Peraphyllum ramosissimum
Nutt.
Squaw apple
(c) Jim Morefield, some rights reserved (CC BY)
(c) Zane Holditch, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
(c) Zane Holditch, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Leaves, Fruit
The fruit can be eaten raw or cooked. Unripe fruits are sour, and as they ripen they become slightly bitter with a sweetish flavour that still carries a bitter aftertaste. Fruits that have fully ripened and dried on the plant are the sweetest and most desirable. Ripe fruits can also be made into jellies or prepared like spiced crab apples. Fruits are rarely borne in Britain.
Where to Find It
It is a temperate plant.
Britain, Europe, North America, USA,
How to Identify
A deciduous shrub growing to 1.8 m in height. Hardy to UK zone 5. Flowers from April to May. Hermaphroditic and insect-pollinated. Adapts to light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils that are well-drained, with mildly acid to neutral pH. Requires full sun and cannot tolerate shade. Tolerates both dry and moist soil conditions, with good drought resistance. Fruit production is rare in Britain.
How to Grow
Requires a good well-drained neutral or lime-free loam and the maximum possible sunshine in a sheltered position. Does well in hot dry summers. Closely related to the Amelanchier species.
Propagation: No specific information is available for this species, but sowing seed in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe is recommended, or as soon as stored seed is received. Stored seed will likely need a period of cold stratification. Prick out seedlings into individual pots when large enough to handle and grow on in a greenhouse or cold frame through their first winter, then plant out in late spring. Layering in spring is another option and takes 12 months.
Medicinal Uses
None known
Other Uses
None known
Wikipedia
Source ↗A deciduous shrub growing to 1.8 m in height. Hardy to UK zone 5. Flowers from April to May. Hermaphroditic and insect-pollinated. Adapts to light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils that are well-drained, with mildly acid to neutral pH. Requires full sun and cannot tolerate shade. Tolerates both dry and moist soil conditions, with good drought resistance. Fruit production is rare in Britain.
References (4)
- Facciola, S., 1998, Cornucopia 2: a Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, p 200
- Kermath, B. M., et al, 2014, Food Plants in the Americas: A survey of the domesticated, cultivated and wild plants used for Human food in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. On line draft. p 629
- Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/
- J. Torrey & A. Gray, Fl. N. Amer. 1:474. 1840
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