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Schinus polygamus

Common name:	Huigen	Family:	Anacardiaceae
Author:	(Cav.)Cabr.	Botanical references:	11, 200
Synonyms:	Schinus dentata (DC.), Schinus bonplandianus (Marchand.), Amyris polygama (Cav.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	S. America - C. Chile.
Habitat:	Not known
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	S. dentatus[G] S. dependens[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Peppertree [P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	polygamus = polygamous, with both single and dual sex flowers on one or different plants;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Sapindales. Sumac family

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen shrub growing to 4.5m. It is hardy to zone 8. It is in leaf all year, in flower in May. The flowers are dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required). The plant not is self-fertile. We rate it 1/5 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. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge.

Edible Uses

Condiment.

Fruit[2]. Used as a flavouring[177].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antirheumatic.

The fruit, and a resin obtained from the fruit, is antirheumatic[61].

Other Uses

Resin.

An aromatic resin is obtained from the fruit of this species, it is mainly used medicinally[139].

Cultivation details

Prefers a well-drained soil[200], succeeding in a hot dry position[166]. It requires a sunny position in a poor rather than rich soil[182, 200].
Plants are very variable in their cold tolerance depending on their provenance, most forms are not very hardy outdoors in Britain but selected forms succeed when grown against a sunny wall[11]. A plant growing in a fairly sunny position, but under quite dense tree cover, at Hilliers Arboretum in Hampshire is thriving and had set a large crop of fruit in September 1996[K].
Plants are intolerant of root disturbance[11].
Dioecious, male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.

Propagation

Seed - we have no information for this species but suggest sowing the seed in a warm greenhouse in mid spring. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots once they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter before planting out in early summer[K].
Cuttings of almost ripe wood, 8cm with a heel, August to early September in a frame. Fair to good percentage[78].

Suppliers

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

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.
[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.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Anacardiaceae.

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

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

[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.

[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.

[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.

[139] ? Flora of Chile. (in Spanish)
Some information about the useful plants of Chile.

[166] Taylor. J. The Milder Garden. Dent 1990
A good book on plants that you didn't know could be grown outdoors in Britain.

[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.

[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.

[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?Schinus+polygamus
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Schinus+polygamus

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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.