Eryngium aquaticum
| Eryngium aquaticum | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 6 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Evergreen Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 4' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Medicinal Rating: | |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Eryngium aquaticum (common name: button snakeroot)
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in early autumn on the surface of a well-drained compost in a cold frame[1]. The seed can also be sown in spring. It usually germinates in 5 - 90 days at 20°c. 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 in early spring or autumn. Take care since the plant resents root disturbance[1].
Root cuttings in autumn or winter[1].
Cultivation: Requires a well-drained soil and a sunny position[2]. Prefers a light sandy soil but tolerates most soil types including lime and poor gravels[1].
Plants should be put in their final position whilst small since they resent root disturbance[1].
Plants labelled in nurseries as E. aquaticum are often E. yuccifolium[1].
Range: Eastern N. America - New Jersey to Florida.
Habitat: Wet soils or uplands[3].
Medicinal: The plant is diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant and in large doses emetic[4]. It is used mainly in the treatment of disorders of the kidneys and sexual organs[5][6]. It has been used as an antidote to snake poison[4][6].
The pounded roots are used as a diuretic[7]. An infusion of them is used to reduce fevers[7].
The plant is used as an antidote to snakebites. The roots are chewed and applied to the bite[7].
A homeopathic remedy is made from the fresh or dried root[8].
Pollinators: Bees, flies, beetles, self
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Wind: Tolerates maritime wind exposure
In Leaf: Evergreen
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Britton, Nathaniel and Addison Brown. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1970.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Coffey, Timothy. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File, 1993.
- ↑ Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Weiner, Michael. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books, 1980.
- ↑ Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.