Discaria chacaye
Credits
Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles
Recommended citation
'Discaria chacaye' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.
Synonyms
- Colletia discolor Hook.
- Discaria discolor (Hook.) Benth. & Hook.f. ex Weberb.
- Discaria foliosa (Hook. & Arn.) Reiche
- Discaria crenata (Clos) Regel
- Colletia crenata Clos
Editorial Note
Bean treated this species separately under the synonyms Discaria crenata and Discaria discolor. Since the descriptions may reflect horticulturally significant variation, we reproduce both entries verbatim.
Discaria discolor: A deciduous shrub 4 to 6 ft high and as much as 8 ft in diameter, with the main branches sometimes prostrate, nearly or quite glabrous in all its parts, the branchlets opposite and often ending in a spine. Leaves opposite, elliptic or elliptic-obovate, tapered at the base, rounded or notched at the apex, toothless or shallowly toothed; 1⁄6 to 3⁄4 in. long, 1⁄4 in. wide; stalk very slender, 1⁄12 in. or less long. Flowers produced in clusters of two or three at each leaf-axil, each on a slender stalk 1⁄8 to 1⁄6 in. long. Corolla absent; calyx white, bell-shaped, 3⁄16 in. long, not so much wide, with four triangular lobes. Fruit consisting of three dry, globose lobes, each containing a seed.
Discaria crenata:A deciduous shrub or small tree with long, slender, pendulous, spiny branches. Leaves opposite, 1⁄2 to 1 in. long, ovate-oblong, with shallow, rounded teeth; both surfaces glabrous and lustrous green, especially the upper one, which has an almost varnished appearance. The spines, stiff, sharp, and 3⁄4 in. or more long, are produced in pairs at each joint. Flowers crowded in clusters on short twigs from the year-old shoots, each flower about 1⁄8 in. across, with no petals, but a greenish-white calyx tubular at the base, divided at the top into five triangular lobes. Anthers exserted; ovary downy. Bot. Mag., t. 9335.
Discaria discolor: Native of the Andes of Argentina and Chile, up to elevations of 2,700 ft. It was first called Colletia by the elder Hooker in 1843, from specimens collected by Capt. King at Port Famine (Fuerte Bulnes), on the Straits of Magellan. Introduced by H. F. Comber during his Andean travels, 1925–7, under three numbers, viz., 722, 766, and 794. The last he described as a ‘good weeping form’; No. 766 as the best. It is a handsome shrub producing an amazing profusion of blossom, which is sweetly scented and borne in May and June. As it is found wild on hot, rocky sites it should be given a well-drained spot, as sunny as possible. It is quite hardy in mid-Sussex, but rarely seen outside those gardens in which it was raised from Comber’s seed.
Discaria crenata: Native of Chile from the central provinces to the Magellan region, and of bordering parts of Argentina; cultivated at Kew since 1842, and quite hardy. The example now in the collection is about 30 ft high. Although it has no colour-beauty to recommend it, its flowers are borne so abundantly in June as to render it quite pretty, and they are, besides, charmingly fragrant. It is well worth cultivating for these, as well as for its distinct and graceful appearance and glossy dark foliage. This species has been confused with Discaria × serratifolia.