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Margyricarpus pinnatus
Rosaceae FAMILY

Margyricarpus pinnatus

Margyricarpus pinnatus

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Shrub
GrowthMedium

Margyricarpus pinnatus is found in the mediterranean-type climate of Chile where it grows at elevations from sea level up to 2,000 metres in coastal mountains, and also at moderate elevations in tropical South America. The summers in Chile are hot and mainly dry and the winters are cool and moist. The dry season can last for 3 - 5 months and the rainfall is within the range 400 - 800mm. The plant is not very cold-hardy, but can tolerate short periods with temperatures falling to around -5°c[1]. It succeeds at higher elevations in the tropics and at lower elevations in the subtropics and warm temperate areas. Prefers a lime-free soil that is not too rich[2], with some shade at the hottest part of the day[3]. Requires a sunny position and a well-drained soil[2]. Requires a sheltered position[4]. Plants are low-growing and have done very well in our exposed maritime site in Cornwall[PFAF]. This species is said to be hardy to about -5°c[3]. It is our opinion that the plants are hardier than this[PFAF], they have grown outdoors in many parts of Britain that experience colder winters, and have survived all but very severe winters[5, 2]. The plants do not fruit well in cool wet summers[PFAF].

Propagation

Seed - sow late winter or early spring in a greenhouse[6]. The seed can be rather slow to germinate and probably needs a short period of cold stratification[PFAF]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. When the plants are large enough, plant them out in late spring or early summer and consider giving them some protection from the cold for their first winter outdoors[PFAF]. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 4 - 5 cm with a heel, mid summer in a frame[6]. Layering[3]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Margyricarpus+pinnatus>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]ChileFlora — http://www.chileflora.com/index.html ↩︎Not realy a flora, but a lovely site with lots of helpful information for the gardener and an abundance of excellent photos covering over 2,000 species of Chilean plants.
  2. [2]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.
  3. [3]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.
  4. [4]The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers — Brickell. C. · Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. · 1990 · ISBN 0-86318-386-7 ↩︎Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.
  5. [5]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 ]).
  6. [6]Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. — Sheat. W. G. · MacMillan and Co · 1948 · ISBN - ↩︎A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.
  7. [7]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.
  8. [8]Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World. — Tanaka. T. & Nakao S. · Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
  9. [9]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  10. [10]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.
  11. [11]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.
  12. [12]Anti-HIV Activity Directed Fractionation of the Extracts of Margyricarpus setosus — Nunziatina De Tommasi et al · 1998 · https://doi.org/10.1076/phbi.36.1.29.4626 · ISBN 1388-0209 ↩︎
  13. [13]An ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants used in Loja and Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador — Tene V. et al · 2007 · https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2006.10.032 · ISBN 0378-8741 ↩︎
  14. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