Issue No 12, July 1999.

NOTICE: Hard copies of the Australian New Crops Newsletter are available from the publisher, Dr Rob Fletcher. Details of availability are included in the Advice on Publications Available.

16. Emails through New Crops LISTSERV, Purdue

Jack bean
From: rnmowbray@worldnet.att.net
Date sent: 19 March 1999 (via New Crops LISTSERV)

Jack bean is grown as a cover crop by small farmers in many sustainable agriculture programs. I know of several groups working with Jack bean in Nicaragua and suspect that it is also used in many other Latin American countries as well as Africa and Asia. The Nicaragua groups could not produce enough seed for their own needs when I was last there in 1996, but that situation might have changed by now. I believe that the Nicaragua programs obtained seed from Honduras to get their programs started.

I have advised my contact in Nicaragua of your interest just in case they are not on the New Crops LISTSERV. If they have seed available, or know of a source, I suspect that they will contact you directly.

Robert N. Mowbray
Forest Ecologist/Natural Resource Management Specialist
2218 Wheelwright Court
Reston, Virginia USA 20191-2313
Telephone: 1 703 758 1959
Facsimile: 1 703 758 8763
Email: rnmowbray@worldnet.att.net

From: linda@engr.colostate.edu
Subject: Spelt questions
Date sent: 23 April 1999 (via New Crops LISTSERV)

I'd like to know planting and growth conditions for spelt, including fertilizer requirements, moisture, etc. The spelt may be grown in the western panhandle of Nebraska. Additionally, are there any special requirements for harvesting and dehulling beyond what is necessary for harvesting winter wheat?

Linda L. Henk, Ph.D.
Department of Chemical and Bioresource Engineering
Room 100, Glover Building
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, Colorado USA 80523
Telephone: 1 970 491 7065
Facsimile: 1 970 491 7369

From: mforsyth@telusplanet.net
Date sent: 24 April 1999 (via New Crops LISTSERV)

We grow spelt in small amounts and have researched the literature. We have not been able to get it to overwinter in Alberta (probably too little snow cover). If it is vernalized it will head up and is very similar to winter wheat. It is harder to dehull the glumes are well attached. That is presumably the main reason it was replaced by wheat in the early part of the century. Previously it was grown in Montana along with emma and widely used as cattle feed (no dehulling necessary). One variety we have is supposed to be an old variety and was obtained from a grower in Ohio. The one currently available in stores here, I am told, is neuvo spelt. The other one we will try this year is spring spelt which we obtained from a grower in Saskatchewan. We grow organically in rotation or with composting. We would like to keep in touch with you and any other growers.

Mike Forsyth Ph.D and Lynn Cain MBA
Forsyth Cain & Associates

Chinese Jujube

From: Leo Manuel <leom@rarefruit.com>
Date sent: 9 Feb 1999 (via New Crops LISTSERV)
Subject: Who Are Leading Jujube Authorities?

I received the following letter from Professor Mao Yongmin in China. He needs to know who the leading Jujube specialists are in the US and in other parts of the world.

From: Mao Yongmin "mym63" <mym63@bd-user.he.cninfo.net>

My name is Mao Yongmin. I am an associate professor and have been working at the Research Center for Chinese Jujube in the Agricultural University of Hebei for over ten years. I have a rich experience in the growing of deciduous fruit trees, such as apple, peach, pear, and so on, especially Chinese jujube(Zyziphus jujuba Mill). I have undertaken many projects related to fruit culture techniques, fruit physiology, disease control, nutrient diagnosis and so on. Now I have been granted financial support from the China Scholarship Council to pursue research and studies in America as a visiting scholar for a period of one year. I want to contact the jujube specialists in America and in other countries. I am very familiar with the current status of jujube culture in China and would like to exchange jujube information with jujube specialists and hobbyists. Thanking you in advance for your reply.

Yours very sincerely
Mao Yongmin

From: davidn@aoi.com.au
Date sent: 10 February 1999 (via New Crops LISTSERV)

The leading jujube specialist in the US is Roger Meyer <exoticfruit@95net.com>, joint author of the recently-issued 'Jujube Primer & Source Book'. Roger is also in touch with jujube specialists elsewhere, including Australia (Phillip Ciminata) and New Zealand.

