Plants with industrial uses
Myrica quercifolia L.
Half hardy evergreen shrub with lobed, oak-like leaves, the axillary flowers in catkins, followed by round berries which exude a wax when ripe, this drying to a white, scaly powder. to 1m. [JD, Pappe – Silva Capensis p.45/1862].
Opuntia cochinellifera (L.) Mill.
Frost tender, shrubby or tree-like perennial cactus with flattened stem segments, few if any spines, and narrowly funnel-shaped, bright red flowers in spring and summer, followed by fleshy, spineless red fruit, to 4cm long. To 4m. The dye Cochineal is produced from insects grown on this cactus. It has been long cultivated in tropical America and elsewhere for this purpose. [RHSE, Hortus].
Phormium tenax Forst.
Half hardy clump-forming perennial with upright, linear leaves to 3m, and red-purple panicles of tubular dull red flowers in summer. To 4m. [RHSE, Hortus].
Phyllostachys nigra (Lodd. ex Lindl.) Munro
Fully hardy, clump-forming bamboo with arching, slender green canes that turn black in their second or third year. To 5m. [RHSE, Hortus].
Pistacia lentiscus L.
Half hardy, evergreen, resinous, aromatic shrub or small tree, with pinnate leaves, to 10cm long, composed of up to 7 pairs of leaflets, and dense panicles, to 3cm long, of male flowers, and looser panicles, to 6cm long, of brownish green female flowers, to 6cm long, in spring and summer, followed by blackish fruits. To 3m by 3m. [RHSE, Hortus].
Pistacia terebinthus L.
Small tree or large shrub with dark, glossy, aromatic, pinnate leaves and green unisexual flowers followed by small reddish-purple fruits. To 9m or more. [RHSD, Hortus, Hilliers’].
Reseda odorata L.
Fully hardy, erect to slightly spreading perennial, usually grown as an annual, with loose, conical, raceme-like heads of tiny star-shaped, highly fragrant, yellowish-green or white to reddish-green flowers from summer to early autumn. To 60cm. The flowers have been prized for centuries for their fragrance, which lasts for months, even when cut and dried. It is still cultivated in France for the essential oils, which are used in perfumery. [RHSE, Hortus].
Rhus coriaria L.
Hardy, deciduous, small to medium-sized shrub or small tree with pinnate leaves, with up to 21 toothed leaflets. and greenish-white female flowers in loose terminal panicles in summer followed by brownish-purple fruits. To 3m. [RHSD, Hortus, Hilliers’].
Rhus typhina L.
Hardy, deciduous, dioecious, wide-spreading shrub or small tree, the young shoots covered in reddish-brown hairs, the leaves large, pinnate and turning yellow, orange, red or purple in autumn, with large, erect clusters of male flowers, the female flowers followed by hairy crimson fruit. To 6m or more. [RHSD, Hortus].
Rhus verniciflua Stokes
With a range from the Himalayas to Japan, it is a medium-sized tree with large pinnate leaves and drooping panicles of flowers. It is the source of the famous varnish or lacquer of Japan. [RHSE, Hortus, Hilliers’].
Rosa moschata Mill.
Rosa moschata Mill. is the herbalist’s rose, described consistently from John Gerard (1597) to Redouté (1817-1824) as an autumn-flowering rose. Nurserymen of the time listed it for its autumn-flowering characteristics. Most notable for us is Thomas Rivers, who, in an article in The Gardeners’ Chronicle of 1843, included it in his autumnal garden. It is a vigorous climber, reaching to 10m or more, with loose clusters of musk-scented, usually single, pure white flowers, displaying yellow stamens, from mid to late summer into autumn. The flowers are followed by small, orange-red hips. [Rivers (1854, 1857, 1863), Gore, Willmot, Paul (1848, 1888)].
Salix fragilis L. var. russelliana
A large tree with wide-spreading branches, rugged bark and brittle twigs. the slender catkins appear with the leaves in spring. To 25m. It commonly grows with Salix alba L. and hybrids between the two occur naturally. Intermediate between the parents they are called Salix x rubens Hort. [RHSD, Hortus, Hilliers’].
Salix triandra L.
A large shrub or small tree with flaky bark and glossy lance-shaped leaves. Long cultivated in Europe for basket making although not the most important species for this. See Salix viminalis L. [RHSD, Hortus, Hilliers’].
Salix viminalis L.
Fully hardy, fast-growing, upright shrub or tree with glossy shoots, slender, linear leaves, to 15cm long, and dense, crowded, green catkins, to 3.5cm long, in spring before the leaves. To 6m. [RHSE, Hortus, Hilliers’].
Sapindus drummondii Hook. & Arn.
Fully hardy, small deciduous tree with pinnate leaves, turning yellow in autumn, and dense conical panicles of cream flowers in early summer, followed by spherical, orange-yellow fruit. To 15m. [RHSE, Hortus, Hilliers’].
