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Sinofranchetia chinensis

Common name:		Family:	Lardizabalaceae
Author:	(Franch.)Hemsl.	Botanical references:	11, 200, 266
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	E. Asia - C. and W. China.
Habitat:	Woodland, 1500 - 2800 metres[109]. Dense forests along valleys, forest margins and among shrubs[266].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Ranunculales. Lardizabala family

Physical Characteristics

A decidious climber growing to 15m at a fast rate. It is hardy to zone 6 and is frost tender. It is in flower in May, and the seeds ripen in October. 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 2/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. 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

Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge.

Edible Uses

Fruit.

Fruit - raw[105, 177]. Insipid[109]. The size of a grape[182]. The fruit is about 2cm in diameter[200].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Succeeds in any ordinary garden soil in sun or shade[1, 200]. Prefers semi-shade[188, 219].
The young growth in spring can be damaged by late frosts.
A fast growing climbing plant[200], supporting itself by twining around other plants etc[219].
Any pruning is best carried out after the plant has finished flowering[219].
Dioecious, but female plants can produce fruits in the absence of male plants[11, 200]. The report does not say if this fruit contains viable seed, so it is best to assume that male and female plants must be grown if seed is required[K].

Propagation

Seed - can be sown as soon as it is ripe or in late winter in a cold frame. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots once they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the cold frame for their first winter. Plant them out in late spring or early summer of the following year.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame.
Layering of new shoots in summer.

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

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

References for the family Lardizabalaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from 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.

[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.

[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.

[109] Wilson. E. H. Plantae Wilsonae.
Details of the palnts collected by the plant collector E. H. Wilson on his travels in China. Gives some habitats. Not for the casual reader.

[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.

[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.

[219] Grey-Wilson. C. & Matthews. V. Gardening on Walls Collins 1983 ISBN 0-00-219220-0
A nice little book about plants for growing against walls and a small section on plants that can grow in walls.

[266] Flora of China 1994
On-line version of the Flora - an excellent resource giving basic info on habitat and some uses.

Readers Comments

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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
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