Lycopus americanus
| Lycopus americanus | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 4 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 2' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Early Fall |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Lycopus americanus (common name: water horehound)
Propagation: Seed - sow spring or autumn in a cold frame[1]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first year. Plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer.
Division in spring or autumn[1]. Larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring.
Cultivation: Succeeds in damp meadows or in wet places by ponds or streams[2].
Range: N. America - Newfoundland to British Columbia, south to Florida, Texas, Utah and California.
Habitat: Low moist or wet places[3][4].
Edibility: Root - raw or cooked[5]. This contradicts with the report in [2] that the plant does not form tubers on its rhizomes.
Medicinal: The whole plant is used as an astringent, hypoglycaemic, mild narcotic and mild sedative[6][7][3][1]. It also slows and strengthens heart contractions[1]. The plant has been shown to be of value in the treatment of hyperthyroidism[3][1], it is also used in the treatment of coughs, bleeding from the lungs and consumption, excessive menstruation etc[6][1]. It should not be prescribed for pregnant women or patients with hypothyroidism[1]. The plant is harvested as flowering begins and can be use fresh or dried, in an infusion or as a tincture.[6][1]
Usage: The juice gives a permanent colour to linen and wool and does not wash out[5]. The colour is not mentioned[K].
Pollinators: Bees, flies
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
- ↑ Diggs, George and Barney Lipscomb. Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas. Botanical Research Institute, 1999.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Coffey, Timothy. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File, 1993.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Kavasch, Barrie. Native Harvests. Vintage Books, 1979.