Actinidia Chinensis Golden Kiwi
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Edible Plants A selection of the best fruit trees, flowering vegetables and herbs to grow for food while attracting pollinators List Curated by Thomas McBride From research data collected and collated at the National Botanic Garden of Wales NB: Butterflies and Moths are not studied at the NBGW so any data on nectar plants beneficial for them is taken from Butterfly Conservation Map Maps depict the native area of the plant (in green) Guide to using these pages: They also show areas the plant is naturalised (in purple) Latin Binomial All maps shown Name are derived from ‘Plants of the Common World Online’; English courtesy of Kew Name Gardens Flowering Period Photograph (this is when it is good of the plant for pollinators!) in flower Plant Family Insect groups known to Growing habit favour the and mature size nectar of this of the plant plant Useful knowledge or warnings about the plant RHS AGM cultivars of this species (or a related species occasionally) i Key to these Pages Warnings Additional information on these garden plants This plant would The flowers only be suitable for and/or leaves meadow-style have a Pleasant Plant tissue is highly planting scent toxic if ingested The plant has edible parts that are Sap may cause irritation Plant is often used in commonly eaten or (Wash hands after touching traditional Herbal Remedies used in cooking or avoid touching) ii Temperature RHS Hardiness Scale Some of the plants listed in our Top 200 are not fully H1a - Above 15ºC hardy in all or some parts of the United Kingdom. H1b - Minimum 10ºC Plants without a thermometer symbol are fully hardy in the severest UK Winter; equating to H5 or hardier. H1c - Minimum 5ºC Plants with a coloured thermometer symbol are hardy to varying degrees as follows: H2 - Minimum 1ºC H3 - Minimum -5ºC H4 - Minimum -10ºC H5 - Minimum -15ºC Almost Hardy Half-Hardy Not Frost Hardy Not Hardy (H4) (H3) (H2) (H1) iii Pollinators Our data on pollinators has been collected from studies spanning over a decade. Pollinator symbols appear when plants are proven to be good nectar (a) (b) plants for certain insects. It should be noted that all bee and hoverfly data is ours but lepidoptera data is taken from Butterfly Conservation. Our data spans a wide range of different insect species. For simplicity, these species have been condensed into six easy icons to represent them: (c) (d) a) Honeybees c) Bumblebees e) Moths b) Hoverflies d) Butterflies f) Solitary Bees (Includes Moths) (e) (f) iv Fruiting Trees, Shrubs & Perennials Fruit Trees and Shrubs are amongst the best plants for pollinators. Orchard trees such as apple, pear and plum trees have abundant flowers in the spring which are incredibly important for honeybees and many solitary bees to establish their nests or colonies for the year. Shrubs too, such as brambles in particular, provide a very important source of nectar through the summer. Brambles will spread but, in a larger garden, they can be contained in hedgerow areas; providing an excellent source of nectar to all pollinating insects. As well as plants from the Rosaceae, there are a number of other important fruits on this list. Fruiting vegetables, which botanically are fruit, such as courgettes, beans and pumpkins can be very popular with bumblebees in particular. If you do not have the time to plant large fruit trees and wait for them to grow, fruiting shrubs can be just as beneficial. Try blueberry bushes if you have acidic soil or citrus bushes in pots if you have a warm place to keep them over the winter period. For a more unusual fruit selection, why not try the fruits of the Amelanchier tree or the Strawberry-tree. Fruiting plants for pollinators are the best group to plant as picking the fruits will not reduce the flowering capacity of the plant; they are designed to have their fruits eaten as it is part of the natural process of seed dispersal. Actinidia chinensis Golden Kiwi China - None - Spring . Actinidiaceae Kiwi Family 10ft+ Climber Photograph from Flickr (CC) Manuel M. V. & Ting Chen (Flower) 1A Amelanchier lamarckii N. America Snowy Mespilus - Species - Spring . Rosaceae Rose Family Small Tree Photograph from Flickr (CC) Ekenitr 2A Arbutus unedo Mediterranean & Ireland Strawberry Tree ‘Atlantic’ Autumn . f. rubra Ericaceae Heather Family Small Tree Photograph from Wikipedia (CC) Umberto Ferrando, Markus Nolf (fruit) 3A Naturalised in the Citrus maxima Citrus x aurantium Mediterranean Bitter Orange, Seville Orange Citrus maxima x Citrus reticulata SE Asia East Asia Citrus reticulata None Late Spring - Midsummer Rutaceae Rue Family Small Tree * This plant should be kept under glass during the winter (cannot survive below -5’c night temperatures) Photograph from Flickr (CC) A Qiao 4A