Shittamwood (Bumelia lycioides)
At a glance
- Lifecycle
- Perennial (hardy)
- Exposure
- Full sun
- Frost limit
- −17.8 °C
Cultivation
Succeeds in a warm sunny site in any freely draining moderately fertile soil. Plants are cut back by temperatures below about -15°c but they regenerate freely from the base 200]. Succeeds outdoors at Kew, though it is not very vigorous[K]. This species rarely, if ever, fruits in Britain. The tree at Kew flowered freely in the long hot summer of 1989 but did not produce fruit[K].
Propagation
Seed - we have no details on this species but would suggest that if ripe seed can be obtained it should be sown straight away in a cold greenhouse. Stored seed can be sown in late winter or early spring in a greenhouse. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter, planting them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Edible uses
Fruit.
Material uses
Wood - heavy, hard, not strong, close grained.
Habitat
Low moist soils by swamps and streams, also found on rocky bluffs.
Native range
South-eastern N. America - Virginia to Florida, west to Indiana and Texas.