Aralia hispida
| Aralia hispida | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 3 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 3' |
| Blooms: | Late Spring-Early Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Aralia hispida (common name: bristly sarsaparilla)
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as ripe in a cold frame. Stored seed requires 3 - 5 months of cold stratification. Germination usually takes place within 1 - 4 months at 20°c[1]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in light shade in a greenhouse for at least their first winter. Once the plants are 25cm or more tall, they can be planted out into their permanent positions, late spring or early summer being the best time to do this.
Root cuttings 8cm long, December in a cold frame[2][3]. Store the roots upside down in sand and pot up in March/April. High percentage[3].
Division of suckers in late winter[2]. Very easy, the suckers can be planted out direct into their permanent positions if required.
Cultivation: Prefers a moderately fertile deep moisture-retentive well-drained loam and a position in semi-shade but also succeeds in a sunny position[4]. Requires a sheltered position[4]. Plants are hardier when grown on poorer soils[4]. This species is especially tolerant of poor dry soils[4]. Prefers an acid soil[5].
Dormant plants are hardy to at least -15°c[5][4]. The young growth in spring, even on mature plants, is frost-tender and so it is best to grow the plants in a position sheltered from the early morning sun[K].
The whole plant has an unpleasant smell[6].
Range: Eastern and Central N. America - E. Canada to Virginia, west to Illinois and Minnesota.
Habitat: Rocky or sandy sterile soils, Alberta to Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec[7].
Edibility: A tea is made from the roots[8]. The roots are also used for making 'root beer'[8].
Medicinal: A tea made from the leaves is diaphoretic[9].
The root is alterative and tonic[10]. An infusion of the root has been used in the treatment of heart diseases[10].
The bark, and especially the root bark, is diuretic and tonic[6][9].
A homeopathic remedy is made from the fresh root[6]. It has alterative, diaphoretic and diuretic properties and is considered to be a good treatment for dropsy[6].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ Rice, Graham. Growing from Seed Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan, 1988.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sheat, Wilfrid. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. St Martin, 1948.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Shrubs. Pan Books, 1989.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Livingstone, B. Flora of Canada. National Museums of Canada, 1978.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.