Claytonia virginica
| Claytonia virginica | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 6 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-6.5 |
| Height: | 0.5' |
| Width: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Early Spring |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Claytonia virginica (common name: spring beauty)
Propagation: Seed - surface sow on a peat based compost in spring in a cold frame. Germination usually takes place within 2 - 4 weeks at 10°c[1]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the cold frame for at least their first winter. Plant them out in late spring or early summer after the last expected frosts.
Division of offsets in spring or autumn.
Cultivation: Prefers a damp peaty soil and a position in full sun[2][1]. Another report says that it requires some shade[3]. Requires a lime-free soil[1].
Range: Eastern N. America. A garden escape, locally naturalized in Britain[4].
Habitat: Rich woods, thickets and clearings[5]. Sandy open woods, prairies and disturbed sites in Texas[6].
Edibility: Root - raw or cooked[7][8][9][10][11]. Rich in starch, it has a pleasant nutty flavour[12][13]. A radish-like flavour when raw[14], it tastes like a cross between a potato and a chestnut when cooked[13]. The root is rich in vitamins A and C[14].
Leaves and flowering stems - raw or cooked[9]. Added to salads or used as greens[13]. The leaves are often available in the winter.
Medicinal: A cold infusion or decoction of the powdered roots has been given to children with convulsions[11].
It has been said that eating the raw plants can permanently prevent conception[11].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Seed Ripens: Late Spring
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: C. grandiflora.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Bird, Alfred. Growing from Seed Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan, 1990.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Brickell, Christopher. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Dorling Kindersley Publishers, 1990.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ Diggs, George and Barney Lipscomb. Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas. Botanical Research Institute, 1999.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Harris, Ben. Eat the Weeds. Pivot Health, 1973.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Elias, Thomas. A Field Guide to North American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1982.
- ↑ Harrington, Harold. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press, 1967.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 McPherson, Alan and Sue McPherson. Wild Food Plants of Indiana. Indiana University Press, 1977.