Ligusticum porteri
| Ligusticum porteri | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 6 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 3' |
| Width: | 2' |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Ligusticum porteri (common name: porter's licorice root)
Propagation: The seed is best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame in the autumn. Stored seed should be sown as early in the year as possible in a greenhouse or cold frame[1]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer if they have grown large enough. Otherwise, keep them in a cold frame for the first winter and plant them out in early summer.
Division in spring.
Cultivation: Succeeds in any well-drained soil in a sunny position[1]. Succeeds in dry soils[2].
Plants are hardy to at least -15°c[2].
Range: South-western N. America.
Habitat: Moist fertile ground, almost to the timberline, 2000 - 3500 metres in Texas[3]. Upland meadows and ravines[2].
Edibility: The leaves are used as a flavouring, a celery substitute[3].
Medicinal: The roots, seed and essential oil (obtained from the roots and the seed) of this plant are a bitter, camphoraceous warming herb that stimulates the circulation, kidneys and uterus[2]. They are also antirheumatic, antispasmodic, diaphoretic, digestive, expectorant, febrifuge and stomachic[3][4][2]. They are used internally in the treatment of eruptive fevers, bronchial infections, digestive complaints, toothache, painful menstruation and retained placenta[2]. They have also been used to treat TB. and headaches[3][4]. An infusion of the roots is used externally to treat body aches[5]. The root is harvested in the autumn and can be used fresh or dried[2].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Arnberger, Leslie. Flowers of the Southwest Mountains. Southwestern Monuments, 1968.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Schofield, Janice. Discovering Wild Plants.
- ↑ Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.