Anemopsis californica
| Anemopsis californica | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 8 |
| Soil pH: | 7.4-8.4 |
| Height: | 2' |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Anemopsis californica (common name: yerba mansa)
Propagation: Seed - best sown in a greenhouse as soon as it is ripe in the summer. Stand the pots in about 3cm of water and germination should take place in about 5 weeks[1]. Sow stored seed in a cold frame in the spring[2]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. making sure you keep the compost wet. Plant them out in late spring or early summer.
Division in spring[3].
Cultivation: Requires shallow water or a wet muddy site in a humus-rich alkaline medium[4]. Requires a warm position[5].
Plants are hardy to about -5 to -10°c, and are probably hardiest when the rootstock is submerged[3]. Another report says that they are hardy to about -15°c[5].
Range: South-western N. America - California, Mexico.
Habitat: Wet, especially somewhat alkaline or saline marshy places, below 2000 metres[6][5][7].
Edibility: Root - raw or cooked[8]. An aromatic flavour[9]. The pulverized seeds are made into bread or cooked as a mush[8]. The peppery aromatic root is astringent and is chewed raw for medicinal purposes[10].
Medicinal: Yerba mansa was widely employed by the native North American Indians to treat a wide variety of complaints[8]. It is little used in modern herbalism.
The whole plant is analgesic, antiperiodic, antiphlogistic, blood purifier, disinfectant, diuretic, laxative, stomachic and vulnerary. The plant is infused and used to bathe aching muscles and sore feet[4][11][12][6][9][13][10].
The root is chewed for affections of the mucous membranes[10].
A tea made from the root is used as a blood purifier and general pain remedy, and as a treatment for pleurisy, gonorrhoea, syphilis and menstrual cramps[10][8].
An infusion of the plant is used in the treatment of colds, chest congestion and stomach ulcers[8]. The dried and powdered plant is used as a disinfectant on wounds whilst the fresh moist leaves are used as a poultice or salve on burns, cuts and wounds[8].
An infusion of the bark is used as a wash for open sores[8].
Usage: Beads can be made from the rootstock[9][13][10].
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: Houttuynia californica.
Links
References
- ↑ Diggs, George and Barney Lipscomb. Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas. Botanical Research Institute, 1999.
- ↑ Sanders, Thomas. Popular Hardy Perennials. Collingridge, 1926.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Perennials - The Definitve Reference. Pan Books, 1991.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Munz, David. A California Flora. University of California Press, 1959.
- ↑ Flora of North America.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Sweet, Muriel. Common Edible and Useful Plants of the West. Naturegraph Co, 1962.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Coffey, Timothy. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File, 1993.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Heywood, Vernon. Flowering Plants of the World. Oxford University Press.