Eriogonum inflatum
| Eriogonum inflatum | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 2' |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Eriogonum inflatum (common name: american pipeweed)
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a sandy compost in a greenhouse. Sow stored seed in early spring in a warm greenhouse[1]. As soon as they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division in early spring[1]. This has to be done with care because the plant resents root disturbance[2]. Try to obtain divisions from around the edges of the plants without digging up the whole clump. Tease the divisions out with as much root on them as possible and pot them up. Grow them on in light shade in the greenhouse until they are rooting well and plant them out in the summer.
Cuttings of greenwood with a heel in the summer[2].
Cultivation: We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain. The notes below are based on the needs of other members of this genus.
Requires a loose lean gritty well-drained soil in a very sunny position[2]. Succeeds in dry soils. Tolerates exposed positions[2]. Requires some protection from winter wet[1].
Established plants resent root disturbance[2].
Range: Western N. America.
Habitat: Washes and mesas below 1800 metres in California[3].
Edibility: Young leaves and stems - raw or cooked[4][5][6][7]. Tender[8]. Eaten before flowering[9].
Seed - pounded into a powder and eaten dry or mixed with water[7].
Medicinal: The plant is used as a lotion for bear and dog bites[7].
Usage: The stems can be cut at each end and used as drinking tubes[7].
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Wind: Tolerates strong winds
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Munz, David. A California Flora. University of California Press, 1959.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.
- ↑ Coffey, Timothy. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File, 1993.