Menu list goes here

Herbal Database Search Results

Back to: Pathways Main Search Page For Metaphysical uses visit The Witchs Haven

Weinmannia racemosa

Common name:	Kamahi	Family:	Cunoniaceae
Author:	L.f.	Botanical references:	11, 44, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	New Zealand.
Habitat:	Lowland to montane forest, North, South and Stewart islands[44].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	racemosa = with racemes;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rosales. Cunonia family

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen tree growing to 25m. It is hardy to zone 9. It is in leaf all year, in flower from June to July. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) 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

Woodland, Canopy, Secondary.

Edible Uses

Fruit.

Fruit - raw. A sweet and pleasant flavour[2, 105, 177]. The fruit is about 5mm in diameter[200].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Dye; Tannin; Wood.

A black dye is obtained from the bark[153].
The bark contains about 13% tannin[46, 61, 123, 153].
Wood. Used in cabinet making[153].

Cultivation details

Prefers a light rich soil[1]. Succeeds in a fertile well-drained circum-neutral loamy soil, with shelter from cold winds[200].
Plants are not very frost-tolerant, though they are probably hardy in the mildest areas of the country[11, 166].
The foliage of this tree when an adult is markedly different from the juvenile foliage, though plants begin to flower whilst still in the juvenile form[200].

Propagation

Seed - we have no information for this species but suggest sowing the seed in spring in a warm greenhouse. Prick the seedlings out into individual pots when they are large enough to handle. Overwinter the young plants in a greenhouse for at least the first winter and plant out in their permanent positions in late spring or early summer. Give some protection for its first winter outdoors.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 5 - 8cm with a heel, July/August in a frame[78].

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

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

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

References

[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]).

[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.

[44] Allan. H. H. Flora of New Zealand. Government Printer, Wellington. 1961
The standard work, in 3 volumes though only the first two are of interest to the plant project. Very good on habitats.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[123] ? Encyclopaedia Britannica. 15th edition.
It contains a few things of interest to the plant project.

[153] Brooker. S. G., Cambie. R. C. and Cooper. R. C. Economic Native Plants of New Zealand. Oxford University Press 1991 ISBN 0-19-558229-2
An interesting and readable book on the useful plants of New Zealand.

[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.

[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

Weinmannia racemosa

David Nicholls (Davidni@xtra.co.nz) Fri Jun 9 23:13:44 2000

CAUTION! The berries are not edible according to Crowe, the main authority on New Zealand edibles,see page 165 A field Guide to the Native edible plants of New Zealand 1997 edition. He says the error probably started with Sturtevant getting confused with Tawa (Beilschmiedia tawa, one of the best N.Z edibles I think, if you can adjust to fruit tasting like potato)which has a similar Maori name.

He does not however say it is poisonous and it is not listed anywhere as poisonous as far as I can see.

It was however very valuable to Maori for other uses above and bark was once exported for very high tannin content.

I have no personal experience of growing or using this plant.

P.S.I dont mean to sound unappreciative I really like this websight, very useful to me, thanks.

David Nicholls

New Zealand

Main Search Page

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?Weinmannia+racemosa
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Weinmannia+racemosa

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
(You can copy, distribute, display this works but: Attribution is required, its for Non-Commercial purposes, and it's Share Alike (GNUish/copyleft) i.e. has an identical license.)
We also ask that you let us know (michael@thewitchshaven.com) if you link to, redistribute, make a derived work or do anything groovy with this information.

Home :: View Cart :: Shipping & Returns :: Contact Us :: Log In :: Privacy Policy :: Home :: Philosophy

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.