David Noel
Tree Crops Centre (treecrop@AOI.com.au)
PO Box 27
Subiaco Western Australia 6008
208 Nicholson Road
Subiaco, WA 6008
Telephone: 08 9388 1965
Facsimile: 08 9388 1852
Email: davidn@aoi.com.au
Web site: http://www.AOI.com.au

From: Rose@itsg2.agric.za
Date sent: 23 April 1999 (via New Crops LISTSERV)

Could anyone let me know if they are doing research on yams or if they know anyone doing research on yams as we are initiating a project in South Africa (possibly!) and would like to make contact with other researchers working on this crop. Thank you

Later the same day, following a request for more specific information re yams:

Sorry I should have been more specific. We are looking at yams utilized as a staple food in parts of Africa - mainly Dioscorea cayenensis, D. rotundata and D. alata. Perhaps there are others as well? Hope this clarifies the issue a bit.

Rosemary du Preez
Co-ordinator: New Crop Programme
Agricultural Research Council
Institute for Tropical & Subtropical Crops
Nelspruit, 1200
South Africa
Telephone: 27 13 753 2071
Facsimile: 27 13 752 3854
Web site: www.arc.agric.za

From: jcherfas@cix.co.uk
Date sent: 23 April 1999 (via New Crops LISTSERV)

Depends what you mean by yams! I'm evaluating a couple of types of what I call Chinese Yam, Dioscorea opposita, which some people call Cinnamon Vine. My efforts are pretty casual at the moment, looking for the best ways to grow them in the marginal climate of England.

Dr Jeremy Cherfas
Unusual Edible Plants
Somerset UK

From: stanford.blade@agric.gov.ab.ca
Date sent: 23 April 1999 (via New Crops LISTSERV)

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Nigeria has a Dioscorea breeding program. I left there in 1994, but it was ongoing at that time. IITA is part of the CGIAR system which includes several international research institutes around the world.

Dr. Stan Blade, PAg
Plant Breeder/Agronomist, Special Crops Program
Leader, New Crop Development Unit
Director, Crop Diversification Centre North
Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development
17507 - Fort Road, R.R. #6
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T5B 4K3
Telephone: 1 780 415 2311
Facsimile: 1 780 422 6096
Web site: http://www.agric.gov.ab.ca:7001/owa-ate/owa/atep_ate_frame. bio_frame? in_user_id=blade

From: Permacltur@aol.com
Subject: Tree Fungi Culture and Management
Date sent: 4 March 1999 (via New Crops LISTSERV)

We will need to remove a number of oak and hickory trees to have room for trials on fruit trees, etc. Inasmuch as these are in excess of any conceivable firewood use, we are thinking of using them to cultivate edible fungi. Shiitake is one species we are considering because it is available in varieties that accommodate or rather extreme climate and that can be grown without cover. We are interested in considering all potential species and varieties, and especially in considering management techniques.

Barking Frogs Permaculture Center is located in North-Central Florida, USA. Our summer temperatures typically run to 95 F with winter highs around 60-70, sometimes lower, and with infrequent light frost and freezing. Summer is also very humid and winter tends to be the dry season, although they flip flop at times. The goals are low maintenance, readily available spore or plug material, and of course high culinary quality. We are able to market surplus through coordination with local CSA and restaurants. Obviously, we are not interested in anything with bizarre appearance or preparation requirements as this would not be saleable with the level of marketing this temporary enterprise justifies.

Regarding other potential uses, firewood does not store stacked here as it tends to decompose substantially in just one year. (For all I know, THOSE fungi are edible, but I'm not inclined to experiment!) Selling off the wood as firewood would bring virtually trivial payment absolutely not worth the loss of biomass from our land. We do need to cut this spring as we have been holding the trees for our agroforestry trials in pots and it is past time to get them in the ground.

Finally, to consider a species or variety, we need information on their cultivation, availability, etc. Again, all culture will be on logs stacked in a wooded area (for shade), and any watering required will be by bucket from the nearby swamp. Obviously, for example, a species that could require daily watering for some reason would not be considered. A less valuable species that can better fend for itself would be of great interest, on the other hand.

Dan and Cynthia Hemenway
PO Box 52
Sparr Florida 32192 USA

From: charles@ce.ufl.edu
Date sent: 4 March 1999 (via New Crops LISTSERV)
See: http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/AFSIC_pubs/qb9613.htm

Growing shiitake mushrooms (Lentinus edodes) in Florida. Webb, RS, Kimbrough, JW, Olson, C and Edwards, JC. Bulletin of the Florida Cooperative Extension Service Gainesville, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, June 1995. 7 pp.

