Mercurialis perennis
| Mercurialis perennis | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 4 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Cross Pollinated | |
| Height: | 1' |
| Width: | 3' |
| Speed: | Fast |
| Blooms: | Late Winter-Mid Spring |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Medicinal Rating: | |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Mercurialis perennis (common name: dog's mercury)
Propagation: Seed - the plant shouldn't need any help in spreading itself, but if you are desperate to be completely overrun by it then you could spread the seed around when it is ripe in late spring and early summer.
Division - once again, there really is no need to help the plant but you can divide the roots at any time of the year.
Cultivation: Prefers a humus rich soil[1][2].
Dog's mercury is a very invasive and common hedgerow plant, it should not be necessary to cultivate it. Male and female plants usually grow in separate clumps, the females being less common[3].
The leaves contain trimethylamine and, in the early stages of putrefaction or when bruised, they give off the smell of rotting fish[4].
Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.
Range: Europe, including Britain, from Scandanavia south and east to Spain and S.W. Asia.
Habitat: Woods and shady places, usually in beech and oak woods, avoiding acid soils[3][5][1][2][6].
Medicinal: Dog's mercury is poisonous in the fresh state, though thorough drying or heating is said to destroy the poisonous principle[3]. The fresh juice of the whole plant is emetic, ophthalmic and purgative. It is used externally to treat women's complaints, ear and eye problems, warts and sores[3][5][7].
A lotion made from the plant is used for antiseptic external dressings[3].
A homeopathic remedy is made from the plant[5]. It is used in the treatment of rheumatism, dropsy, diarrhoea and disorders of the gall bladder and liver[5].
Usage: A fine blue dye is obtained from the leaves[8][3][9], it is turned red by acids and destroyed by alkalis but is otherwise permanent[9]. It resembles indigo[9].
A yellow dye is obtained from the leaves[10].
The seed is a potential source of a very good drying oil[10].
Pollinators: Wind, flies
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Seed Ripens: Late Spring-Early Summer
Flower Type: Dioecious
Known Hazards: All parts of the plant are poisonous[3][11][12].
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Triska, Jan. Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn, 1975.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Genders, Roy. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale, 1994.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Launert, Edmund. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn, 1981.
- ↑ Brown, George. Shade Plants for Garden and Woodland.
- ↑ Lust, John. The Herb Book. Bantam Books, 1983.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Sowerby, John. The Useful Plants of Great Britain. 1862.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Frohne, Dietrich and Hans Pfänder. J. A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Timber Press, 1984.
- ↑ Cooper, Marion. Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. The Stationery Office, 1984.