permaculture

[miekal and <dtv@mwt.net>]

this plant sounds like it has lotsa interesting possibilities...

Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Mark Lee" <markl@nytec.com>
> Date: Mon Jan 20, 2003  2:49:24 PM US/Central
> To: <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
> Subject: [NAFEX] fruit exporing for oil producing fruits (camellias)
> Reply-To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
>
> I was researching olives as a novel edible landscaping plant for my 
> garden
> in Seattle about a month ago.  Today I ran across a plant fact that 
> really
> surprised me.  There is a camellia grown in China, Camellia oleifera, 
> whose
> seed contains 40-50% oil.  The quality of this vegetable cooking oil is
> similar to olive oil. Roughly one out of seven people in China eat food
> prepared with this oil, mainly in Hunan.  Annual production is around
> 500,000 tonnes.  Why haven't I ever heard of this plant before?  It is 
> one
> of the hardiest of camellias.  It has recently been used to produce a 
> line
> of cold hardy camellias in a breeding program in the US.  The 
> arboretum in
> Seattle lists this plant in its inventory.  I don't know how it will 
> do as
> far as producing oil in my garden, but I definitely want to have a few 
> as a
> conversation piece.
> -Mark Lee, Seattle z7
>
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