Madeira Blueberry (Vaccinium Padifolium)

Vaccinium Padifolium (Madeira blueberry) is very common at elevations between 800 and 1,700 metres (2,600 and 5,600 ft). It grows mainly in crevices and exposed slopes and mountain plains. Fruits are used in preserves. It is endemic to the islands of Madeira and Porto Santo, Portugal.

Description

It is a semi-evergreen scrub to small tree 1.5–6 m tall. New branches are generally reddish and pubescent. Leaves are often flushed dark red in autumn 2.5–7 × 1–2(2.5) cm, oblong to elliptic, acute to acuminate, petiole short, pubescent. Calyx 3–4 mm, with five short, broad lobes up to 1.5 mm. Flowers on curved pedicels in erect, axillary, bracteate racemes. Corolla, 7–10 mm, globose to campanulate, the lobes very short. There are often five broad rose stripes on the white corolla. Berries up to 12 × 10 mm, ripening blue-black.

Chemistry

The blue color of the berries is due to anthocyanins (Delphinidin 3-O-α-rhamnoside and anthocyanins triglycosides).

Clethra Arborea

Clethra arborea, commonly known as the lily-of-the-valley-tree, is a flowering plant in the genus Clethra. It is found in Macaronesia where it is native to Madeira, extinct in the Canary Islands, and considered an introduced species in the Azores. In Madeira its natural habitat is laurisilva forest.

Description

It is an evergreen narrowly upright shrub or small tree, growing to about 6 m tall and 4 m wide. The foliage is dense and glossy, with the leaves up to 7–10 cm long. The flowers are small, white and fragrant, similar in appearance to those of lily of the valley, hence the common name. The flowers are grouped in terminal panicles and bloom in early to mid summer. The plant is toxic to humans; it contains andromedotoxin which may cause diarrhea and even sudden death.

Cultivation

The tree prefers moist, acidic and well-drained soils, disliking alkaline soils. It is sensitive to frost and likely to die if the temperature falls below −3°C. It is propagated by seeds, cuttings and air-layering.

The Vinhatico (Persea indica)

The Vinhatico, or Persea indica, is a species of plant in the Lauraceae family. It belongs to the evergreen tree genus Persea of about 150 species, of which the avocado, P. americana, is the best known.

It is found in the Azores, Madeira, and Canary Islands in Macaronesia. It is threatened by habitat loss. It is the vegetable symbol of the island of La Gomera.

The Family Lauraceae was part of Gondwanaland flora. There they spread over most of the continent. The genus Persea died out in increasingly xerophytic Africa, starting with the freezing of Antarctica about 20 million years ago and the formation of the Benguela current. The genus is extinct in Africa, save for P. indica, which survives in the fog shrouded mountains of the Canary Islands, which with Madagascar, constitute Africa's Laurel forest plant refugia.

Fossil evidence indicates that the genus originated in West Africa during the Paleocene, and spread to Asia, to South America, and to Europe and thence to North America. It is thought that the gradual drying of Africa, west Asia, and the Mediterranean from the Oligocene to the Pleistocene, and the glaciation of Europe during the Pleistocene, caused the extinction of the genus across these regions, resulting in the present distribution.

P. indica is a species exclusive to Laurisilva, since this habitat is constantly threatened by encroaching agriculture, the laurel forest animal or vegetal species had already become rare in many of its former habitats and are threatened by habitat loss.

Madeira Laurel

Laurus novocanariensis is an evergreen large shrub or tree with aromatic, shiny dark-green foliage belonging to Laurus genus of evergreen trees, of the Laurel family Lauraceae. The genus includes three species, whose diagnostic key characters often overlap. Under favorable conditions it is an impressive tree that stands between 3 to 20 metres. It grows from rich soils in moist spots in subtropical climate zones with high air-humidity such as the Canary Islands and Madeira.

The laurel is dioecious (unisexual), with male and female flowers on separate plants. Each flower is fragrant creamy white, about 1 cm in diameter, and are born in pairs beside a leaf.

It can be distinguished by its lanceolate leaves. The fruits are 1-1.5 cm, and become black when ripe. It is highly branched, with a rather dense canopy, trunk and green and gray branches, and brown buds.

It has fragrant creamy white flowers. It flowers from November to April. The fruit is a berry olive-like seed.

The fixed oil extracted from the Laurus fruit is used in local traditional medicine for a wide variety of health complaints.

Protea

Protea is both the botanical name and the English common name of a genus of South African flowering plants, sometimes also called sugarbushes. In local tradition, the Protea flower represents change and hope.

