Epaulette Tree (Pterostyrax corymbosa)

At a glance

Lifecycle: Perennial (hardy)
Exposure: Full sun
Frost limit: −23.3 °C

Cultivation

Requires a good loamy soil and a sunny position. A fast-growing tree. Often confused with P. hispida. Flowers are most abundantly produced on wood that was well-ripened the previous summer. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus.

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 3 months cold stratification at 5°c. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse or cold frame for their first winter. Plant them out in the late spring or early summer of the following year. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Layering.

Edible uses

Leaves - cooked. A famine food, it is only used when all else fails.

Habitat

Thickets around 1300 metres in Kiangsi.

Native range

E. Asia - China, Japan.