Comandra pallida
| Comandra pallida | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-6.5 |
| Height: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Late Spring-Early Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Comandra pallida (common name: pale bastard toadflax)
Propagation: Seed - stratify for 3 months at 5°c and then sow in the greenhouse in a pot with a suitable host. Plant out when it is well established close to a mature host plant[1].
Cultivation: Requires a well-drained moisture retentive lime-free soil[1].
A parasitic plant obtaining at least some of its nutrients from the roots of other plants[1][2]. It is said to parasitize over 200 different species of plants in the wild[3].
Range: Western N. America - Manitoba to British Columbia and south to Texas.
Habitat: Dry hills and plains[4]. Sandy or open rocky ground in Texas[3].
Edibility: Fruit[5][6][7]. A sweet flavour[3]. The fruit is about 10mm in diameter[1].
The small round seeds are eaten like nuts by children[8].
Medicinal: The plant is narcotic[8]. A decoction has been used in the treatment of headaches and externally as a foot bath to treat corns[8].
The plant has been used to treat sore eyes and sores on the body and also as a mouth wash for canker sores[8].
Usage: A blue dye is obtained from the area next to the root bark[8].
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: There is a report that the plant can be toxic to mammals.
Also Known As: C. umbellata pallida. (A.DC.)Piehl.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Britton, Nathaniel and Addison Brown. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1970.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Diggs, George and Barney Lipscomb. Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas. Botanical Research Institute, 1999.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.