Nigella damascena
| Nigella damascena | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 2' |
| Width: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Mid Fall |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Nigella damascena (common name: love-in-a-mist)
Propagation: Seed - sow spring or early autumn in situ[1]. The autumn sowing might not be successful in harsh winters. Plants can be transplanted if necessary[2].
Cultivation: An easily grown plant, succeeding in any good garden soil, preferring a sunny position[1][3].
A very ornamental plant[1], there are some named varieties[4].
Plants are fast-growing[4] and often self-sow if the ground is disturbed by some means such as hoeing[K]. The flowers are very attractive to bees[3].
A greedy plant, inhibiting the growth of nearby plants, especially legumes[5].
Range: Europe - Mediterranean. A rare casual in Britain.
Habitat: Stony, sunny positions.
Edibility: Seed - raw or cooked. Normally used as a condiment[6][7][8][9], it has a nutmeg flavour[10].
Medicinal: Expectorant[10].
Usage: An essential oil distilled from the plant is used in perfumery and lipsticks[11].
The seed contains about 43.5% fatty oil, consisting of 97% total fatty acids of which 30% is free fatty acid[12]. No uses of this oil are given in the report.
Pollinators: Bees
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Seed Ripens: Late Summer-Mid Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 International Bee Research Association. Garden Plants Valuable to Bees. International Bee Research Association, 1981.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Brickell, Christopher. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Dorling Kindersley Publishers, 1990.
- ↑ Hatfield, Audrey. How to Enjoy your Weeds. Frederick Muller Ltd, 1974.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Vilmorin-Andrieux. The Vegetable Garden. Ten Speed Press.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Polunin, Oleg. Flowers of Europe. Oxford University Press, 1969.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Niebuhr, Alta. Herbs of Greece. Herb Society of America, 1970.
- ↑ Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ Chopra, R. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, 1986.