Securinega suffruticosa

Securinega suffruticosa
Wikimedia Commons — Dalgial — CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)

At a glance

Lifecycle
Perennial (hardy)
Exposure
Full sun

Cultivation

Succeeds in any rich loamy soil in a sunny position. Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.

Propagation

Seed - we have no information for this species but would suggest sowing the seed as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. It should germinate freely in spring[K]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in sand in a frame.

Edible uses

Young budlings, dried and steeped in water. (Does this refer to the leaf buds or the flower buds?) Fruit. No further details are given.

Medicinal uses

This plant is commonly used in Chinese herbalism, where it is considered to be one of the 50 fundamental herbs.

Habitat

Thickets and grassy slopes in C. and S. Japan.

Native range

E. Asia - Japan.