Propagation
Sow seed when ripe in trays out-doors in cool climates or place in a cool greenhouse then prick out and pot up when large enough to handle.

Alternatively spring sown seeds require stratification for 2 to 3 months at 5° C. Prick out and pot up for the first season then plant out in situ during spring after the frost period has passed.


Botanic information
Leaf: The small glossy dark green leaves are broad-ovate to elliptical-oblong up to 20mm (ľin) with an obtuse apex. The leaf underside is pale green with distinct venation and the petiole is up to 3mm (?in) long, covered in short pubescence that extends down the branchlets. The leaves are partly deciduous during early spring or during dry periods.

Flower: The pubescent campanulate flowers are unisexual; the male flower appears in a cluster of 1-8 on a peduncle up to 10mm (?in) long on a short branchlet. The sub-sessile female flowers appear in groups of 1 to 5 and have a 2-lobed stigma. The flowering period is during spring.

Fruit: There are normally three 3-angled nuts (beechnuts) that are inclosed in a scaly involucre with 2 to 4 lobes. The tiny nuts are pubescent and the viability period is short.