Doronicum pardalianches
| Doronicum pardalianches | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 6 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 3' |
| Width: | 3' |
| Speed: | Fast |
| Blooms: | Late Spring-Mid Summer |
| Meadows Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Medicinal Rating: | |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Doronicum pardalianches (common name: great leopard's bane)
Propagation: Seed - surface sow in a greenhouse from April to June and make sure the compost does not dry out[1]. A diurnal temperature difference is beneficial to germination[1]. The seed usually germinates in 10 - 20 days at 20°c[1]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division in autumn[2]. Very easy, 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: Thrives in sun or semi-shade in ordinary garden soil[3][2]. Prefers a moist soil[4]. Requires some protection from the strongest sun in summer[2]. Succeeds in the shade of trees[2]. Plants spread freely at the roots[5].
Plants are hardy to at least -20°c[4].
This plant used to be commonly cultivated as a medicinal plant[6]. It has a somewhat invasive tuberous root system and will colonize thin woodland, it can also be grown in coarse grass that is cut annually in the autumn[7].
Plants in this genus seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits[7].
Range: Europe. Naturalized in Britain[6].
Habitat: Woods and plantations in Britain[6].
Medicinal: The root is cardiotonic and nervine[8][9]. It is useful in the treatment of melancholia, nervous depression and scorpion bites[9].
Pollinators: Flies, beetles, lepidoptera
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: One report suggests that this plant may be poisonous[3].
Also Known As: D. cordatum.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Bird, Alfred. Focus on Plants Volume 5. Thompson and Morgan, 1991.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Perennials - The Definitve Reference. Pan Books, 1991.
- ↑ Brickell, Christopher. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Dorling Kindersley Publishers, 1990.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Thomas, Graham. Perennial Garden Plants. J. M. Dent & Sons, 1990.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Chopra, R. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, 1986.