Corydalis solida
| Corydalis solida | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 6 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 1' |
| Width: | 0.4' |
| Blooms: | Mid Spring-Late Spring |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Corydalis solida (common name: fumewort)
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe, the seed rapidly loses viability if it is allowed to become dry[1]. Surface sow and keep moist, it usually germinates in 1 - 3 months at 15°c[2]. Germinates in spring according to another report[1]. Two months warm, then a cold stratification improves the germination of stored seed[3][2]. Sow the seed thinly so that the seedlings can be allowed to grow undisturbed in the pot for their first year. Apply liquid feed at intervals during their growing season to ensure they are well fed. The seedlings only produce one leaf in their first year of growth[4] and are very prone to damping off[1]. Divide the seedlings into individual pots once they have become dormant and grow them on in a partially shaded area of a greenhouse for at least another year. Plant them out into their permanent positions when they are dormant.
Division after flowering.
Cultivation: Prefers a moist, well-drained rather light soil, thriving in semi-shade. Grows well in a woodland garden or peat bed. Increases well when grown in a bulb frame, but less freely when grown in the garden[5].
A very ornamental[6] and easily grown plant[1]. There are some named varieties[5].
Plants seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits[7].
Range: Europe. Naturalized in Britain[8].
Habitat: Woods, hedgerows[9], meadows, orchards and vineyards[10], usually on stony soils, avoiding calcareous soils[5].
Edibility: Root - boiled[11][12][13][14]. Rich in starch[15]. Some caution is advised, there is a report that the plant is toxic.
Medicinal: Fumewort has been used as a painkiller in Chinese medicine for over 1,000 years[16]. The tuber is anodyne, antibacterial, antispasmodic, hallucinogenic, nervine and sedative[9][10][16]. It is used internally as a sedative for insomnia and as a stimulant and painkiller, especially in painful menstruation, traumatic injury and lumbago[16]. It is also used for lowering the blood pressure[9][10]. Research suggests that it also has an action in the thyroid and adrenal cortex[16]. The tuber should not be prescribed for pregnant women[16].
The tubers are harvested when the plant is dormant and are dried for later use[16].
Pollinators: Bees
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
In Leaf: Early Spring-Mid Summer
Seed Ripens: Late Spring-Early Summer
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: The plant is poisonous[17][18].
Also Known As: C. bulbosa. C. halleri.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Alpine Garden Society. Alpine Garden Society Bulletin Volume 56. Alpine Garden Society.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bird, Alfred. Growing from Seed Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan, 1990.
- ↑ Rice, Graham. Growing from Seed Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan, 1988.
- ↑ Bird, Alfred. Focus on Plants Volume 5. Thompson and Morgan, 1991.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Bulbs. Pan Books, 1989.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Perennial Garden Plants. J. M. Dent & Sons, 1990.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Launert, Edmund. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn, 1981.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Triska, Jan. Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn, 1975.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Sowerby, John. The Useful Plants of Great Britain. 1862.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ Stary, Frantisek. Poisonous Plants. Hamlyn, 1983.
- ↑ Frohne, Dietrich and Hans Pfänder. J. A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Timber Press, 1984.