Mitchella repens
| Mitchella repens | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 3 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-7.3 |
| Evergreen | |
| Height: | 0.2' |
| Width: | 2' |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Mid Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Mitchella repens (common name: partridge berry)
Propagation: Seed - it germinates better if given 3 months cold stratification and so it is best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn[1]. Sow stored seed as early in the year as possible. Make sure that all the fruit pulp is removed from the seed because it contains germination inhibitors[1]. 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 of naturally layered stems in the spring[2].
Cuttings.
Cultivation: Requires a moist but well-drained lime-free soil and some shade[3]. Prefers a peaty soil[4][2], succeeding in neutral to acid soils[2].
Plants are hardy to at least -20°c[2].
A trailing plant, the stems forming new roots at the nodes[5].
The dried leaves have a scent of newly mown hay[6]. The flowers have a pleasant sweet fragrance[6].
Succeeds in the shade of trees[4][3], growing well in a woodland and in the rock garden[4][2]. Plants can be difficult to establish[7], though they can become invasive once they are well established[8].
Range: N. America - Newfoundland to Florida, west to Texas and Minnesota.
Habitat: Dry or moist knolls in woods[9], on sandy sub-strates[2].
Edibility: Fruit - raw[10][11][12]. Pleasant and slightly aromatic[13]. Dry and tasteless, with lots of seeds according to another report[14]. The fruit hangs on well on the bush[4]. The fruit is about 8mm in diameter[2].
A tea is made from the leaves[15].
Medicinal: Partridge berry was commonly used by several native North American Indian tribes as a parturient to hasten childbirth. It was also occasionally used to treat a variety of other complaints including insomnia, rheumatic pain and fluid retention[16]. It is still used in modern herbalism as an aid to childbirth and is also considered to have a tonic effect upon the uterus and the ovaries[16].
The herb is astringent, diuretic, hypnotic and tonic[14][17][18][19][5][20]. Frequent doses of a tea made from the fresh or dried leaves were used by N. American Indian women in the weeks preceding childbirth in order to promote easy delivery[20][21][8]. This tea should not be used during the first six months of labour, however, since it can induce a miscarriage[8]. The tea is also used to treat delayed, painful or irregular menses[21][8].
The tea was also used externally as a wash for hives, swellings, sore nipples, rheumatism etc[21]. The leaves are harvested in the summer and dried for later use[8].
A tea made from the berries has a very definite sedating effect on the nervous system[5].
Usage: Can be used as a ground cover plant in a shady position[22][7]. Plants form a spreading carpet, rooting along the stems, and are best spaced about 30cm apart each way[23].
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
In Leaf: Evergreen
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Dirr, Michael and Charles Heuser. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press, 1987.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Emboden, William. Narcotic Plants. Studio Vista, 1979.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Genders, Roy. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale, 1994.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Brickell, Christopher. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Dorling Kindersley Publishers, 1990.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Coffey, Timothy. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File, 1993.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Chevallier, Andrew. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants. Dorling Kindersley, 1996.
- ↑ Lust, John. The Herb Book. Bantam Books, 1983.
- ↑ Kavasch, Barrie. Native Harvests. Vintage Books, 1979.
- ↑ Mills, Simon. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Weiner, Michael. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books, 1980.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
- ↑ Simmons, Alan. Growing Unusual Fruit. David and Charles, 1972.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Plants for Ground Cover. Everyman, 1990.