Lolium temulentum
| Lolium temulentum | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 3' |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Lolium temulentum (common name: darnel)
Propagation: Seed - sow spring in situ.
Cultivation: Succeeds in ordinary garden soil[1].
Range: Europe - Mediterranean. An introduced casual in Britain.
Habitat: Cultivated fields and waste ground in Britain[2].
Edibility: Seed - cooked. Used as a piñole or ground into a flour and used to make bread etc[3][4]. It is very nutritious, like oats, but it is not advisable to eat the seed due to the risk of fungal infection[5]. This fungal infection, called ergot, causes hallucinations in small doses but can cause severe damage to the nervous system in larger quantities.
Medicinal: The seed is anodyne and sedative[6]. It is not actually the seed, but a fungus that is often found on the seed that has the medicinal properties[K].
Pollinators: Wind
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: The seed is not poisonous but it is often infected by a fungus which is very toxic. It is probably safer not to eat the seed because of the risk involved[5].
Links
References
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ Weiner, Michael. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books, 1980.
- ↑ Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Chakravarty, Hiralal. The Plant Wealth of Iraq. 1976.
- ↑ Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.