Lithospermum canescens
| Lithospermum canescens | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 3 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-7.3 |
| Height: | 0.5' |
| Blooms: | Late Spring-Early Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Lithospermum canescens (common name: paint indian)
Propagation: Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. It is best sown in a soilless medium[1]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings.
Division.
Cultivation: Requires a warm sunny position in a moderately fertile well-drained lime-free sandy soil[2][1].
Range: Eastern N. America - Ontario to Georgia, west to Saskatchewan and Texas.
Habitat: Dry or sandy open woods, prairies etc[3].
Edibility: The roots have been chewed with gum in order to colour the gum red[4].
The flowers have been chewed with gum in order to colour it yellow[4].
Medicinal: A tea made from the leaves is applied externally in the treatment of fevers accompanied by spasms[5].
Usage: A red dye is obtained from the root[6][7][8].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light and medium 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.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Coffey, Timothy. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File, 1993.