Lythrum salicaria
| Lythrum salicaria | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 3 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 3' |
| Width: | 2' |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Shelter | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Lythrum salicaria (common name: purple loosestrife)
Propagation: Seed - sow in the autumn or the spring in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer.
If you have sufficient seed it could be worthwhile trying a sowing in situ in the autumn or the spring.
Division in March or October[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.
Basal cuttings in the spring[2]. Harvest the shoots with plenty of underground stem when they are about 8 - 10cm above the ground. Pot them up into individual pots and keep them in light shade in a cold frame or greenhouse until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the summer.
Cultivation: Succeeds in ordinary garden soil, especially if it is damp[3]. Prefers a neutral to alkaline soil[2]. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Grows well in marshy soils[4] and succeeds in shallow water at the edges of ponds[5]. Succeeds in full sun or partial shade[1].
A very hardy plant, tolerating temperatures down to at least -25°c[6].
This species can be very invasive and has been declared a noxious weed in some countries. Since being introduced in N. America it has invaded native marshlands, florming large areas of dense stands and crowding out many native species[7].
A very ornamental plant[3]. A good bee and butterfly plant[4].
Plants usually self-sow when well sited[8].
Range: Europe, including Britain, south to N. Africa east to western and northern Asia. N. America..
Habitat: Reed swamps at the margins of lakes and slow-flowing rivers, fens and marshes, avoiding acid soils[9].
Edibility: Leaves - cooked[10][11][12][13]. Rich in calcium[14].
Root - cooked[10].
An edible dye is obtained from the flowers[10].
Medicinal: Purple loosestrife is an astringent herb that is mainly employed as a treatment for diarrhoea and dysentery. It can be safely taken by people of all ages and has been used to help arrest diarrhoea in breast-feeding babies[15]. It can also be used to treat heavy periods and inter-menstrual bleeding[15]. Modern research has shown the whole plant to be antibiotic and to be particularly effective against the micro-organism that causes typhus[15].
The flowering plant is antibiotic, highly astringent, hypoglycaemic, styptic and vulnerary[16][17][18][19][20][21][2]. It is valued as an intestinal disinfectant, especially in cases of enteritis[17], an infusion is used internally in the treatment of diarrhoea, internal bleeding, excessive menstruation etc[18][22][2]. The flowering plant is harvested in the summer and can be used fresh or dried[18].
Externally, the plant is used as a cleansing and healing wash for wounds, sores, impetigo, eczema, excess vaginal discharge, vaginal itching etc[17][22][2][15]. The powdered plant is used as a haemostatic in cases of severe nosebleeds[17].
The stems are regarded as gum stimulators and are given to children to chew in order to strengthen weak or bleeding gums[17].
Usage: A decoction of the plant is impregnated into wood, rope etc to prevent it rotting in water[23]. The leaves contain about 12% tannin, the stems 10.5%, the flowers 13.7% and the roots 8.5%[21]. It is probably these tannins that preserve the wood etc[21].
The powdered plant is used cosmetically in face-packs to counteract reddened skin[17].
Pollinators: Bees, flies
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Seed Ripens: Late Summer-Early Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Heavy Clay: Grows in heavy-clay soils.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Brickell, Christopher. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Dorling Kindersley Publishers, 1990.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Baines, Chris. Making a Wildlife Garden.
- ↑ Muhlberg, Helmut. Complete Guide to Water Plants. Sterling Publishing, 1982.
- ↑ Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Perennials - The Definitve Reference. Pan Books, 1991.
- ↑ Diggs, George and Barney Lipscomb. Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas. Botanical Research Institute, 1999.
- ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Triska, Jan. Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn, 1975.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Read, Bernard. Famine Foods Listed in the Chiu Huang Pen Ts'ao. Taipei Southern Materials Centre, 1977.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Chevallier, Andrew. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants. Dorling Kindersley, 1996.
- ↑ Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 17.5 Chiej, Roberto. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald, 1984.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Launert, Edmund. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn, 1981.
- ↑ Lust, John. The Herb Book. Bantam Books, 1983.
- ↑ Lassak, Erich and Tara McCarthy. Australian Medicinal Plants.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
- ↑ Komarov, Vladimir. Flora of the USSR. Gantner Verlag, 1968.