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Lardizabalaceae FAMILY

Stauntonia latifolia

Stauntonia latifolia

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Climber
Growth—

Stauntonia latifolia can be found at elevations up to 3,000 metres, occasionally more, in the Himalayas. It is moderately cold-hardy, being able to tolerate short periods with temperatures down to about -15°c[1] though it can be damaged by prolonged periods below -5°c[2, 3] Easily grown in any moisture-retentive but well-drained, fertile soil in sun or part shade[4, 2]. Plants grow best on a shady wall or when grown into a tree[2], enjoying their roots in the shade but top growth being able to grow up into the sun[3].. Plants can also succeed in deeper shade, but fruits are much more likely to be produced when the plants are grown in a sunny position[2, 5]. Plants in cultivation often do not bear fruit - growing two or more plants from different seed sources is necessary for cross-fertilization. Hand pollination would probably help, whilst fruits are also more likely to form in hot summers[6, 7, 3]. Species in this genus are usually monoecious, though there are instances of plants only bearing flowers of one sex (dioecious)[8]. The flowers are sweetly and heavily scented[4, 3]. The males are produced on the previous years wood whilst females are produced on the current years wood[4]. Plants are fast growing[2] and climb by means of twining[4]. This species is closely related to Stauntonia coriacea[6].

Propagation

Seed - we have no details on this species but suggest sowing the seed as soon as it is ripe if this is possible, otherwise as soon as you obtain it, in a warm greenhouse. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of softwood[9]. Cuttings of half-ripe wood in late summer or autumn[10]. Layering. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Stauntonia+latifolia>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]Shrubs. — Phillips. R. & Rix. M. · Pan Books · 1989 · ISBN 0-330-30258-2 ↩︎Excellent photographs and a terse description of 1,900 species and cultivars.
  2. [2]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.
  3. [3]741. Stauntonia latifolia — Christenhusz M.J.M. · 2012 ↩︎
  4. [4]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.
  5. [5]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.
  6. [6]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.
  7. [7]The Milder Garden. — Taylor. J. · Dent · 1990 ↩︎A good book on plants that you didn't know could be grown outdoors in Britain.
  8. [8]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
  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]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.
  11. [11]Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants — http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 ↩︎Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
  12. [12]Flowers of the Himalayas. — Polunin. O. and Stainton. A. · Oxford Universtiy Press · 1984 · ISBN - ↩︎A very readable and good pocket guide (if you have a very large pocket!) to many of the wild plants in the Himalayas. Gives many examples of plant uses.
  13. [13]Plants for Human Consumption. — Kunkel. G. · Koeltz Scientific Books · 1984 · ISBN 3874292169 ↩︎An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
  14. [14]Plants and People of Nepal — Manandhar. N. P. · Timber Press. Oregon. · 2002 · ISBN 0-88192-527-6 ↩︎Excellent book, covering over 1,500 species of useful plants from Nepal together with information on the geography and peoples of Nepal. Good descriptions of the plants with terse notes on their uses.
  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]A Manual of Indian Timbers. — Gamble. J. S. · Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh · 1972 · ISBN - ↩︎First written in the 19th century, but still a classic, giving a lot of information on the uses and habitats of Indian trees. Not for the casual reader.
  17. [17]Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). — Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. · Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. · 1986 · ISBN - ↩︎Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.
  18. [18]Medicinal Plants of Nepal — Dept. of Medicinal Plants. Nepal. · 1993 · ISBN - ↩︎Terse details of the medicinal properties of Nepalese plants, including cultivated species and a few imported herbs.
  19. [19]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.
  20. [20]Revision of Hibiscus section Furcaria (Malvaceae) in Africa and Asia — Wilson F.D. · 1999 ↩︎