Carex arenaria
| Carex arenaria | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 7 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 2' |
| Width: | 7' |
| Speed: | Fast |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Mid Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Carex arenaria (common name: sand sedge)
Propagation: Seed - sow in situ in the spring in a moist soil in light shade. If seed is in short supply it can be sown in a cold frame and be planted out in the summer. The seed usually germinates in 2 - 6 weeks at 15°c[1].
Division in spring[2]. Very easy, larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the summer or following spring.
Cultivation: Best grown in a sandy soil in a sunny position[2]. Tolerates maritime exposure[3].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer[4].
Range: Coastal areas of Europe, including Britain, the Black Sea, siberia and N. America.
Habitat: Sandy sea shores, especially on fixed dunes and wind-blown sand[5][6][3].
Edibility: Root - cooked[7].
Seed[7]. No further details are given, but the seed is small and fiddly to use[K].
Medicinal: The root is diaphoretic and diuretic[8][9][6][10][11]. An infusion has been used in the treatment of bronchitis and catarrhs, abdominal and stomach disorders, liver complaints, arthritis and rheumatism and skin conditions such as eczema and pruritus[6]. It has been used as a substitute for the tropical plant sarsaparilla[8]. The root is harvested in the spring and dried for later use[6].
Usage: The long creeping rootstock is valuable for binding sandy soils[5][8][12].
Pollinators: Wind
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Wind: Tolerates maritime wind exposure
Seed Ripens: Mid Summer-Late Summer
Flower Type: Monoecious
Also Known As: C. spadicea.
Links
References
- ↑ Bird, R. Growing from Seed Volume 3. Thompson and Morgan, 1989.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Perennial Garden Plants. J. M. Dent & Sons, 1990.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Launert, Edmund. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn, 1981.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Schofield, Janice. Discovering Wild Plants.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Chiej, Roberto. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald, 1984.
- ↑ Lust, John. The Herb Book. Bantam Books, 1983.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Sowerby, John. The Useful Plants of Great Britain. 1862.