Melilotus officinalis
| Melilotus officinalis | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Soil pH: | 6.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 4' |
| Width: | 2' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Early Fall |
| Native to: | |
| Nitrogen Fixer | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Melilotus officinalis (common name: melilot)
Propagation: Seed - sow spring to mid-summer in situ[1]. Pre-soaking the seed for 12 hours in warm water will speed up the germination process, particularly in dry weather[K]. Germination will usually take place within 2 weeks.
Cultivation: Prefers a well-drained to dry neutral to alkaline soil in a sunny position[2]. Prefers a clay or a saline soil[3]. Dislikes shade. Established plants are drought tolerant[2].
The flowers are rich in pollen making this a good bee plant[4][5][6][3].
If they are cut back before flowering, the plants will grow on for at least another year before dying[7].
The dried plant has a sweet aromatic fragrance like newly mown hay[8].
This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[9].
Range: Europe to E. Asia. Naturalized in Britain.
Habitat: Grassy fields and roadsides, avoiding acid soils[10].
Edibility: Root[11][12][13]. Consumed as a food by the Kalmuks[14].
Young shoots - cooked. Used like asparagus[14]. Young leaves are eaten in salads[3]. The leaves and seedpods are cooked as a vegetable[6][15][13]. They are used as a flavouring[11]. Only fresh leaves should be used, see the notes above on toxicity[16].
The crushed dried leaves can be used as a vanilla flavouring in puddings, pastries etc[17][14][2]. Caution is advised, see the notes above on toxicity.
Flowers - raw or cooked[13]. The flowers and seeds are used as a flavouring[18]. The flowers also give an aromatic quality to some tisanes[5].
Medicinal: Melilot, used either externally or internally, can help treat varicose veins and haemorrhoids though it requires a long-term treatment for the effect to be realised[19]. Use of the plant also helps to reduce the risk of phlebitis and thrombosis[19]. Melilot contains coumarins and, as the plant dries or spoils, these become converted to dicoumarol, a powerful anticoagulant[19]. Thus the plant should be used with some caution, it should not be prescribed to patients with a history of poor blood clotting or who are taking warfarin medication[2]. See also the notes above on toxicity[20].
The flowering plant is antispasmodic, aromatic, carminative, diuretic, emollient, mildly expectorant, mildly sedative and vulnerary[4][5][21][3][20][2][22]. An infusion is used in the treatment of sleeplessness, nervous tension, neuralgia, palpitations, varicose veins, painful congestive menstruation, in the prevention of thrombosis, flatulence and intestinal disorders[5][2]. Externally, it is used to treat eye inflammations, rheumatic pains, swollen joints, severe bruising, boils and erysipelas, whilst a decoction is added to the bath-water[21][2]. The flowering plant is harvested in the summer and can be dried for later use[5].
A distilled water obtained from the flowering tops is an effective treatment for conjunctivitis[5].
Usage: The leaves contain coumarin and they release the pleasant smell of newly mown hay when they are drying[2]. The leaves are dried and used as an insect repellent[23][13], especially in order to repel moths from clothing[3][24][2]. They can be put in pillows, mattresses etc[25].
Poorly dried or fermented leaves produce a substance called dicoumarol. This is a potent anti-coagulant which is extremely poisonous in excess, it prevents the blood from coagulating and so it is possible to bleed to death from very small wounds. Dicoumarol is used in rat poisons[2].
The plant can be used as a green manure, enriching the soil with nitrogen as well a providing organic matter[2].
Pollinators: Bees
Notes: We can get the dried herb from Hambledon herbs.
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Heavy Clay: Grows in heavy-clay soils.
Known Hazards: The dried leaves can be toxic. though the fresh leaves are quite safe to use. This is possibly due to the presence of coumarin, the substance that gives some dried plants the smell of new mown hay, if taken internally it can prevent the blood clotting.
Also Known As: M. arvensis.
Links
References
- ↑ Woodward, L and P Burge. Green Manures. Elm Farm Research Centre, 1982.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Triska, Jan. Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn, 1975.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Chiej, Roberto. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald, 1984.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Ceres. Free for All. Thorsons Publishers, 1977.
- ↑ Sowerby, John. The Useful Plants of Great Britain. 1862.
- ↑ Genders, Roy. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale, 1994.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Schofield, Janice. Discovering Wild Plants.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Harris, Ben. Eat the Weeds. Pivot Health, 1973.
- ↑ Elias, Thomas. A Field Guide to North American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1982.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Chevallier, Andrew. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants. Dorling Kindersley, 1996.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Lust, John. The Herb Book. Bantam Books, 1983.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Launert, Edmund. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn, 1981.
- ↑ Chopra, R. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, 1986.
- ↑ Buchanan, Rita. A Weavers Garden.
- ↑ Polunin, Oleg. Flowers of Europe. Oxford University Press, 1969.
- ↑ Stuart, George. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei Southern Materials Centre.