Dryas octopetala
| Dryas octopetala | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 2 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Evergreen | |
| Height: | 0.3' |
| Width: | 3' |
| Speed: | Moderate |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Mid Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Nitrogen Fixer | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Dryas octopetala (common name: mountain avens)
Propagation: Seed - best sown in pots a shady cold frame or sheltered place outdoors as soon as it is ripe[1]. Stored seed requires stratification and should be sown as soon as possible. The seed usually germinates in 1 - 12 months or more 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 of self-layered shoots in early spring[2][1].
Cuttings of half-ripe wood with a heel, July/August in sharp sand in a frame[2][1].
Cultivation: Easily grown in ordinary gardening soil[2][3], preferring a sunny position[4]. Prefers limestone soils[2]. Prefers a gritty well-drained peaty soil[5].
A sub-shrub, producing annual stems from a woody base[3][1]. A good plant for a rock garden[2], it succeeds on banks and on walls[5].
A very ornamental plant[2].
The sub-species D. octopetala hookeriana has been shown to produce nitrogen nodules on its roots due to a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, in the same way as peas and beans[6]. It has been assumed here that the species type can also do this[K]. Some of the nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[1].
Established plants strongly resent root disturbance[1].
Range: Arctic and sub-arctic Europe, Asia and America. Mountains in south Europe, including Britain.
Habitat: Rocky places and high pastures[7], especially on limestone rocks[2].
Edibility: The leaves are used as a tea substitute[8][7][9][10].
Medicinal: The entire plant, harvested just before or at flowering time is astringent and digestive[11]. An infusion is used as a stomach tonic, and also as a gargle for treating gingivitis and other disorders of the mouth and throat[11].
Usage: The plant makes a good ground cover for spring bulbs, though it is not strongly weed suppressive[1]. Slow-growing at first, it then forms a dense mat[12]. Plants should be spaced about 30cm apart each way and they form a carpet, the branches rooting at intervals along the stems[13].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
In Leaf: Evergreen
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Brickell, Christopher. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Dorling Kindersley Publishers, 1990.
- ↑ Davis, Ray and Frank Craighead. A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers. The Riverside Press, 1963.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Triska, Jan. Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn, 1975.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Launert, Edmund. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn, 1981.
- ↑ Napier, Elspeth. Ground Cover Plants. Cassells, 1989.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Plants for Ground Cover. Everyman, 1990.