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Elaeocarpaceae FAMILY

Aristotelia chilensis

Aristotelia chilensis

Edibility
4/5
Medicinal
3/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Shrub
Growth—

Aristotelia chilensis has a wide latitudinal range (between 31 and 40° south) in Chile, where it is found growing in arid areas (though generally seeking moister locations such as ravines) and also in regions with year-round rainfall[1]. The plants is only cold hardy in the milder and moister areas of the temperate zone, tolerating temperatures down to around -10°c[2, 3]. The fruits are freely produced in S.W. England[4]. There is a very good plant at Rosehill near Falmouth[5]. Tolerant to a range of soil types[6], it prefers a slightly acid, moderately fertile well-drained soil in full sun with shelter from cold drying winds[7]. Plants are fairly tolerant of maritime exposure[PFAF]. Plants can be cut back to the ground in severe winters - however it will usually resprout freely from the base in the spring[4]. Sometimes a crowd of vigorous shoots will be produced and these will need thinning[8]. These new shoots will not flower and fruit until their second year of growth so the plant needs to be grown in mild areas if fruit is required[PFAF]. A single, well-grown plant can produce up to 10 kilos of fruits per year on an average after seven years[3].. The flowers are very attractive to bees[5]. A dioecious species - both male and female forms must be grown if fruit and seed are required[2].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Once the plants are at least 20cm tall, plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Consider giving them some protection from the cold for at least their first winter outdoors. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, mid summer in a frame[4]. Cuttings of mature wood of the current season's growth in early winter[9]. Take cuttings 15 - 30cm long and plant them in pots or the open soil in a greenhouse. They normally root very easily and can be potted up in early summer then planted out late the following spring[PFAF]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Aristotelia+chilensis>

Pollinators

Bees, Insects

References

  1. [1]Inventory of Seeds and Plants Imported Vol. 21 — USDA Government Printing Office; Washington DC. · 1911 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎Details of seeds imported for trials by the United States Department of Agriculture in the last quarter of 1909, often detailing the uses of the plant and various other miscellaneous information. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  2. [2]Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. — Thomas. G. S. · Murray · 1992 · ISBN 0-7195-5043-2 ↩︎Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.
  3. [3]Frutipedia - Encyclopedia of Edible Fruits of the World — Parmar Dr. C. · http://fruitipedia.com/index.htm ↩︎An online publication, listing over 400 species of fruits, usually with photos and some information on the plant.
  4. [4]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  5. [5]Trees and Shrubs in Cornwall. — Thurston. ↩︎Trees and shrubs that succeed in Cornwall based on the authors own observations. Good but rather dated.
  6. [6]Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk — http://www.hear.org/pier/scientificnames/index.html ↩︎A very good website detailing weed species that have been introduced into the Pacific Islands.
  7. [7]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  8. [8]Gardening on Walls — Grey-Wilson. C. & Matthews. V. · Collins · 1983 · ISBN 0-00-219220-0 ↩︎A nice little book about plants for growing against walls and a small section on plants that can grow in walls.
  9. [9]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  10. [10]Flora of Chile. (in Spanish) — ? ↩︎Some information about the useful plants of Chile.
  11. [11]Alternative Foods. — Sholto-Douglas. J. ↩︎Not very comprehensive, it seems more or less like a copy of earlier writings with little added.
  12. [12]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  13. [13]A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. — Usher. G. · Constable · 1974 · ISBN 0094579202 ↩︎Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
  14. [14]The Ethno-Botany of Pre-Columbian Peru. — Towle. M. A. · Aldine Publishing Co. Chicago. · 1961 ↩︎A very interesting book covering quite a lot of information on plant uses in S. America although many of the plants are not suitable for temperate areas.
  15. [15]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
  16. [16]Useful Fiber Plants of the World — Dodge C.R. · USDA; Washington. · 1897 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ ↩︎A rather dated, but very comprehensive catalogue of fibre plants from around the world. The book can be downloaded from the Internet.
  17. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