Geranium nepalense
| Geranium nepalense | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 7 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 3' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Geranium nepalense (common name: nepalese crane's bill)
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.
Division in spring or autumn. Larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring.
Cultivation: Succeeds in any moderately fertile retentive soil in a sunny position[1]. Tolerates a wide range of soil types[1].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer or rabbits[2].
Range: E. Asia - China to the Himalayas.
Habitat: Semi-shaded scrubby slopes and in forests, 1500 - 2300 metres in the Himalayas[3].
Edibility: Leaves[4]. No further details are given.
Fruits - chewed fresh[5]. The fruit is a small dry capsule[K].
Medicinal: The whole plant is antibacterial and astringent[3][6][7]. It is prescribed in the treatment of nervous diseases, numbness of the limbs, pains, rheumatism, renal diseases etc[7][8]. The juice of the plant is valued in treating renal diseases[5].
Usage: A red dye is obtained from the root, it is similar to Rubia cordifolia[9].
The root contains 25 - 32% tannins[5].
Pollinators: Insects
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.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Singh, Gurcharan and Premnath Kachroo. Forest Flora of Srinagar. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, 1976.
- ↑ Read, Bernard. Famine Foods Listed in the Chiu Huang Pen Ts'ao. Taipei Southern Materials Centre, 1977.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Manandhar, Narayan. Plants and People of Nepal. Timber Press, 2002.
- ↑ Kariyone, Tatsuo. Atlas of Medicinal Plants.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.
- ↑ Chopra, R. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, 1986.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.