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Torreya californica

Common name:	California Nutmeg	Family:	Cephalotaxaceae
Author:	Torr.	Botanical references:	11, 71, 200
Synonyms:	Tumion californicum ((Torr.)Greene.), Torreya myristica (Hook.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	South-western N. America - California.
Habitat:	Borders of mountain streams, cool shady slopes and canyons, 900 - 1400 metres[71, 82].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	4	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	California Nutmeg [DEN1,P], California Torreya [FEIS], California-nutmeg [B],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Pinales. Plum Yew family

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen tree growing to 15m by 8m at a slow rate. It is hardy to zone 7. It is in leaf all year, in flower in May, and the seeds ripen from September to November. The scented 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) and are pollinated by Wind. The plant not is self-fertile. We rate it 4/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid and very alkaline soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Canopy, Secondary, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Deep Shade.

Edible Uses

Oil Seed.

Seed - raw or cooked[183]. The seeds are roasted and eaten[257]. They are rich in oil[105, 161]. The ovoid seed is up to 2cm long[K].
An edible oil is obtained from the seed[177, 183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Analgesic Diaphoretic Febrifuge Stomachic TB.

The nuts have been chewed as a treatment for indigestion[257]. A decoction of the nuts has been used in the treatment of tuberculosis[257]. The crushed seeds have been rubbed on the temples in the treatment of headaches[257]. They have also been rubbed on the body to cause sweating in the treatment of chills and fevers[257].

Other Uses

Basketry Wood.

The roots have been used as splints in basketry[257].
Wood - straight-grained, strong, light, soft, easily worked. Of no commercial value[229], though it is occasionally used for fence posts[82, 229].

Cultivation details

Succeeds in ordinary garden soil, tolerating some lime[1]. Undemanding as to the soil pH[200]. Dislikes wind exposure[200]. Requires a sheltered position and either high humidity or a moist riverside soil[200]. Tolerates woodland shade very well[200].
One report says that trees are only hardy in the milder parts of Britain[1], whilst another says that trees are hardy in Britain at least as far north as Edinburgh[200].
This species is the only member of the genus that is fully adapted to cool maritime sites. It can actually grow faster in such a position than it does in the wild[200]. Trees in general grow better in the wetter western part of Britain[81]. Usually slow growing, though trees occasionally increase by 60cm in a year[185].
The bruised leaves release a powerful resinous smell[245]. The fruits are also aromatic[245].
The seed takes two summers to mature[229]. Trees often crop well at Kew, but there were no seeds formed in 1994[K]. A tree in fairly deep shade at Kew was carrying a good crop of seeds in the summer of 1996[K].
Plants are usually dioecious, but isolated female plants have been known to bear fruit in the absence of a pollinating male[11]. Plants are sometimes monoecious with dioecious branches. Male and female plants must usually be grown if seed is required.

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Some of the seed should germinate in the following spring though much of it might take another 12 months. Stored seed requires a period of cold stratification and can take 18 months or more to germinate. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as growth is observed and grow them on in light shade in the greenhouse for at least the next couple of winters, making sure to pot them on into larger pots as and when required. Plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer when the plants are at least 20cm tall.
Cuttings of half-ripe shoots in late summer[1]. Cuttings do not grow well[11].
Layering.

Scent

Leaves: Crushed: The bruised leaves release a powerful resinous smell[245].
Fruit: Crushed: The fruits are aromatic[245].

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

[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 the family Cephalotaxaceae.

[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.

[71] Munz. A California Flora. University of California Press 1959
An excellent flora but no pictures. Not for the casual reader.

[81] Rushforth. K. Conifers. Christopher Helm 1987 ISBN 0-7470-2801-X
Deals with conifers that can be grown outdoors in Britain. Good notes on cultivation and a few bits about plant uses.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[185] Mitchell. A. F. Conifers in the British Isles. HMSO 1975 ISBN 0-11-710012-9
A bit out of date (first published in 1972), but an excellent guide to how well the various species of conifers grow in Britain giving locations of trees.

[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.

[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.

[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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