Marketing alternatives for north Florida Shiitake mushroom producers. Degner, RL and Williams, MB. FAMRC-Independent Report - Rep. Gainesville, Florida : Florida Agricultural Market Research Center. November 1991. 19 pp.

http://hammock.ifas.ufl.edu/txt/authors/FR001
http://www.fungi.com/
http://www.sfrc.ufl.edu/Extension/ffws/ntfv.htm
http://www.fungi.com/info/permaculture.html

Charles Jacks

From: vidaverde@arrakis.es
Date sent: 5 March 1999 (via New Crops LISTSERV)

A book that may be of interest is 'Technical Guidelines for Mushroom Growing in the Tropics' by the FAO, ISBN 92-5-103026-X.

Almost all the information in this book is relevant to your situation too. It is an excellent beginners book, aimed at development workers in the third world, so it explains very clearly only low-cost, low-tech techniques without expensive tools. I would suggest you might wish to try Oyster Mushrooms on brush chippings of your logs. They are supposedly easier than other types. Alternatively, in the book, it lists most oaks as very suitable for shiitake production direct on logs. With the hickory, it looks like it depends which hickory in particular.

Ben
Vida Verde
Rare Crops Breeding & Demonstration Centre

From: Rga3x@aol.com
Date sent: 10 June 1999 (via New Crops LISTSERV)

I came across this description in a printed catalogue (2000-1; page 27) from Oregon Exotics (www.exoticfruit.com):

Tsang-ssu-zu (Love sick licorice; Abrus precatorius)

The leaves of this Chinese plant contain a sweet principle similar to that of licorice. The roots where used to some extent for flavoring in China. Excellent grained wood is of great value to carvers but the diameter is never thick enough to make it commercially harvested by timber dealers.

I am aware the seeds contain abrin, a similar compound to ricin and one or two chewed seeds can kill adults. I was fascinated by the idea of using the plant as a wood source. Does anyone have any experience in growing this or in seeing/verifying the wood aspect of this plant?

Ralph G Arnold
Oregon

From: pgharr@peg.apc.org
Date sent: 11 June 1999 (via New Crops LISTSERV)

This plant is native to northern Australia and parts of Indonesia where I am very familiar with it as a vine. I have never seen it as anything but a climbing vine usually in monsoon forest areas. It is recognised as a dangerous plant in the Northern Territory where it is native, because of the attractiveness of the seeds to children, and as stated is well known to be toxic. However, I known of no defined instances of death caused by the ingestion of seeds. It is also possible that seeds, because of their hard coat may travel the intestine as whole seeds, if not broken up during eating. Do we have a case of mistaken identity in terms of the botanical name? I would be surprised to see it as a plant found in China, even the southern areas, although may extend into areas north of Vietnam in forest areas.

Peter G Harrison
PG Harrison and Associates
Agricultural and Environmental Consultants
PO Box 40493
Casuarina Northern Territory 0811
Telephone: 08 8948 1894
Facsimile: 08 8948 3894

From: tknokfrm@chibardun.net
Subject: noma noma
Date sent: 19 June 1999 (via New Crops LISTSERV)

Is anyone familiar with Noma Noma (pronounced no-nee no-nee), a Hawaiian tree?

Richard Hall
Talking Oak Farm
321 11 1/4 Street
Prairie Farm
Wisconsin 54762 USA
Telephone: 1 715 455 1158

From: jcherfas@cix.co.uk
Date sent: 20 June 1999 (via New Crops LISTSERV)

Facciola lists Morinda citrifolia (Rubiaceae) as Noni. "Unripe fruits used in sambals and curries. Ripe fruits are made into a beverage with sugar or syrup."

Dr Jeremy Cherfas
Unusual Edible Plants
Somerset UK

From: drfist@ilhawaii.net
Date sent: 21 June 1999 (via New Crops LISTSERV)

In Hawaii Noni was used as a famine food and as a medicine mainly for cuts and scratches. It is now sold in the MLM industry as a cure all or as a tonic. They are now purchasing noni (in the last month) here in Hawaii for .45$ per pound. Making it a potentially profitable crop, most of it is wild plants that are very common at lower elevations and drier sites. It is grown in India and used as a yellow dye. Robert Faust

Robert H. Faust PhD
Agroecologist
Faust Bio-Agricultural Services, Inc.
Telephone Exchange Road
PO Box 800
Honaunau, Hawaii 96726 USA
Telephone: 1 808 328 2083
Facsimile: 1 815 371 0194

