Ledum palustre
| Ledum palustre | |
| Light: |    |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 2 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-6.5 |
| Evergreen | |
| Height: | 3' |
| Blooms: | Mid Spring-Early Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Ledum palustre (common name: wild rosemary)
Propagation: Seed - surface sow in a shady part of the greenhouse in February or March[1][2]. Another report says that the seed is best sown in the autumn as soon as it is ripe[3]. Germination is variable and can be quite slow. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and grow the pots on in a shady frame for 18 months before planting them out into their permanent positions[1].
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 5 - 8cm with a heel, July/August in a frame. Plant out in spring. Fair percentage[1].
Cuttings of mature wood, November/December in a frame[2].
Layering in the autumn. Takes 12 months[1].
Division.
Cultivation: Requires a lime-free loam or peaty soil[4][5]. Prefers a moist humus-rich acid soil in shade or semi-shade[6]. Plants flower more freely when grown in a sunny position. Plants grow better if they have certain fungal associations in the soil. The best way of providing this is to incorporate some soil from around well-growing established plants into the soil for the new plant[6].
Hardy to at least -15°c[6].
The leaves are very aromatic[7]. When crushed, they smell strongly of hops[8].
Plants benefit from removing the dead flowers before they set seed[3]. This prevents them putting too much energy into seed production at the expense of more flowers and leaves.
A good bee plant[9]. The flowers contain an oil that smells strongly of antiseptic[8].
Range: Northern Europe, including Britain, from Scandanavia south and east to Germany amd Japan.
Habitat: Possibly native to Britain in acid bogs near Bridge of Allan in Sterling and Perth. A rare escape elsewhere in Britain[10].
Edibility: A tea is made from the aromatic leaves[11][12]. Considered by some to be a better tea than that made from L. groenlandicum[12]. Some caution is advised, see the notes above on toxicity. It would be better to brew the tea in cold water by leaving it in a sunny place, or to make sure that it is brewed for a short time only in an open container.
The leaves are used as a flavouring, they are a bayleaf substitute[11].
The plant has been used as a hop substitute in making beer, though this has caused an unpleasant kind of drunkenness which is accompanied by a headache and dizziness[8].
Medicinal: The leaves and young flowering shoots are astringent, diaphoretic, disinfectant, diuretic, laxative, pectoral, stomachic and tonic[9][11][13][14]. The plant is more strongly narcotic than L. groenlandicum[9] and should not be used without expert supervision[15]. A tea is taken internally in the treatment of asthma, coughs, colds, stomach aches, kidney ailments etc[9][13][14]. Externally, it is used as a wash for burns, ulcers, stings, infections etc[13][14].
A homeopathic remedy is made from the whole, dried and powdered, plant[8]. This is used in the treatment of stings, injuries and joint pains[8]. It is also used in the treatment of various chest complaint, asthma, menstrual pain etc[15].
Usage: The leaves are hung up in the clothes cupboard in order to repel insects[9][11]. The branches are also placed among grain in order to keep mice away[9][11]. A strong decoction of the leaves is used to kill lice and insects[9][8].
The leaves contain tannin[9].
Pollinators: Bees
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
In Leaf: Evergreen
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: Plants contain a narcotic toxin called Ledel. This toxin only causes problems if the leaves are cooked for a long period in a closed container[11].
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Sheat, Wilfrid. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. St Martin, 1948.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Dirr, Michael and Charles Heuser. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press, 1987.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Brickell, Christopher. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Dorling Kindersley Publishers, 1990.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray, 1992.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 Castro, Miranda. The Complete Homeopathy Handbook. Macmillan, 1990.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 Schofield, Janice. Discovering Wild Plants.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Launert, Edmund. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn, 1981.