Gevuina avellana

Gevuina avellana is a slow-growing evergreen shrub reaching 10 m tall and wide. It flowers from June to August and produces seeds that ripen in October. Hardy to UK zone 9, it requires well-drained soil and tolerates light, loamy, or clay soils with mildly acidic to neutral pH. It grows in semi-shade woodland conditions and prefers consistently moist soil.

Description

An evergreen tree. It grows 12 m high. It has long branches and an open crown. The leaves are pale green and shiny. They are alternate and divided into leaflets along the stalk. The leaves are 45 cm long and with up to 30 leaflets. The bright red flowers are in clusters along stalks. These are 12 cm long. The fruit is red and fleshy. It is 1.5-2.5 cm across. It becomes black as it ripens. The kernel is edible.

Edible Uses

The seed can be eaten raw or cooked and has a pleasant flavour similar to cob nuts. It is a popular food in Chile, often sold in local markets and widely sought after. The seed contains about 12.5% protein, 49.5% oil, and 24.1% carbohydrate. The roasted seed is also used as a coffee substitute.

Traditional Uses

The nuts are eaten raw. They can also be roasted. The nuts yield an oil. The roasted nuts can be used as a coffee substitute.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Medicinal Uses

None known

Known Hazards

None listed

Distribution

It is a warm temperate plant. It does best in a shaded woodland. It should only have limited artificial fertiliser. It grows naturally in cool, wet, oceanic areas. It does best in moist, well-drained soils. It needs a pH of 4.5-6.5. In Chile it grows from sea level to over 2,000 m above sea level. It suits hardiness zones 9-10. Mt Lofty Botanical Gardens. Arboretum Tasmania.

Where It Grows

Argentina, Australia, Britain, Chile*, Europe, New Zealand, North America, South America, Tasmania, UK, USA,

Cultivation

Requires a lime-free soil and a sheltered position. Requires a well-drained moist fertile soil. Best grown in semi-shade, the plant prefers woodland conditions. A very ornamental plant, when dormant it is hardy to -10°c in a sheltered woodland environment, but succeeds outdoors only in the milder areas of Britain, growing well in Devon and Cornwall. The young growth in spring, even on mature plants, is frost-tender and so it is best to grow the plants in a position sheltered from the early morning sun. Plants flower and set viable seed every year at Coleton Fishacre in S. Devon. In general, however, flowering is unreliable in cool temperate zones. The leaves are very variable in shape, ranging from pinnate to bipinnate, the leaflets varying in number from 3 to 30. There is probably some form of symbiotic relationship with a fungus in the soil that the plants are dependant upon. Plants are very intolerant of root disturbance.

Propagation

Sow seed as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse; stored seed should be sown as early in the year as possible. Seedlings often germinate well but then decline, possibly due to a need for a symbiotic relationship with a soil-borne fungus — adding soil from around an established plant to the seed compost may improve success. Once large enough to handle, prick seedlings into individual pots and grow on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant out into permanent positions in late spring or early summer after the last expected frosts, and consider providing cold protection for the first winter or two. Cuttings of half-ripe wood can be taken in July or August in a frame. Layering is also possible, with hard pruning providing plenty of material.

Other Uses

The seedcase is a source of tannin. The wood is light, strong, easily worked, elastic, and not very durable; it is used for furniture, oars, and roof shingles.

Production

Trees produce in 5-7 years. They can yield 3-5 kg per year.

Other Information

The nuts are roasted and sold in markets.

Notes

There are 3 Gevuina species. It is 12.5% protein, 49.5% oil and 24.1 5 carbohydrate.

Synonyms

Also Known As

Avellano, Gevuin, Guevin, Guevein, Nefuen, Ngefu

References (30)

• Barreau, A., et al, 2016, How Can We Teach Our Children if We Cannot Access the Forest? Generational Change in Mapuche Knowledge of Wild Edible Plants in Andean Temperate Ecosystems of Chile. Journal of Ethnobiology 36(2): 412–432
• Brickell, C. (Ed.), 1999, The Royal Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants. Convent Garden Books. p 469
• Cordero, S. E., Abello, L. A., & Galvez, F. L., 2017, Plantas silvestres comestibles y medicinales de Chile y otras partes del mundo. CORMA p 77
• Cundall, P., (ed.), 2004, Gardening Australia: flora: the gardener's bible. ABC Books. p 638
• Daly, A. B., 20014, Narrating changing foodways: wild edible plant knowledge and traditional food systems in Mapuche lands of the Andean Temperate Forests, Chile. Masters Thesis Vancouver. p 45

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