Erodium cicutarium
| Erodium cicutarium | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Soil pH: | 6.6-8.4 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 2' |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Early Fall |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Erodium cicutarium (common name: stork's bill)
Propagation: Seed - sow in situ as soon as the seed is ripe in the late summer. The seed can also be sown in situ in late spring[1]. Germination usually takes place within 3 weeks[2].
Cultivation: Prefers a sunny well-drained position and a limy soil or at least one that is not acid[1]. Plants are likely to be resistant to maritime exposure[K].
Range: Europe, including Britain, from Norway south and east to N. Africa, the Himalayas and Japan.
Habitat: Sandy dunes, grassland, arable land, waste areas, roadsides, railway embankments etc, usually near the sea[3].
Edibility: Young leaves - raw or cooked as a potherb[4][5][6][7][8]. Harvested in the spring before the plant flowers[9], they are tasty and nutritious[10]. The leaves are added to salads, sandwiches, soups etc[3], they can be used in recipes that call for leaves of beet, plantain, sow thistle or amaranth[8].
Young stems - raw[9].
Root - chewed by children as a gum[9].
Medicinal: The whole plant is astringent and haemostatic{9, 13, 21]. It has been used in the treatment of uterine and other bleeding[3]. The root and leaves have been eaten by nursing mothers to increase the flow of milk[9]. Externally, the plant has been used as a wash on animal bites, skin infections etc[9]. A poultice of the chewed root has been applied to sores and rashes[9].
A tea made from the leaves is diaphoretic and diuretic[11]. An infusion has been used in the treatment of typhoid fever[9]. The leaves are soaked in bath water for the treatment of rheumatism[11].
The seeds contain vitamin K, a poultice of them is applied to gouty typhus[11].
Usage: A green dye is obtained from the whole plant. It does not require a mordant[12].
The remnants of the styles are very hygroscopic, they can be used in hygrometers and as weather indicators[13][14].
The dried plant powder has been mixed with watermelon seeds during storage and planting in order to prevent watermelon disease[9].
Pollinators: Bees, beetles, lepidoptera, self
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Wind: Tolerates maritime wind exposure
Seed Ripens: Late Summer-Mid Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Launert, Edmund. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn, 1981.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Elias, Thomas. A Field Guide to North American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1982.
- ↑ Coyle, Jeanette. A Field Guide to the Common and Interesting Plants of Baja California. Natural History Publishing, 1975.
- ↑ Harrington, Harold. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press, 1967.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ Coffey, Timothy. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File, 1993.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
- ↑ Grae, Ida. Nature's Colors. MacMillan Publishing, 1974.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.