Cephalanthus occidentalis
| Cephalanthus occidentalis | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 6 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-7.3 |
| Height: | 23' |
| Blooms: | Late Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Medicinal Rating: | |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Cephalanthus occidentalis (common name: button bush)
Propagation: Seed - we have no details on this plant but would suggest sowing the seed as soon as it is ripe in an acid compost in a cold frame. Sow stored seed in late winter in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a cold frame for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings of soft or semi-ripe wood, July in a frame[1].
Layering.
Cultivation: An easily grown plant[2], it prefers an open position in a moisture retentive or wet neutral to acid humus-rich soil[1]. Dislikes dryness at the roots[3]. A calcifuge plant, it dislikes alkaline soils[1]. Requires a sunny position[4].
Plants are hardy to about -25°c[4].
A fast-growing but short-lived species in the wild[5].
The flowers, and the dried leaves, have a soft sweet fragrance like newly mown hay[6].
A good bee plant[7].
Plants are sometimes evergreen[1].
Range: Eastern N. America - Nova Scotia to Florida, west to Minnesota and California
Habitat: A lowland species, growing along the edges of streams, rivers, lakes, swamps and wet floodplains[5].
Medicinal: Button bush was often employed medicinally by native North American Indian tribes who used it to treat a range of ailments[8]. It is little used in modern herbalism.
A tea made from the bark is astringent, emetic, febrifuge and tonic[9][10]. A strong decoction has been used to treat diarrhoea and dysentery, stomach complaints, haemorrhages etc[8]. It has been used as a wash for eye inflammations[10].
A decoction of either the roots or the fruits have been used as a laxative to treat constipation[8]
The leaves are astringent, diaphoretic, diuretic and tonic[9][10]. A tea has been used to check menstrual flow and to treat fevers, kidney stones, pleurisy etc[10]. The plant has a folk reputation for relieving malaria[10].
The inner bark has been chewed in the treatment of toothaches[10].
Usage: Wood - light, tough. Of no commercial value[5].
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Seed Ripens: Mid Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: The leaves contain glucosides and can be toxic in large doses. Symptoms include vomiting, convulsions, chronic spasms and muscular paralysis[11].
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Shrubs. Pan Books, 1989.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Elias, Thomas. The Complete Trees of North America. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1980.
- ↑ Genders, Roy. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale, 1994.
- ↑ Vines, Robert. Trees of Central Texas. University of Texas Press, 1987.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
- ↑ Diggs, George and Barney Lipscomb. Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas. Botanical Research Institute, 1999.