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Common Name: Cheese Berry

General Information

Cyathodes glauca is an evergreen shrub that can grow up to 1.50 metres tall.
It is harvested from the wild for local use as a food.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Australia - Tasmania.

Habitat

Alpine and sub-alpine zones to 1000 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Habit	Evergreen Shrub
Height	1.50 m
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 species is not very hardy in Britain, though it might succeed outdoors in the mildest areas of the country. Otherwise it is best grown in a cold greenhouse. Plants are hardy to at least -7°c in Australian gardens though this cannot be translated directly to British gardens because of our cooler summers and longer, colder and wetter winters. Plants are said to 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. A sweet mealy flesh[].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

None known

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.