From: davidn@aoi.com.au
Date sent: 29 June 1999 (via New Crops LISTSERV)

Morinda citrifolia is also native to northern Australia, and has many medicinal and edible uses - I ate part of one last week. However, common name is 'Rotten Cheese Fruit', so that could put you off. There is a fairly extensive write-up on the fruit in PROSEA's 'Dye and Tannin-Producing Plants'

David Noel
Tree Crops Centre (treecrop@AOI.com.au)
PO Box 27
Subiaco Western Australia 6008
208 Nicholson Road
Subiaco, WA 6008
Telephone: 08 9388 1965
Facsimile: 08 9388 1852
Email: davidn@aoi.com.au
Web site: http://www.AOI.com.au

From: wolframald@earthlink.net
Date sent: 24 June 1999

We are interested in growing edible day lilies. I was told recently that only daylilies without pistils at the center of the flower are edible (or preferred for edible use). Can anyone advise me on this and perhaps recommend varieties and sources? I would greatly appreciate any help with this need. Thank you,

Wolfram Alderson
Casa Colina Horticulture Therapy & Training Program

From: Biojourney@aol.com
Subject: Steven Foster on Daylilies
Date sent: 25 June 1999 (via New Crops LISTSERV)

Referencing Steven Foster and Yue Chongxi's book, Herbal Emissaries, Healing Arts Press, Rochester, VT 1992, pp. 173-80 for a quite complete reference and bibliography on the medicinal uses of daylilies. A few excerpts follow:

Daylily variety (Hemerocallis fulva, et al; Xuan-cao)

'In Ben Cao Gang Mu (1956), published about the same time as the first edition of Gerard's Herbal, Li Shi-zhen quoted all earlier publications on the plant and added his own observation on its habitat, growth habits, distribution, and recorded medicinal uses. He mentions the use of a root poultice for abscesses of the breast, as well as other ailments for which it is still used in modern China. Li Shi-zhen notes that the flavor of the cooked shoots is like creamed onions. The juice of the root was used to counteract arsenic poisoning.

'Xuan-cao is also mentioned as a food plant in various emergency food guides published in China from 1409 AD on. From Chinese records it is clear that the same source plant(s) is used today for the same purposes as in ancient times.

'According to Dr. Shiu Ying Hu (1968), one meaning for the Chinese word xuan is to 'push aside' or 'forget worry.' 'Cao' means herb. The Chinese name translated to 'forget-worry herb' may refer to the alleged hallucinogenic effect of eating large doses of the tender young leaf shoots. See SY Hu (1968) for a fascinating and complete account of the history, botany and uses of daylilies....

'Daylily (root) is not often used as a remedy in China. It is primarily considered a folk medicine and is not listed in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. Three species (H. fulva, H. citrina, and H. minor) are used as primary source plants of the herb...

'Modern Chinese studies indicate that H. citrina is antibacterial and kills blood flukes. It has been used clinically in China to treat blood flukes and tuberculosis. Recent studies confirm some diuretic activity against oedema. However, the plant is too toxic for self-medicated use.

'In Western terms, the flowers are described as anodyne, anti-emetic, antispasmodic, depurative, febrigugal, and sedative. The root is considered to be diuretic, anti-inflammatory, depurative, and hemostatic, and has been used to treat dropsy, gout, jaundice, and as a poultice, mastitis. A poultice of the root has been used as a folk remedy for breast cancer.

'WARNING While the flower buds are considered edible, the roots of daylilies are generally considered toxic and should not be ingested.

'...the 206th hospital in Jilin province used the root of H. minor in over 60 cases without reporting eye-affecting side effects. It may be surmised the H. minor is the preferred species for medicinal use.

'A number of compounds in the root, including colchicine and rhein, have helped reduce tumors in laboratory experiments, but this activity is due to their high toxicity....in traditional prescriptions, Coptis and Phellodendron amurense have been used to counteract the root's toxicity.

Claire Spector
Center for Medicinal Plant Farming and Traditional Medicine
PO Box 26
Beltsville, Maryland 20839 USA
Telephone: 1 301 407 0486
Facsimile: 1 301 407 0578

From: Rga3x@aol.com
Subject: Edible Day Lily Varieties
Date sent: 29 June 1999 (via New Crops LISTSREV)

I have read several references re the eating of the tubers of daylilies and they are supposed to taste like sweet corn. These were books on growing Chinese vegetables or harvesting wild foods (such as 'Stalking the Wild Asparagus').

