Lithospermum ruderale
| Lithospermum ruderale | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 4 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 2' |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Lithospermum ruderale (common name: western gromwell)
Propagation: Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. 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: Prefers a sunny position in a moderately fertile well-drained soil[1].
Range: Western N. America - British Columbia to California.
Habitat: Open, fairly dry places from the foothills to moderate elevations[2].
Edibility: The seeds have been used for food[3].
Medicinal: An infusion or decoction of the root has been used as a diuretic in the treatment of kidney complaints and also to treat internal haemorrhaging, diarrhoea etc[4][3].
A poultice of the dried powdered leaves and stems has been used to relieve the pain of rheumatic joints[3].
Some N. American Indian women drank a cold water infusion of the roots daily for six months to ensure permanent sterility[5]. Alcoholic extracts of the plant have been shown to eliminate the oestrus cycle and decrease the weight of the thymus and pituitary glands[5].
Usage: The plant has been used as a dye and body paint[6]. No more details are given in the report, but it is likely that the root is used and the colour is some shade of red[K].
The hard, white, shiny seeds have been used as beads[3].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Hitchcock, Leo. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press, 1955.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Weiner, Michael. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books, 1980.
- ↑ Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.