Naturalised in the Citrus medica Citrus x limon Mediterranean Lemon Citrus x aurantium x Citrus medica Cen. Asia Citrus x aurantium ‘Meyer’ Late Spring - Midsummer ‘Variegata’ Rutaceae Rue Family Small Tree * Will not survive a frost, only half-hardy, bring indoors in winter. Recommended pot plant. Photograph from Flickr (CC) Jésus Cabrera 5A Cucurbita pepo Mexico Courgette, Pumpkin (also Summer Squashes) ‘Jaguar’ ‘Orelia’ Midsummer - Early Autumn ‘Tristan’ ‘Yolanda’ Cucurbitaceae Squash Family 3ft Annual * Will not survive a frost, only half-hardy Photograph from Flickr (CC) Christian Guthier 6A Fragaria x ananassa N. America S. America Garden Strawberry Fragaria virginiana x Fragaria chiloensis Fragaria Fragaria virginiana chiloensis Spring . ‘Cambridge Fav.’ ‘Rhapsody’ Summer . (Berries) Rosaceae Rose Family 2ft Trailing Annual Photograph from Flickr (CC) Maja Dumat 7A Malus domestica Central Asia Apple Tree ‘Blenheim Orange’ Spring . ‘Worcester Pearmain’ S/A (Fruits) ‘Bramley’s Seedling’ Rosaceae Rose Family Small Tree Photograph from Flickr (CC) Kerry Woods 8A Morus nigra Persia Black Mulberry ‘Chelsea’ Summer . ‘Jerusalem’ Moraceae Mulberry Family Small Tree Photograph from Wikipedia (CC) Wouter Hagens, Beko (Fruit) 9A Olea europaea Olive Tree Afro-Eurasia None Summer . Oleaceae Olive Family Small Tree * This plant will not survive below -10’c night temperatures, protect from very harsh winter nights Photograph from Flickr (CC) Miltos Gikas 10A Phaseolus coccineus C. America Runner Bean ‘Achievement’ Summer . ‘Celebration’ Fabaceae Legume Family 8ft Climber Perennial * Will not survive a frost, only half-hardy Photograph from Flickr (CC) Maja Dumat 11A Prunus avium Afro-Eurasia Sweet Cherry Tree Spring . ‘Morello’ ‘Penny’ Summer (Fruits) ‘Summer Sun’ Rosaceae Rose Family Small Tree Photograph from Flickr (CC) Gertjan van Noord 12A Prunus domestica Anatolia Garden Plum Spring . ‘Victoria’ Summer (Fruits) ‘Cambridge Gage’ Rosaceae Rose Family Small Tree Photograph from Flickr (CC) Josef Laimer, Brigitte Rieser (fruit) 13A Pyrus communis Eurasia Pear Tree Spring . ‘Concorde’ Summer (Fruits) ‘Doyenné du Comice’ Rosaceae Rose Family Small Tree Photograph from Flickr (CC) Sonnia Hill 14A Ribes uva-crispa Afro-Eurasia European Gooseberry - Species - Mid Spring - Early Summer Grossulariaceae Currant Family Small Shrub Photographs from Flickr (CC) Kev Wheeler (Fruit), Peter Stenzel (Flowers) 15A Rubus fruticosus Europe Bramble, Blackberry Summer (Flowers) ‘Loch Ness’ ‘Loch Tay’ Autumn (Fruit) Rosaceae Rose Family Rambling Shrub Photograph © Thomas McBride 16A Rubus idaeus Eurasia European Raspberry Summer (Flowers) ‘All Gold’ ‘Glen Ample’ Autumn (Fruit) Rosaceae Rose Family Small Shrub Photograph from Flickr (CC) Bjorn S, A Qiao (Flower) 17A Vaccinium corymbosum N. America Garden Blueberry Late Spring . ‘Duke’ ‘Spartan’ Summer . (Berries) Ericaceae Heather Family Medium Shrub Photograph from Flickr (CC) Maja Dumat (Flowers) & Rob Thurman (Fruit) 18A Vicia faba Central Asia Broad Bean ‘Aguadulce’ Late Spring Photograph from Flickr - Midsummer (CC) Franziska Geiser ‘Meteor’ * Fabaceae Legume Family 2ft Perennial * This cultivar and many others are slightly tender (will not withstand temperatures below -10’c) Photograph from Flickr (CC) Nicola Prisco 19A Vitis vinifera Eurasia Grapevine ‘Boskoop Glory’ Summer . ‘Purpurea’ Vitaceae Grape Family 10ft+ Vine Photograph from Flickr (CC) Andreas Rockstein, Morgan Sherwood (Fruit) 20A Herbs Many of our common garden herbs have flowers that are very beneficial to pollinating insects. Plants particularly in the mint family (Lamiaceae) and carrot family (Apiaceae) produce flowers abundantly while also producing aromatic leaves. Unlike fruit picking, plants aren’t exactly designed to have their leaves picked so, to keep them flowering profusely, pick the leaves sparingly to allow the plants to mature. Once mature, most of the perennial herbs will produce leaves far in excess of that which you can use in cooking. Herbs are used in a culinary sense to impart flavour; usually in savoury dishes. However, many herbs are also useful medicinally. For a more comprehensive list, including their traditional uses, see ‘Medicinal Plants for Pollinators’. N. America & Allium schoenoprasum Eurasia Chives None Summer . Amaryllidaceae Daffodil Family 1ft Bulbous Photograph from Flickr (CC) Jakub Cabal 1B Allium ursinum Wild Garlic, Ramsons Europe None Spring . Amaryllidaceae Daffodil Family 2ft Bulbous Photograph © Thomas McBride 2B Anethum graveolens Middle East Common Dill ‘Moulton’ Summer . ‘Annete’ ‘Hera’ Apiaceae Carrot Family 3ft Annual Photograph from Flickr (CC) Maja Dumat 3B Angelica archangelica Europe Garden Angelica Related Species: Angelica sylvestris Summer . ‘Ebony’ Apiaceae Carrot Family 6ft Perennial Photograph from Flickr