The genus Protea was named in 1735 by Carl Linnaeus after the Greek god Proteus, who could change his form at will, because they have such a wide variety of forms.

The family Proteaceae to which proteas belong is an ancient one among angiosperms. Evidence from pollen fossils suggest Proteaceae ancestors grew in Gondwana, in the Upper Cretaceous, 75-80 million years ago. The Proteaceae are divided into two subfamilies: the Proteoideae, best represented in southern Africa, and the Grevilleoideae, concentrated in Australia and South America and the other smaller segments of Gondwana that are now part of eastern Asia. Africa shares only one genus with Madagascar, whereas South America and Australia share many common genera — this indicates they separated from Africa before they separated from each other.

Proteas are currently cultivated in over 20 countries. Cultivation is restricted to Mediterranean and sub tropical climates such as that of Madeira Island. Some Protea flower species, like the King Protea flower, are self-pollinating flowers. Other Protea species, however, like the Protea Cordata, Protea decurrens and the Protea scabra are self-incompatible and thus rely on cross-pollination for successive seed set. The main vectors responsible for the transfer of pollen in Protea cultivation are birds, insects and wind. There are some Protea species which exhibit both self-pollination as well as cross-pollination as a method of reproduction. Cross-pollination is however preferred as a method of reproduction because it provides genetic diversity in the population. When cultivating Proteas, breeders use hand pollination as a controlled method to transfer pollen from one flower to another. The following steps are used by breeders to perform hand pollination:

·         Cover the inflorescence, which contain only closed flowers, with a plastic bag

·         Once the first few flowers have opened, the majority has to be cut back to 10-20 flowers around the receptacle

·         After three days the pollen may be applied using a tooth pick. The flower should then again be covered with a plastic bag and marked with a tag containing information regarding the seed, the parent as well as the date of pollination. This step should be repeated until all the flowers are opened and pollinated.

·         The seed head should be harvested at nine to twelve months and dried at temperatures more or less at 40 °C to remove the seeds from the receptacle

·         The seeds can be germinated in autumn using hot water

·         The seeds should then be placed in a sterilized potting medium for germination.

Proteas usually flower during spring time. There are four main methods of selecting Protea flowers for further cultivation: Mass selection, Single plant clonal selection, Chance interspecific hybrid selection, Controlled-pollination interspecific hybrid selection. The four main methods for cultivating Protea plants are sexual reproduction (cultivation with seed). When Proteas are cultivated using seeds, the first step in the cultivation process is to disinfect the seeds by soaking in water maintained at 50 °C for 30 minutes. The germination of the seeds will occur over a period of 14 to 28 days. The germinating seeds should be planted in a medium in pots before the developing roots are 10mm long. Another method for cultivation is vegetative propagation (cultivation with cuttings), which is used to obtain a large protea population of the same genotype. This cultivation method allows for the cultivation of hybrid protea plants without the loss of their unique characteristics. The other two cultivation methods include grafting and budding and micropropagation, referring to cultivation with tissue culture.

13 Edible Flowers for Your Garden by Annie Mueller

Perhaps eating flowers hasn’t earned its place in your diet… yet. A little more bizarre than appealing? But picture a salad of fresh spring greens, tossed with bright yellow and orange chrysanthemum petals. Or a beautiful spring cake, iced and garnished with sugared violets. The possibilities are beautiful, fresh and endless, even if the idea of edible flowers is a new one for you. Do we smell a possible convert?

First things first; growing edible flowers organically is a must. The last thing you want on your fresh, beautiful flowers are the residues of chemical fertilizers or herbicides.

Since you won’t be using chemical products, you’ll want to build up the soil with lots of organic matter to promote vigorous healthy growth. Why? Because a healthy, strong growing plant is more resistant to disease and insect problems. You can grow edible flowers in containers or in a designated flower bed, but before you plant anything, work in a good amount of organic matter: organic compost, well-dried manure, organic topsoil. If the soil is heavy, work in some sand to lighten things up for better drainage. A too-moist environment can result in fungal diseases.

Keep a simple, organic herbicide or pest repellant on hand and use it for spot treating areas that look dangerous. A simple mixture of 1/2 cup organic peppermint soap in a spray bottle of water can help repel insects.

Choose and plant the flowers that will fit beautifully into your cooking repetoire. Here’s a partial list to get you thinking, some of which you may not even have known are eatable:

Chamomile:

The plant itself can be rather weedy-looking, and is tall, so plant it toward the back. The diminutive, daisy-like flowers look lovely in a salad.

Lavender:

Perfect for flavoring desserts or for scenting your linen drawer. These purple buds are great for spring and summer garnishes.

