Comandra richardsiana
| Comandra richardsiana | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-6.5 |
| Height: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Late Spring-Early Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Comandra richardsiana (common name: bastard toad flax)
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: We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain, though judging by its native range it should succeed outdoors in many parts of this country. It is quite possibly no more than a form of C. umbellata[2]. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus.
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], we do not know the host species[K].
Range: Eastern N. America - Newfoundland to Quebec and south to Kansas.
Habitat: Calcareous, gravelly, sandy or marly soils[3].
Edibility: Fruit - raw[4]. Sweet and oily[5], it is delicious but only a few are produced[4]. The fruit is about 6mm in diameter[2].
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Britton, Nathaniel and Addison Brown. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1970.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.