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Common Name:

General Information

Cyathodes fraseri is an evergreen shrub that can grow up to 0.15 metres tall.
It is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and source of materials.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

, ,

Range

Australia and New Zealand.

Habitat

Coastal dunes, lowland to sub-alpine open grassland and rocky places on North, South and Stewart Islands in New Zealand[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Habit	Evergreen Shrub
Height	0.15 m
Growth Rate	Slow
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Requires a moist well-drained lime-free humus rich soil in a sheltered site in partial or dappled shade[, , ]. Plants are very susceptible to drought[]. A good rock garden plant[]. Slow growing[].
This plant is not very hardy in Britain though it succeeds outdoors in the milder areas of the country[]. Plants grow best in areas with moderate winters and cool moist summers[].
Plants have very fine root systems and great care must be taken when transplanting them[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw or cooked[, , ]. Sweet and juicy[, , ]. Contains up to 24% dry weight of oil[]. (does this refer to the seed?[]).

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

A most attractive ground cover plant for the winter garden[].

Propagation

Seed - surface sow in an ericaceous soil mix, late winter/early spring in a cold frame[]. Do not exclude light[]. Germination can take place within 1 - 2 months at 18°c but often takes as long as 3 - 5 years[]. Scarification will reduce the germination time and 2 or 3 periods of 4 - 6 weeks cold stratification alternated with 4 weeks warm stratification can also help[]. Perhaps sowing the seed as soon as it is ripe would also be beneficial[].The seedlings can be very slow to form roots and need to be potted up with great care[]. Grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first 2 growing seasons and, when large enough, plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, mid summer in a frame. Neither easy nor reliable[].
Air layering[].
Division of the plants as they come into growth in the spring. We have found it best not to dig up the main clump, but to tease out small divisions from the sides of the plant. Make sure that these are well rooted and pot them up in light shade in a greenhouse. Grow them on for their first summer in the greenhouse and plant them out in late spring, after the last expected frosts.