Ipomoea leptophylla
| Ipomoea leptophylla | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 9 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 4' |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Ipomoea leptophylla (common name: bush moon flower)
Propagation: Pre-soak the seed for 12 hours in warm water, or scarify the seed, and sow in individual pots in a greenhouse in early spring. The seed usually germinates in 1 - 3 weeks at 22°c. Plants are extremely resentful of root disturbance, even when they are quite small, and should be potted up almost as soon as they germinate[1]. Grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter then plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings of side shoots in a peaty soil.
Layering.
Cultivation: Requires a rich well-drained soil in a warm sunny position[2].
Requires greenhouse protection in Britain[2]. A plant survived 2 winters outdoors in a pot in Cornwall before succumbing to a very wet and cold winter[K]. This does suggest that the plant is hardy enough to survive outdoors at least in the milder parts of Britain[K].
A climbing plant, supporting itself by twining around the branches of other plants[1].
Range: Southern N. America - South Dakota to Nebraska, Wyoming, New Mexico and Texas.
Habitat: Plains and dry banks, especially on sandy shores[3].
Edibility: Root - raw or cooked. Crisp, sweet and tender[4][5][6][3]. Some reports suggest that the root is not very nice and was only used when nothing else was available, this is probably because old roots were tried[3][7]. Roots should be no more than 3 years old, preferably only 2[3]. The roots can be up to 1.2 metres long[4] and weigh 11 kilos[8]. This report almost certainly refers to roots older than 3 years[K].
Medicinal: This plant was used as a cardiac stimulant by some native North American Indian tribes[9].
An infusion of the staminate cones has been used as a stomach tonic[7].
The root has been scraped and eaten raw as a treatment for stomach troubles[7]. The pulverized root has been dusted onto the body as a dressing to ease pain[7].
Usage: Some native North American Indian tribes would use the root to store fire in the days before matches. They would start a fire in the root, wrap it up and hang it outside. It was said that the fire would keep for seven months[7].
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Grey-Wilson, Christopher and Victoria Matthews. Gardening on Walls. Collins, 1983.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Harrington, Harold. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press, 1967.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ Britton, Nathaniel and Addison Brown. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1970.
- ↑ Weiner, Michael. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books, 1980.