Anchusa azurea
| Anchusa azurea | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 3 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 5' |
| Width: | 2' |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Shelter | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Anchusa azurea (common name: anchusa)
Propagation: Seed - sow spring in pots of sandy soil[1]. An overnight drop in temperature helps germination[2]. The seed usually germinates in 1 - 4 weeks at 21°c[2]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer.
Division in early spring[1].
Root cuttings in autumn or early winter. Late winter is best[1].
Cultivation: Succeeds in most soils, preferring a sunny position[3][4]. Prefers a fertile well-drained soil[4]. Tolerates heavy clay[1]. Requires a deep well-drained soil[5]. Established plants tolerate drought[5].
Plants are hardy to about -15°c[5].
The flowers are a good source of food for bees[3].
Many named forms have been selected for their ornamental value[5]. The plants tend to be short-lived perennials but they can be propagated by means of root cuttings[5].
Range: Europe - Caucasus. An occasional garden escape in Britain[6].
Habitat: Sides of arable fields, waste places, roadsides and steppes on stony hills[7][5].
Edibility: Flowers - raw. An excellent and decorative addition to the salad bowl, or used as a garnish[8].
The tender young leaves and young flowering shoots can be cooked and eaten as a vegetable[9].
Medicinal: The whole plant is antitussive, depurative, diaphoretic and diuretic[9]. It is harvested when in flower and dried for later use. The dried and powdered herb is used as a poultice to treat inflammations[9]. Use internally with caution, the plant contains the alkaloid cynoglossine which can have a paralyzing effect[9].
Usage: A red dye is obtained from the root[9]. This was at one time used as a basis for some cosmetics[9].
Pollinators: Bees
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Seed Ripens: Mid Summer-Early Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Heavy Clay: Grows in heavy-clay soils.
Also Known As: A. italica.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Rice, Graham. Growing from Seed Volume 1. Thompson and Morgan, 1987.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Sanders, Thomas. Popular Hardy Perennials. Collingridge, 1926.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Perennials - The Definitve Reference. Pan Books, 1991.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ Polunin, Oleg. Flowers of Greece and the Balkans. Oxford University Press, 1980.
- ↑ Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 Chiej, Roberto. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald, 1984.