Hepatica americana
| Hepatica americana | |
| Light: |    |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 4 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 1' |
| Width: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Mid Spring-Late Spring |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Medicinal Rating: | |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Hepatica americana (common name: american liverleaf)
Propagation: Seed - sow in a moist soil in a shady position[1]. The stored seed requires stratification for about 3 weeks at 0 - 5°c. Germination takes 1 - 12 months at 10°c. It is probably worthwhile sowing the seed as soon as it is ripe in a shady position in a cold frame. When 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 them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division just as the leafless plant comes into flower in late winter. Replant immediately into their permanent positions.
Cultivation: Prefers a deep light soil with leafmold[2]. Grows well on limey woodland soils in half shade, though it also succeeds in deep shade and in full sun[1].
Plants resent root disturbance and should be placed in their permanent positions as soon as possible[3].
This species is closely related to H. acutiloba[2].
A greedy plant, inhibiting the growth of nearby plants, especially legumes[4].
Range: Eastern N. America - Nova Scotia to Minnesota, south to Florida, Georgia and Missouri
Habitat: Dry woods[5]. Mixed woods, often in association with both conifers and deciduous trees, usually in drier sites and more acid soils, from sea level to 1200 metres[6].
Medicinal: A tea made from the leaves is laxative[5]. It is used in the treatment of fevers, liver ailments and poor indigestion[5]. At one time it became a cult medicine as a liver tonic and 200,000 kilos of dried Hepatica leaves were used in 1883 alone[5]. Externally, the tea is applied as a wash to swollen breasts[5].
Pollinators: Bees, flies, beetles, lepidoptera
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: Although no specific mention has been seen for this species, most plants in this family are poisonous. This toxicity is usually of a low order and the toxic principle is destroyed by heat or by drying[7][8][9][10].
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Brickell, Christopher. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Dorling Kindersley Publishers, 1990.
- ↑ Hatfield, Audrey. How to Enjoy your Weeds. Frederick Muller Ltd, 1974.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
- ↑ Flora of North America.
- ↑ Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Altmann, Horst. Poisonous Plants and Animals. Chatto and Windus, 1980.
- ↑ Stary, Frantisek. Poisonous Plants. Hamlyn, 1983.
- ↑ Frohne, Dietrich and Hans Pfänder. J. A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Timber Press, 1984.