Anthoxanthum odoratum
| Anthoxanthum odoratum | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 1' |
| Width: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Mid Spring-Early Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Anthoxanthum odoratum (common name: sweet vernal grass)
Propagation: Seed - sow April in situ, only just covering the seed. The seed usually germinates in 2 - 3 weeks[1].
Division in spring. Very easy, it can be done successfully at almost any time of the year, though it is best to pot up the divisions in a cold frame if you are doing it outside the growing season.
Cultivation: Succeeds in most soils[2]. Dislikes shade.
This is one of the earliest grasses to flower in the year, it produces a lot of pollen and is a major irritant to people who suffer from hay fever[3].
The dried plant releases a strong and persistent fragrance with a refreshing pungent smell that is difficult to describe but is somewhat like newly-mown hay[4].
Range: Most of Europe, including Britain, south and east to N. Africa and W. Asia.
Habitat: Meadows, woodland margins, heaths and moors on acid and basic soils[5][6].
Edibility: Seed[7][8]. The seed is very small and its use would be fiddly[K].
A tea is made from the fresh or dried leaves[9]. A sweet pleasant fragrance[10]. Some caution is advised, see notes at top of the page.
Medicinal: The whole plant, and especially the flowering stems, is anticoagulant, antispasmodic and stimulant[5][11]. It is normally only applied externally, where it is used in the treatment of rheumatic pain, chilblains, nervous insomnia etc[5].
It is said that a tincture made from this grass with spirit of wine is an effective and immediate cure for hay fever[3][12].
Usage: The aromatic leaves and dried flowers are used as a strewing herb, they are also woven into baskets[13][14] and used in pot-pourri[15].
The plant contains coumarin - this is used medicinally and also in rat poisons where it prevents the blood from co-aggulating and thus means that the slightest cut can kill the rat[11].
Pollinators: Wind
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Seed Ripens: Late Spring-Mid Summer
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: The plant contains coumarins, this is what gives it the scent of newly mown hay. When used internally, especially from dried plants, it can act to prevent the blood from co-aggulating[11].
Links
References
- ↑ Rice, Graham. Growing from Seed Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan, 1988.
- ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Genders, Roy. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale, 1994.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Launert, Edmund. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn, 1981.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Cribb, Alan and Joan Cribb. Wild Food in Australia. Fontana, 1976.
- ↑ Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Triska, Jan. Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn, 1975.
- ↑ Chopra, R. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, 1986.
- ↑ Buchanan, Rita. A Weavers Garden.
- ↑ Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.