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen tree growing to 6m by 8m . It is hardy to zone 9. It is in leaf all year, in flower in August, and the seeds ripen from November to December. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soil. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade, By Walls, By South Wall, By West Wall.

Edible Uses

Fruit.

Fruit - raw or cooked[46, 94, 105, 183, 257]. The fruits are 5 - 6mm across[260], they taste like common haws (Crataegus monogyna)[11]. Mealy, astringent and acid[82, 85]. Best if a little sugar is added to sweeten them. They can also be dried, ground into a powder and made into a mush or fermented into a cider[183]. A slight cooking removes any bitter taste[92]. Native North American Indians would often place them in a basket close to the fire and keep turning them until they had wilted before eating them[257].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Stomachic.

An infusion of the bark and leaves has been used as a wash for infected wounds[257].
A decoction of the leaves has been used in the treatment of stomach aches, plus various other aches and pains[84, 92, 257].

Other Uses

Dye Wood.

A golden brown dye is obtained from the leaves and stems[168].
Dark olive-green and black dyes are obtained from the leaves and berries[168].
The fruit-covered branches are gathered in large quantities in California and used as Christmas decorations in much the same way as holly is used in Britain[82].
Wood - very heavy, hard, close-grained[82].

Cultivation details

Requires a well-drained fertile soil in a sheltered position in sun or light shade[200]. Tolerates calcareous soils[200]. Plants are tolerant of drought and poor conditions[260].
This species is not very hardy in Britain[182], tolerating temperatures down to about -7° c[260]. It succeeds outdoors from south Surrey southwards and westwards[1].
There are some named varieties, selected for their ornamental value[183].
The flowers have a scent similar to hawthorns and are pleasant when smelt from a distance, though less than pleasant when smelt close-to[245].

Propagation

Seed - best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe in the autumn. Stored seed will probably require a period of cold stratification and should be sown as early in the year as possible. 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[188].
Basal cuttings in a frame[200]. Harvest the shoots when they are about 10 - 15cm long with plenty of underground stem. Pot them up into individual pots and keep them in light shade in a cold frame or greenhouse until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the summer.

Scent

Flowers: Fresh: The flowers have a scent similar to hawthorns and are pleasant when smelt from a distance, though less than pleasant when smelled close-to.

Cultivars

'': No entries have been made for this species as yet.

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

References for Heteromeles arbutifolia (a possible synonym).

[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.
Images from the CalPhoto database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.

References for Heteromeles arbutifolia var. arbutifolia (a possible synonym).

[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.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants 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]).

[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.

[71] Munz. A California Flora. University of California Press 1959
An excellent flora but no pictures. 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.

[84] Coyle. J. and Roberts. N. C. A Field Guide to the Common and Interesting Plants of Baja California. Natural History Publishing Co. 1975
A very readable pocket flora with good illustrations, it gives quite a few plant uses.

[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.

[92] Balls. E. K. Early Uses of Californian Plants. University of California Press 1975 ISBN 0-520-00072-2
A nice readable book.

[94] Sweet. M. Common Edible and Useful Plants of the West. Naturegraph Co. 1962 ISBN 0-911010-54-8
Useful wild plants in Western N. America. A pocket guide.

[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.

[168] Grae. I. Nature's Colors - Dyes from Plants. MacMillan Publishing Co. New York. 1974 ISBN 0-02-544950-8
A very good and readable book on dyeing.

[182] Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray 1992 ISBN 0-7195-5043-2
Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.

[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.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[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.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

[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.

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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