Eriogonum jamesii

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Eriogonum jamesii
Light:Full Sun
Moisture:Xeric Mesic
Hardiness:4
Soil pH:5.6-8.4
Height:1'
Blooms:Late Summer-Early Fall
Native to:
Medicinal Rating:
Tea:Yes
Poisonous

Eriogonum jamesii (common name: antelope sage)

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: 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 deeply resent root disturbance[2].

Range: South-western N. America - Colorado, Utah and New Mexico.

Habitat: Dry and rocky slopes, and shale mesas[3].

Medicinal: Some native North American Indian tribes used this plant as a contraceptive. The women would drink one cup of a decoction of the root during menstruation[4].

A decoction of the whole plant has been drunk to ease the pain of childbirth[5].

The root has been chewed as a cardiac medicine and as a treatment for stomach aches[5]. An infusion of the roots has been used to treat despondency[5]. The infusion has also been used as a wash for sore eyes[5].

The plant has been chewed to sweeten the saliva[5].

Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.

Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.

Wind: Tolerates strong winds

Flower Type: Hermaphrodite

Links

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
  3. McGregor, Ronald. Flora of the Great Plains. University Press of Kansas, 1986.
  4. Weiner, Michael. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books, 1980.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.