Cuscuta europaea
| Cuscuta europaea | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Blooms: | Late Summer-Early Fall |
| Native to: | |
| Medicinal Rating: | |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Cuscuta europaea
Cultivation: 241
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]. It Britain it is found most commonly growing on the roots of stinging nettles (Urtica dioica) and hops (Humulus lupulus)[3], whilst in China it is found mainly on plants in the families Composite, Leguminosae and Chenopodiaceae, though it can also be found on many other herbaceous plants[4].
Range: Europe to North Africa and eastern Asia.
Habitat: Open grassy localities, streamsides and hilly areas at elevations of 800 - 3,100 metres in China[4].
Medicinal: The entire plant is used in Tibetan medicine, where it is considered to have a bitter, acrid and sweet taste with a heating potency[5]. It is aphrodisiac, renal and a hepatic tonic, being used to increase semen, to treat pain in the wrist and limbs, vaginal/seminal discharge, polyuria, tinnitus and blurred vision[5].
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Flora of China. 1994.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Tsarong, Tsewang. Tibetan Medicinal Plants. Tibetan Medical Publications, 1994.