On 16/10/07 15:22, in article ,
"Steve Wolstenholme" wrote:

On Tue, 16 Oct 2007 11:00:36 +0100, Sacha
wrote:


Kalopanax looks very much like it, though there weren't many leaves to be
seen. I think you've got it, thank you. I thought it ended in 'americana'
but I was trying to remember several things and kick myself now for not
having my usual notebook with me. It was quite a mature specimen and must
have been there several years. Where does it originate, do you know?

Something about the name Kalopanax rang a bell. My wife thinks the
dried bark was in a Chinese mix that once lived in one of our kitchen
cupboards. It was to cure constipation.

Steve

Replying to you all, I should think this thing would cure anything, if only
by fear! And the 'americanus', 'americana' tag is still lodged in my mind
but I could be really mistaken. I've emailed Malcolm Pharoah, who is the
Curator there and asked him if he can ID it for us. It's a lesson to me to
take photos and to carry a notebook always - and not to clear out my bag so
assiduously, either! In my own defence, I will say that we hadn't made any
particular plans for the day and as my bag is already called the Black Hole
of Calcutta or The Tardis by Ray, I can only say it's bad for my back and
neck to cram even more into it!

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'