Cuscuta epythymum
| Cuscuta epythymum | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-7.3 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 3' |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Mid Fall |
| Native to: | |
| Medicinal Rating: | |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Cuscuta epythymum (common name: lesser dodder)
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn, by lodging it among the stems of a host plant.[1]
Cultivation: This is a parasitic species that is devoid of leaves, roots or chlorophyll and so is totally dependant upon its host.[1] A climbing plant, it must be grown close to a host plant around which it will twine itself and which it will penetrate with suckers in order to obtain nutriment.[1][2]
The flowers emit a remarkably sweet perfume that is especially pronounced towards evening.[2]
Range: Europe, including Britain, from Norway to Spain and east to the Caucasus and central Asia.
Habitat: Parasitic on heather and gorse.[3]
Medicinal: Lesser dodder is considered to be a valuable though little used herbal remedy that supports the liver, being used for problems affecting the liver and gallbladder.[4]
The whole plant is antibilious, appetizer, carminative, cholagogue, mildly diuretic, hepatic, laxative and antiscorbutic.[5][6] A decoction of the stems is used in the treatment of urinary complaints, kidney, spleen and liver disorders, jaundice, sciatica and scorbutic complaints.[5] It also has a reputation as an anticancer agent and as a specific for gout.[6] The plant should not be used by anyone suffering from haemorrhoids.[7]
A homeopathic remedy is made from the plant.[7]
Pollinators: Bees, self
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 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Genders, Roy. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale, 1994.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ Chevallier, Andrew. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants. Dorling Kindersley, 1996.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Chiej, Roberto. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald, 1984.