Inula britannica
| Inula britannica | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 7 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 2' |
| Width: | 2' |
| Blooms: | Late Summer-Mid Fall |
| Native to: | |
| Medicinal Rating: | |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Inula britannica (common name: xuan fu hua)
Propagation: Seed - sow spring or autumn 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.
If you have sufficient seed, it is worthwhile trying a sowing in situ in the spring or the autumn.
Division in spring or autumn[1].
Cultivation: Succeeds in a sunny position in any moderately fertile well-drained soil[2]. Grows well in heavy clay soils.
Plants are hardy to at least -15°c[3].
The sub-species I. britannica chinensis is the form used medicinally[3].
Range: Europe to E. Asia. Formerly naturalized in Britain, but probably now extinct there[4].
Habitat: Moist meadows, streamsides, ditches, wet woods etc[4].
Medicinal: Xuan Fu Hua is used in Chinese herbalism as a mildly warming expectorant remedy and it is especially suitable where phlegm has accumulated in the chest[5]. The flowers are more commonly used, but the leaves are also used, generally for less serious conditions[5].
The leaf is discutient and vulnerary[6].
The flowers are antibacterial, carminative, cholagogue, deobstruent, depurative, diuretic, expectorant, laxative, stomachic and tonic[6]. They are used internally in the treatment of bronchial complaints with profuse phlegm, nausea and vomiting, hiccups and flatulence[7][3]. The flowers have an antibacterial action, but this can be destroyed by proteins in the body[7]. The plant is harvested when in flower and can be dried for later use[5].
The root is discutient, resolvent and vulnerary[6].
The plant has been mentioned as a possible treatment for cancer of the oesophagus[6].
Pollinators: Bees, flies, self
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Seed Ripens: Late Summer-Mid Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Heavy Clay: Grows in heavy-clay soils.
Links
References
- ↑ Sanders, Thomas. Popular Hardy Perennials. Collingridge, 1926.
- ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Chevallier, Andrew. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants. Dorling Kindersley, 1996.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Yeung, Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, 1985.