Aletris spicata
| Aletris spicata | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-7.3 |
| Height: | 1' |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Aletris spicata
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: We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain, though judging by its native range it should succeed outdoors in many parts of this country. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus.
Prefers a damp sunny position in peat, leafmold and sand[1]. Requires a sunny position[2].
Range: E. Asia - China, Japan.
Habitat: Hills and low mountains in C. and S. Japan[3]. Forests, thicket margins, scrub, grasslands, streamsides, roadsides at elevations of 100 - 2900 metres in China[4].
Edibility: Young leaves - cooked. A famine food, used when all else fails[5].
Medicinal: The root is antitussive and vermifuge[6].
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: A. japonica. Hypoxis farinosa. H. spicata.
Links
References
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Ohwi, Jisaburo. Flora of Japan. Smithsonian Institution, 1965.
- ↑ Flora of China. 1994.
- ↑ Read, Bernard. Famine Foods Listed in the Chiu Huang Pen Ts'ao. Taipei Southern Materials Centre, 1977.
- ↑ Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.