Characteristics
A herb which keeps growing from year to year. The stems are short. The leaves occur in a ring and the plant has runners with new rings of leaves. The leaves have 3 leaflets. The leaf stalk is 1.5 cm long. They have soft hairs. The leaflets can be 1.8-7 cm long by 1.3-6 cm wide. There are teeth along the edge. The flowering shoots are up to 26 cm long. There can be 16 flowers on branches that divided into 2 at each joint. The false fruits are round or oval and 4.5 cm long by 5.5 cm wide. There are many cultivated varieties.
| Life form |
perennial
|
| Growth form |
herb
|
| Growth support |
-
|
| Foliage retention |
deciduous
|
| Sexuality |
hermaphrodite
|
| Pollination |
entomogamy
|
| Spread |
-
|
| Mature width (meter) |
0.3 - 0.75
|
| Mature height (meter) |
0.3 - 0.4
|
| Root system |
creeping-root
fibrous-root
rhizome
|
| Rooting depth (meter) |
0.5
|
| Root diameter (meter) |
-
|
| Flower color |
|
| Blooming months |
| Jan | Feb | Mar | | Apr | May | Jun | | Jul | Aug | Sep | | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|
| Fruit color |
|
| Fruiting months |
| Jan | Feb | Mar | | Apr | May | Jun | | Jul | Aug | Sep | | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|
| Nitrogen fixer |
-
|
| Photosynthetic pathway |
c3
|
Environment
It suits temperate and subtropical locations. It can be grown in the highlands in tropical regions. It can be grown in semi-shade or full sun. In India it grows between 1,000-2,300 m altitude. A pH of 5.7-6.5 is best. There are short day and long day varieties. In Malawi they are grown over 900 m altitude. It suits hardiness zones 3-10.
| Light |
|
| Soil humidity |
|
| Soil texture |
|
| Soil acidity |
|
| Soil nutriment |
|
| Hardiness (USDA) |
|
Usage
The ripe fruit are eaten raw. They are also used in desserts. They are also used in jams, preserves and for flavouring.
Cultivation
Plants are grown from runners. These runners form roots and then new plants. For some varieties flowers require short days and warm weather, otherwise only runners form. Plants form few runners when there is no winter cold. Plants are spaced about 45 cm apart in rows 75 cm apart.
| Mode |
seedlings
|
| Germination duration (days) |
-
|
| Germination temperacture (C°) |
20
|
| Germination luminosity |
-
|
| Germination treatment |
-
|
| Minimum temperature (C°) |
-
|
| Optimum temperature (C°) |
11 - 24
|
| Size |
-
|
| Vigor |
-
|
| Productivity |
-
|
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