Beckmannia syzigachne
| Beckmannia syzigachne | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 5' |
| Blooms: | Late Spring-Early Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Beckmannia syzigachne (common name: american sloughgrass)
Propagation: Seed - surface sow in spring in pots in a cold frame. Do not let the soil dry out. Very quick germination[K]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer.
If there is sufficient seed, it can be sown in situ in the spring.
Division in spring. Very easy, larger divisions can be planted straight into their permanent positions whilst smaller clumps are best potted up and kept in a cold frame until they are growing away well.
Cultivation: Prefers a moist to wet soil, succeeding in shallow water[K]. Tolerates saline soils[1]. Tolerates a pH in the range 5.8 to 7.6.
We have no specific information on the hardiness of this species, but we have grown it successfully outdoors in Cornwall and, judging by its range, it should be cold-hardy in most if not all of Britain[K].
Some botanists treat this species as no more than a synonym of B. eruciformis.
Range: Eastern Europe to central Asia and North America.
Habitat: Wet meadows, swamps, marshes and shallow water[2].
Edibility: Seed - cooked[3][4][5][6][7]. A mild flavour, it can be ground into a flour and used as a cereal. The seed is very small but is easily harvested[K]. It does then have to be separated from its husk, which is a very fiddly operation. Some N. American Indian tribes burn the husks of grass seeds[K].
Usage: The plant is used for making bedding and pillows[8].
Pollinators: Wind
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Seed Ripens: Mid Summer-Late Summer
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ Komarov, Vladimir. Flora of the USSR. Gantner Verlag, 1968.
- ↑ Tutin, Tom et al.. Flora Europaea. Cambridge University Press, 1964.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.
- ↑ Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.