Aletris farinosa
| Aletris farinosa | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 7 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-6.5 |
| Height: | 2' |
| Width: | 0.5' |
| Blooms: | Late Spring-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Aletris farinosa (common name: unicorn root)
Propagation: Seed - we have no details for this species but suggest sowing the seed in a greenhouse in early spring. Sow the seed thinly to allow the seedlings to be grown on for their first year without potting them up, but give a liquid feed from time to time to ensure that they do not become nutrient deficient. Prick the young plants out into individual pots the following spring and grow them on in the greenhouse for the next winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer.
Division in spring.
Cultivation: Prefers a damp sunny position in peat, leafmold and sand[1]. Requires a sunny position[2].
Plants are hardy to between -10 and -15°c[2].
Range: South-eastern N. America - Southern Maine to Florida, west to Texas and Wisconsin.
Habitat: Grassy or sandy woodlands, in dry or moist peats, sands and gravels, especially on the seashore[3][4][5]
Edibility: Bulb - cooked[6][7][8]. Intensely bitter[9]. A bitter-sweet soapy taste[10].
Medicinal: The greatest value of unicorn root is its tonic influence on the female generative organs, proving to be of great use in treating cases of habitual miscarriages[3]. It also promotes the appetite and is used in the treatment of diarrhoea, rheumatism and jaundice[11].
The root is bitter, diuretic, narcotic and tonic[1][4][12][13]. Only use the dried rootstock[4], in large doses the fresh root is somewhat narcotic, emetic and cathartic[3]. A decoction of the root is a bitter tonic and has been used for expelling flatulence and for various uterine disorders[14][11]. It is used in the treatment of colic, though small doses, especially of the fresh root[3], can cause hypogastric colic[11]. The root is harvested in late summer after flowering and dried for later use[10].
The root contains diosgenin, which has both anti-inflammatory and oestrogenic properties[11].
A tea of the leaves has been used in the treatment of colic, stomach disorders, dysentery and bloody dysentery[13][15].
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: The fresh root is mildly poisonous[4].
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Lust, John. The Herb Book. Bantam Books, 1983.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Weiner, Michael. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books, 1980.
- ↑ Coffey, Timothy. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File, 1993.
- ↑ Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.