Eriogonum microthecum
| Eriogonum microthecum | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 6 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Evergreen | |
| Height: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Eriogonum microthecum (common name: slender buckwheat)
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 resent root disturbance[2].
Range: South-western N. America - Nebraska to Washington, south to New Mexico and California.
Habitat: Sandy deserts to lower montane slopes, especially with sagebrush[3].
Edibility: A tea is made from the plant[4].
Medicinal: A decoction of the roots or tops has been used in the treatment of coughs caused by TB[5][4].
A decoction of the stems and leaves has been used to treat bladder problems[4]. It has also been used externally in hot compresses or as a wash for lameness and rheumatism[4].
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
In Leaf: Evergreen
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.
- ↑ Hitchcock, Leo. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press, 1955.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.