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Ptelea trifoliata

Common name:	Hop Tree	Family:	Rutaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	11, 43, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	This species can cause photosensitization of the skin[274].
Range:	Eastern N. America - Quebec and New York to Florida, west to Texas and Kansas.
Habitat:	Moist places, rocky slopes, edges of woods[21], alluvial thickets and gravels[43]. It is found in many different soil types[227].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	3

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	P. pentaphylla[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Amerika Kara Ag [E], Common Hoptree [B,P], Hop Tree [H,E,S], Hoptree [DEN2], Shrubby Trefoil [H], Swamp Dogwood [H], Wafer Ash [H,S], Wafer Ash, Hop Tree [S], Wingseed [H],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	trifoliata = 3 leaved trifolia = 3 leaves
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Sapindales. Rue family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Mexico Turkey Us

Physical Characteristics

A decidious tree growing to 6m by 6m at a slow rate. It is hardy to zone 5 and is frost tender. It is in flower from June to July, and the seeds ripen from October to November. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Carrion flies. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 3/5 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 can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Hedge, Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

Condiment Fruit.

Fruit. A very bitter flavour, though it is eaten by young children[161]. The fruit is also used as a hop substitute when making beer and it is added to yeast to make it rise more quickly when making bread[2, 159, 183]. The fruit is produced abundantly in Britain[61], though very little of it is fertile[11]. The fruit is very thin and about 25mm long[200].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Anthelmintic Antibacterial Antiperiodic Miscellany Stomachic Tonic.

The root-bark is anthelmintic, antibacterial, antiperiodic, stomachic and tonic[4, 21, 46, 82, 238]. It has been mixed with other medicines in order to give added potency[213, 222, 257]. It has a soothing influence on the mucous membranes and promotes the appetite, being tolerated when other tonics cannot be retained[4]. It is also taken in the treatment of intermittent fevers such as malaria, heartburn, roundworms, pinworms and poor digestion[238]. Externally it is applied to wounds[238]. The roots are harvested in the autumn, the bark peeled off and dried for later use[238].
The roots are a tonic, used in the treatment of asthmatic breathing, fevers, poor appetite etc[222].
The leaves are said to be useful in the treatment of wounds and also in the destruction of intestinal worms[213, 222].

Other Uses

Hedge Wood.

Sometimes used as a hedge plant in N. America[226].
Wood - hard, heavy, close grained[82, 149]. It weighs 51lb per cubic foot[227] but the tree does not grow large enough for commercial exploitation[229].

Cultivation details

Succeeds in any fertile well-drained moisture retentive soil in full sun or light part day shade[11, 200].
The young growth in spring can be damaged by late frosts.
A very ornamental plant[50], it is slow-growing and short-lived in the wild[229].
The sub-species P. trifoliata mollis. Torr.& Gray. is the form that is eaten by children[161].
The leaves are aromatic[188]. All parts of the plant emit a disagreeable odour[227]. The flowers are especially pungent and are pollinated by carrion flies[229].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[200].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame[200]. Stored seed requires 3 months cold stratification at 5° c and should be sown as early as possible in the year[113]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in light shade in the cold frame for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Very little of the seed produced in Britain is viable[11].
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame[113].
Layering.

Scent

Flowers: Fresh: All parts of the plant emit a disagreeable odour. The flowers are especially pungent and are pollinated by carrion flies.
Leaves: Crushed: The leaves are aromatic according to one report, whilst another says that all parts of the plant emit a disagreeable odour.

Suppliers

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

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[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.
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[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.
[S] SW USA Dist. Maps from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.

References for ptelea trifoliata (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

References for the family Rutaceae.

To be included in the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

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

References

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[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.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[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.

[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. 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.

[113] Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press 1987 ISBN 0942375009
A very detailed book on propagating trees. 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.

[159] McPherson. A. and S. Wild Food Plants of Indiana. Indiana University Press 1977 ISBN 0-253-28925-4
A nice pocket guide to this region of America.

[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.

[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.

[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[226] Lauriault. J. Identification Guide to the Trees of Canada Fitzhenry and Whiteside, Ontario. 1989 ISBN 0889025649
Very good on identification for non-experts, the book also has a lot of information on plant uses.

[227] Vines. R.A. Trees of North Texas University of Texas Press. 1982 ISBN 0292780206
A readable guide to the area, it contains descriptions of the plants and their habitats with quite a bit of information on plant uses.

[229] Elias. T. The Complete Trees of N. America. Field Guide and Natural History. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. 1980 ISBN 0442238622
A very good concise guide. Gives habitats, good descriptions, maps showing distribution and a few of the uses. It also includes the many shrubs that occasionally reach tree proportions.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[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.

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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