Geranium dissectum
| Geranium dissectum | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 7 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 2' |
| Blooms: | Late Spring-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Geranium dissectum (common name: cut-leafed cranesbill)
Propagation: Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer.
Cultivation: Succeeds in any moderately fertile retentive soil in a sunny position[1]. Tolerates a range of soil types[1].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer or rabbits[2].
Range: Most of Europe, including Britain, south to N. Africa and east to Iran.
Habitat: Cultivated and waste ground, grassland, hedgebanks etc to 375m[3].
Edibility: Root - cooked. A famine food, used when all else fails[4].
Medicinal: The whole plant, but especially the roots, is rich in tannin[5]. It is antiseptic, highly astringent, styptic and tonic[5]. An infusion of the whole plant, or of the roots alone, is used in the treatment of diarrhoea (especially for children and the elderly), dysentery, cholera, gastro-enteritis, internal bleeding, excessive menstruation etc[5]. Externally, it is used in the treatment of purulent wounds, haemorrhoids, thrush, vaginal discharges, inflammations of the mouth etc[6].
It is best to harvest the roots as the plant comes into flower since they are then at their most active medicinally[5]. The leaves should be harvested before the plant sets seed[5]. Both are dried for later use[6].
Usage: A brown dye is obtained from the dry flowers[7].
The leaves and roots are rich in tannin[5].
Pollinators: Self
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Perennial Garden Plants. J. M. Dent & Sons, 1990.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ Grae, Ida. Nature's Colors. MacMillan Publishing, 1974.