Lycopus uniflorus
| Lycopus uniflorus | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 1' |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Lycopus uniflorus (common name: bugleweed)
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: We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain, though judging by its native range it should succeed outdoors in many parts of the country. This species might be no more than a synonym for L. virginicus, a species known to be hardy in Britain. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus.
Tolerates most soil types so long as they are wet. Succeeds in damp meadows or in wet places by ponds or streams[2].
Range: N. America - Newfoundland to British Columbia, North Carolina, Nebraska and Oregon
Habitat: Low, wet or boggy ground in the north of its range, wet woodland in the south[3].
Edibility: Root - raw or cooked[4][5][6][7][8]. The roots were a staple food for some native North American Indian tribes[9]. The crisp white tubers can be eaten raw in salads or cooked in soups etc[10]. When boiled for a short time they are said to make an agreeable vegetable, somewhat like Chinese artichokes (Stachys affinis)[10].
Medicinal: The whole plant is antitussive and sedative[5].
Pollinators: Bees, flies
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: L. virginicus. L.?
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ Harris, Ben. Eat the Weeds. Pivot Health, 1973.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Elias, Thomas. A Field Guide to North American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1982.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.
- ↑ Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.