Asarum europaeum
| Asarum europaeum | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 4 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Evergreen Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 0.3' |
| Width: | 2' |
| Blooms: | Late Spring-Late Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Medicinal Rating: | |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Asarum europaeum (common name: asarabacca)
Propagation: Seed - best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe in the summer[1]. Stored seed will require 3 weeks cold stratification and should be sown in late winter[1]. The seed usually germinates in the spring in 1 - 4 or more weeks at 18°c[1]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in light shade in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out when large enough in late spring.
Division in spring or autumn. Plants are slow to increase[2]. It is best to pot the divisions up and keep them in light shade in the greenhouse until they are growing away strongly.
Cultivation: Prefers a rich moist neutral to acid soil in woodland or a shady position in the rock garden[3][2]. Other reports say that this plant prefers a calcareous soil[4][5][6].
Plants are hardy to at least -15°c[2].
The flowers are malodorous and are pollinated by flies[2].
The root has a pungent, aromatic smell like mild pepper and ginger mixed, but more strongly aromatic.
Plants often self-sow when growing in a suitable position[2].
This plant was at one time commonly cultivated as a medicinal herb[7].
Range: Central and southern Europe, east to W. Asia. Naturalized in Britain[7].
Habitat: Open woodland and waterside thickets[4][5], especially in beech woodlands[8].
Medicinal: Asarabacca has a long history of herbal use dating back at least to the time of the ancient Greeks, though it is little used in modern herbalism[6].
The root, leaves and stems are cathartic, diaphoretic, emetic, errhine, sternutatory, stimulant and tonic[9][8][10][4][11][12][13]. The plant has a strong peppery taste and smell[14]. It is used in the treatment of affections of the brain, eyes, throat and mouth[9][5]. When taken as a snuff, it produces a copious flow of mucous[6]. The root is harvested in the spring and dried for later use[8]. Use with caution[11], see the notes above on toxicity.
An essential oil in the root contains 50% asarone and is 65% more toxic than peppermint oil[13]. This essential oil is the emetic and expectorant principle of the plant and is of value in the treatment of digestive tract lesions, silicosis, dry pharyngeal and laryngeal catarrh etc[13].
Usage: A vibrant apple-green dye is obtained from plant[8][14].
A useful ground cover for a shady position so long as it is not dry[15], spreading by its roots[16].
Pollinators: Flies, self
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
In Leaf: Evergreen
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: The plant is poisonous in large doses[4][5], the toxin is neutralized by drying[8].
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Rice, Graham. Growing from Seed Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan, 1988.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Triska, Jan. Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn, 1975.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Stary, Frantisek. Poisonous Plants. Hamlyn, 1983.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Stuart, Malcolm. The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism. Orbis Publishing, 1979.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Chiej, Roberto. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald, 1984.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Launert, Edmund. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn, 1981.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Lust, John. The Herb Book. Bantam Books, 1983.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Chopra, R. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, 1986.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Phillips, Roger. Herbs. Pan Books, 1990.
- ↑ Napier, Elspeth. Ground Cover Plants. Cassells, 1989.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Plants for Ground Cover. Everyman, 1990.