Lewisia brachycalyx
| Lewisia brachycalyx | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-7.3 |
| Height: | 0.5' |
| Speed: | Slow |
| Blooms: | Late Spring |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Lewisia brachycalyx
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame in a very freely draining soil[1]. Sow stored seed as soon as possible in a cold frame. One months cold stratification should improve germination, though this is still likely to be very slow. 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 two winters. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division in March/April. Very difficult.
Cultivation: Requires a very well-drained gritty humus-rich deep soil in a sunny position[2][3]. Prefers a neutral to acid soil[4].
This species is not reliably hardy in Britain[2]. It can withstand consistently very cold weather but does not like alternating periods of mild and cold conditions, nor does it like winter wet[2]. The plant is very susceptible to rotting at the neck in a damp soil[3]. Plants die down after flowering and start growing again in the autumn[4].
Very apt to hybridize with other members of this genus[2].
Range: Western N. America.
Habitat: Wet meadows, 1300 - 2200 metres in California[5].
Edibility: Root - cooked. Steeped and boiled[6]. Said to be extremely nutritious. It is easiest to use when the plant is in flower because the outer layer of the root (which is very bitter) slips off easily at this time of the year[7]. The root has a good taste though a decided bitter flavour develops afterwards[8][9].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
In Leaf: Early Fall-Mid Summer
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ Alpine Garden Society. Alpine Garden Society Bulletin Volume 56. Alpine Garden Society.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Brickell, Christopher. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Dorling Kindersley Publishers, 1990.
- ↑ Munz, David. A California Flora. University of California Press, 1959.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Harrington, Harold. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press, 1967.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.