Additional thoughts:

1. One wild harvest book described how the author came across a large patch of wild dayliles (escapees from some garden). The author transplanted the plants and harvested the white/firm tubers. Six weeks later, he checked under the same plants and found another crop of newly formed tubers, which were also delicious. Why couldn't someone plant daylilies in pots and every couple of months lift up the plants to harvest the new tubers?

2. One seller of daylily plants told me years ago that the giant varieties of daylilies had the largest tubers.

Some cultivars grow up to 6 feet tall.....maybe pick the strains for size, not flowers...?

3. I often have daydreamed about an greenhouse operation where the daylilies are grown in pots and checked/harvested every 6-8 weeks. Perhaps this could be an unusual produce item...a small grower ought to be able to sell production to up-market restaurants, etc. That is, if they are as tasty as several books have described....

Ralph A Arnold
Oregon

From: hillpple@sover.net
Date sent: 29 June 1999 (via New Crops LISTSERV)

I have eaten the orange day lily shoots. I may have waited too long, because it was the green leaves that were about 6" tall. I put them in salad. I experienced severe 'intestinal problems' for the rest of the day and night. I don't know if I ate the wrong kind or the wrong part of the plant or prepared them the wrong way. But that's a little experience from the field.

Cassandra H Brush
Zone 3, Vermont

From: wolframald@earthlink.net
Date sent: 29 June 1999 (via New Crops LISTSERV)

Thanks for the recent responses on daylilies. I have been told that the tubers are not edible, even poisonous! We have been looking for varieties where the flowers are preferred for eating. Until recently, I thought any daylily flower was edible, but I was told by a wholesale produce buyer that they prefer types without pistils (I don't even know if there is such a thing!) Now, I'm more confused than ever. Please let me know if any of you come up with any additional information. Thank you.

Wolfram Alderson
Casa Colina Horticulture Therapy & Training Program

From: bob@SKY.NET
Date sent: 16 April 1999

Can anyone tell me anything about a root called Taiuia? The only other things I know about it are that it's a member of the cucurbit family and that Brazilian farmers use it as an attractant for corn rootworms.

Bob Batson
Kansas City

From: tcandre@med.cornell.edu
Date sent: 18 April 1999 (via New Crops LISTSERV)

I found two references on the Internet that answer your question:

1) International Journal of Pharmacognosy Volume 34 Number 4 October 1996

Notes
Analysis of the Plant Drug Wilbrandia ebracteata (Cogn.) Cogn.
RI Dos Santos, MA Dos Santos and EP Schenkel*
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, RS, Brazil

The plant drug 'taiuia' is described in the Brazilian Pharmacopeia as the roots of Cayaponia tayuya (Vell.) Cogn. Popularly, however, other species of Cucurbitaceae are also named 'taiuia'. Here, we report that products labelled as C. tayuya, in the Brazilian market, may be Wilbrandia ebracteata (Cogn.) Cogn. The major C-glycosylflavones identified in W. ebracteata were spinosin, swertisin, isoswertisin, vitexin, isovitexin, vicenin-2, orientin and isoorientin. Keywords: Cucurbitaceae, Wilbrandia ebracteata, Cayaponya tayuya, C-glycosylflavones, plant drug analysis.

2) Cayponia tayuya (Farm. Bras. Page 885 1.a ed)

The genus Cayoponia is the largest in the family with around 60 species. Not much is known about this genus and it is in need of a revision. If anyone finds out more about Cayponia tayuya and would like to write a short article on this, please contact me at The Cucurbit Network.

Thomas C. Andres
The Cucurbit Network
5440 Netherland Avenue, D24
Bronx, New York 10471 USA
Telephone: 1 718 601 7329
Web site: www.cucurbit.org

From: bob@sky.net
Date sent: 18 April 1999

Thank you very much. I first learned of this plant (with potential value for corn growers) in the April 1999 issue of "Agricultural Research" magazine from the USDA. Check the URL http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/ Select the link to view the April issue and look for an article called 'Taiuia-Corn Rootworms Just Can't Get Enough.' At the end of the article are the names and addresses of the ARS researchers investigating this plant.

Bob Batson
Kansas City

Contact: Dr Rob Fletcher, School of Land and Food, The University of Queensland Gatton College, 4345; Telephone: 07 5460 1311 or 07 5460 1301; Facsimile: 07 5460 1112; International facsimile: 61 7 5460 1112; Email: r.fletcher@mailbox.uq.edu.au

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originally created by: GK; latest update 17 October 2001 by: RF