Panicum capillare
| Panicum capillare | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 2' |
| Width: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Late Summer-Early Fall |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Panicum capillare (common name: old witch grass)
Propagation: Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse and only just cover the seed. Germination should take place within a week. Prick out the seedlings into trays or individual pots and plant them out after the last expected frosts[1][K].
Cultivation: Requires a moderately fertile well-drained soil in full sun[1].
Range: N. America - Nova Scotia to North Dakota, south to Florida and Texas. An occasional weed in Britain.
Habitat: Open sandy or stony soil or cultivated land in N. America[2]. An occasional abundant weed of carrot crops in E. Anglia[3].
Edibility: Seed - cooked whole or ground into a powder and used as a flour[4]. It is often mixed with corn[[5][6]. The seed is very small and fiddly to use, it has a mild flavour and can be used like millet[K]. In the wild, the seed stem breaks off when the seed is ripe and then blows away in the wind, scattering the seed[7].
Medicinal: An infusion of the leaves has been used as an emetic[4].
An infusion of the plant has been used as a reducing aid when dieting[4].
Usage: The grass can be made into brooms[4].
Pollinators: Wind
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Hitchcock, Albert. Manual of the Grasses of the United States. Dover Publications, 1971.