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Symplocos paniculata

Common name:	Asiatic Sweetleaf	Family:	Symplocaceae
Author:	(Thunb.)Miq.	Botanical references:	11, 200, 266
Synonyms:	Symplocos chinensis ((Lour.)Druce.), Prunus paniculata (Thunb.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	E. Asia - China, Japan, Korea, Himalayas.
Habitat:	Forests and shrubberies at elevations of 1000 - 2700 metres, Pakistan to S. W. China and Burma[51]. Slopes in mixed forests at elevations of 800 - 2500 metres[266].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Palura paniculata var. pilosa[G] Pyrus paniculata[G] S. chinensis f. pilosa[G]
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	paniculata = with panicles;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Ebenales. Sweetleaf family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Japan

Physical Characteristics

A decidious shrub growing to 4m by 4m . It is hardy to zone 5. It is in flower from May to June, and the seeds ripen from October to December. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). The plant not is self-fertile. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid soils and can grow in very acid soil. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

Fruit.

Fruit - cooked[177]. Used in jams, jellies and sauce[183]. The fruit is about 8mm in diameter[200].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Astringent; Ophthalmic; Tonic.

The bark is astringent, cooling and tonic[240]. It is useful in the treatment of menorrhagia, bowel complaints, eye diseases and ulcers[240]. It is also used as a gargle for giving firmness to spongy and bleeding gums[240]. The juice of the bark is applied externally to sprains and muscular swellings[272].

Other Uses

Dye; Mordant; Wood.

A yellow or red dye is obtained from the leaves and bark[51, 146, 158, 272].
We have no specific information for this species but many species in this genus contain alum and can be used as mordants when dyeing[168].
Wood - white, soft to moderately hard. close grained, liable to twist and split when seasoning. Of possible use in turnery[146, 158].

Cultivation details

Requires an acid soil and a sunny position. Succeeds in a sunny position in any well-drained fertile neutral to acid soil[182, 200].
One report says that plants are hardy to about -10°c, though it is also said that they can survive quite harsh winters outdoors in Britain but that they need a warm, sunny protected position and a hot summer if they are to fruit well[11, 200]. The fruits are sometimes spoiled by frosts[200].
The flowers are sweetly fragrant[200, 245].
Self-sterile, it needs cross-pollination with a different plant in the same species if seed and fruit are to be produced[11, 182].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[200].

Propagation

Seed - best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe. Stored seed requires stratification and is best sown in a cold frame in late winter, it can take 12 months to germinate[11]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the cold frame for their first winter. Plant out in late spring or early summer.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 7 - 10cm with a heel, July/August in individual pots in a cold frame[78, 200]. Roots are formed in about 4 weeks. Good percentage[78].

Scent

Flowers: Fresh: The flowers have a sweet perfume[245].

Suppliers

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

Web References

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Prunus paniculata (a possible synonym).

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.

References for the family Symplocaceae.

[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

[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.

[51] Polunin. O. and Stainton. A. Flowers of the Himalayas. Oxford Universtiy Press 1984
A very readable and good pocket guide (if you have a very large pocket!) to many of the wild plants in the Himalayas. Gives many examples of plant uses.

[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.

[146] Gamble. J. S. A Manual of Indian Timbers. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh 1972
Written last century, but still a classic, giving a lot of information on the uses and habitats of Indian trees. Not for the casual reader.

[158] Gupta. B. L. Forest Flora of Chakrata, Dehra Dun and Saharanpur. Forest Research Institute Press 1945
A good flora for the middle Himalayan forests, sparsly illustrated. Not really 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.

[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.

[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.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

[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.

[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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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
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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.