Chysanthemum:

Beautiful, cheerful, many-petaled flowers come in a variety of bright colors.

Daylily:

Plant once, and you’ll have a growing crop of daylilies every year. Many colors and variegations to choose from.

Dianthus:

Small, many shades of pink, delicate and lovely in a salad or as a garnish.

Hibiscus:

These large, tropical flowers make a beautiful edible garnish.

Lilac:

Old-fashioned beauties, you can enjoy these in a vase or on the table.

Marigold:

Small, bright and easy to grow, these make an excellent addition to a salad of spinach.

Rose:

Lovely to look at, lovely to smell and lovely with chocolate.

Scented geranium:

Most varieties taste like their scent.

Snapdragon:

Another old-fashioned garden favorite that can also grace the plate.

Tulip:

Like daylilies, these bulbs will spread every year, giving you a better crop with no additional work.

Violet: 

Sugared or candied violets are the best edible dessert garnish.

Til (Ocotea foetens)

Ocotea foetens, commonly called til, tilo, stinkwood, or rain tree of Hierro island, is a species of tree in the Lauraceaefamily. It is evergreen and grows up to 40 m tall. It is a common constituent of the laurisilva forests of Madeira and the Canary Islands. It is in danger of becoming threatened due to habitat loss.

Description

Ocotea foetens is endemic to Macaronesia. Like the other species of the Ocotea genus, it is rich in essential oils, which give an unpleasant odor to the wood when freshly cut (hence the name foetens, Latin for smelly, stinky, disgusting, unpleasant). It is rarely used as an ornamental. It is an evergreen tree generally up to 30 m (33 yd) in height, although some specimens may reach 40 m (44 yd). It commonly grows with multiple trunks branched from the base. The bark is rough and irregular, and dark in colour; the young branches are angular, with smooth bark, sometimes reddish in areas of recent growth. The wood is dark and hard. The leaves are about 9–12 cm (3.5–4.7 in) long and 3–5 cm (1.2–2.0 in) wide, oblong-lanceolate to almost elliptical, acuminate at the apex and slightly indented at the base. In adult plants, the leaves are leathery in texture, glossy on both sides, darker green on the upper surface, with 2(-4) small gland-like depressions on the underside near the base. The petioles are short (up to 15 mm (0.59 in) in length). The flowers of both sexes are white, with splashes of green and pale yellow, releasing a slight odor. The perianth has six components, and there are nine stamens. The predominant flowering season is from June to August (northern hemisphere). The fruit is a berry, hard and fleshy and about 3 cm (1.2 in) long, its lower half covered by a dome, giving it a look similar to an acorn. The fruit is dark green, gradually darkening with maturity. The fruit has a single seed wrapped in a hard coat. When the fruits fall they separate from the dome. Germination is favored by moisture and light.

Ecology

Ocotea foetens is endemic to Madeira and the Canary Islands, appearing in laurel forest habitat, generally between 400 and 1400 m altitude. In the Canary Islands it is not present on Lanzarote or Fuerteventura. In the archipelago of Madeira it is absent from Porto Santo. In Azores Islands it is an introduced species. It is the only Paleoendemic Ocotea species in the wetter relict forest areas of Macaronesia. Its berries are consumed mostly by the endemic Madeiran pigeon Columba trocaz.

Folklore

Ocotea foetens was sacred to the Bimbaches, the older inhabitants of El Hierro in the Canary Islands, and was one of their symbols. The legend states that the "Garoé" was a large laurel tree that assured the life of the Bimbaches, providing them with water in sufficient amounts for their survival. The islands are located where tradewinds occur, and water from clouds condensed on the branches of the tree and it later poured rain around the island. One of many legends says that the water originating from the tree was led to a hole from which the Bimbaches could provide water. The original tree fell in a storm in 1610. In 1957, a replacement was planted in the same location as the Garoé. It has been growing and is surrounded by mosses.

Rosy Garlic (Allium Roseum)

Allium roseum, commonly called rosy garlic, is an edible, Old World species of garlic native to much of Europe and the Mediterranean region, northern Africa, and western Asia, but widely naturalized outside this range.

This plant grows naturally to about 18 inches (46 cm) high in well-drained soils, and blooms from late spring to early summer.

The inflorescences of the plant are umbels. The loose, fragrant florets are about 3 inches (76 mm) long, having six pinkish to lilac tepals.

Allium roseum is native to the Mediterranean Basin, and has been introduced to many other parts of the world, including Great Britain, the Canary Islands, Madeira, South Australia and New Zealand.

Allium roseum was originally described and published by Carl Linnaeus in his Species Plantarum in 1753.