Bidens tripartita
| Bidens tripartita | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 6 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 2' |
| Width: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Early Fall |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Bidens tripartita (common name: burr marigold)
Propagation: Seed - sow in situ during early spring and only just cover the seed. So long as the soil does not dry out, the seed usually germinates in 2 - 3 weeks at 15°c[1].
Cultivation: Succeeds in any moderately fertile damp to wet soil in full sun[2][3].
The flowering heads smell like rosin or cedar when they are burnt[4].
The seed coats have reflexed prickles which allow them to adhere to clothing, animal fur etc[4]. When growing on the edge a pond, these seeds have been known to kill goldfish by adhering to their gills[4].
Range: Most of Europe, including Britain, north to 63°, east to W. Asia.
Habitat: Ditches, pond and lake margins, sides of streams etc[5].
Edibility: Young leaves - cooked[6][7][8].
Medicinal: Burr marigold is little used as a medicine nowadays, but it was once esteemed for its styptic properties being used to quickly staunch blood flow - it was often used to treat uterine haemorrhage and conditions producing blood in the urine[9].
The whole plant is antiseptic, aperient, astringent, diuretic, emmenagogue, febrifuge, narcotic, sedative, styptic and sudorific[4][10][11][12]. It is an excellent remedy for ruptured blood vessels and bleeding of any kind, and is of benefit to people with consumption[4]. It is used internally to treat bladder and kidney problems, blood in the urine, uterine bleeding, ulcerative colitis and peptic ulcers[3][9]. Externally, it is used in the treatment of alopecia[3]. It is usually combined with a carminative herb such as ginger when used to treat digestive tract ailments[9].
The plant is harvested as it comes into flower and is dried for later use[3].
Usage: Yields a black dye[13]. The part of the plant that is used is not specified.
The burning herb repels insects and flies[14].
The flowers yield a yellow dye of indifferent quality when alum is used as a mordant[4][15][14].
Pollinators: Bees, hover-flies
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
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 3.2 3.3 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Chevallier, Andrew. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants. Dorling Kindersley, 1996.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Mills, Simon. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism.
- ↑ Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.
- ↑ Stuart, George. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei Southern Materials Centre.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Stuart, Malcolm. The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism. Orbis Publishing, 1979.
- ↑ Sowerby, John. The Useful Plants of Great Britain. 1862.