Dentaria diphylla
| Dentaria diphylla | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Late Spring-Early Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Dentaria diphylla (common name: crinkleroot)
Propagation: Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. Germination usually takes place within 1 - 3 weeks at 15°c[1]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in light shade in a greenhouse or cold frame for the first two years, planting them out when dormant in late summer.
Division in early spring or after the plant dies down in the summer. Larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring.
Cultivation: An easily grown plant, preferring a rich light moist soil and a shady position[2].
This species is hardy to about -20°c[3].
Range: Eastern N. America - Ontario to S. Carolina, Kentucky and Minnesota.
Habitat: Rich damp woods and meadows[4][3].
Edibility: Root - raw or cooked[5][6][7]. It has a crisp texture and a pleasant pungent taste[4], rather like water cress or horseradish[8]. It can be added to salads or used as a relish[9][8]. The root has a pungent acrid taste when first harvested, the Indians cleaned the roots, heaped them on a blanket, covered them to exclude air and then left them to ferment for 4 - 5 days. After this the roots developed a sweet taste[10].
Leaves - raw or cooked[11]. The cooking water was changed once in order to remove the bitterness[11].
Medicinal: The peppery root is used as a folk remedy in the treatment of toothache[12]. It has also been chewed in the treatment of colds, an infusion drunk to treat gas and other stomach problems, and it has been made into a poultice for headaches[12][11].
A tea made from the root is gargled in the treatment of sore throat, hoarseness etc[12][11].
An infusion of the plant has been used to treat fevers in children[11]. Combined with Acorus calamus root, it has been used in the treatment of heart diseases[11].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: Cardamine diphylla. (Michx.)Wood.
Links
References
- ↑ Bird, Alfred. Focus on Plants Volume 5. Thompson and Morgan, 1991.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Perennials - The Definitve Reference. Pan Books, 1991.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Coffey, Timothy. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File, 1993.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.