Mertensia ciliata
| Mertensia ciliata | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 4 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 3' |
| Width: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Late Spring-Mid Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Mertensia ciliata (common name: mountain bell)
Propagation: Seed - best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe[1][2]. Sow stored seed as early in the year as possible. Protect from direct sunlight[2]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division, with care, in early spring or autumn[2].
Cultivation: Easily grown in an ordinary garden soil with some shade[1][3]. Requires a moist peaty soil in full sun or light shade[4].
Plants are hardy to about -20°c[4].
A very ornamental plant[1].
Range: South-western N. America - Oregon to New Mexico.
Habitat: Streambanks, wet meadows, damp thickets and wet cliffs from the foothills to high elevations in the mountains[5][6].
Edibility: Flowers - raw[6].
Leaves - raw or cooked[6]. The leaves are rather hairy and are not so nice when eaten raw[6].
Medicinal: The plant is galactogogue[7]. An infusion has been used to increase the milk flow of nursing mothers[7].
An infusion of the powdered root has been used to relieve the itching caused by smallpox and measles[7].
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Sanders, Thomas. Popular Hardy Perennials. Collingridge, 1926.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Perennials - The Definitve Reference. Pan Books, 1991.
- ↑ Hitchcock, Leo. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press, 1955.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Schofield, Janice. Discovering Wild Plants.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.