Parnassia palustris
| Parnassia palustris | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 4 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Evergreen Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 1' |
| Width: | 0.3' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Mid Fall |
| Native to: | |
| Medicinal Rating: | |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Parnassia palustris (common name: grass of parnassus)
Propagation: Seed - sow as soon as it is ripe in late autumn in a cold frame in pots of soil that are standing in shallow water. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division in spring.
Cultivation: Succeeds in moist peaty soils or in spongy bogs[1]. Requires an alkaline soil[2].
Plants can be naturalized in marshy grass[2].
Range: Europe, including Britain, from Scandanavia south and east to Spain, Greece and temperate Asia.
Habitat: Wet moorland, marshes and raised bogs to quite a high altitude[3][4].
Medicinal: The whole plant is astringent, slightly diuretic, sedative, tonic and vulnerary[3][5]. A decoction is occasionally used as a mouthwash in the treatment of stomatitis[3]. The dried and powdered plant can be sprinkled onto wounds to aid the healing process[3]. The plant is harvested in the summer or autumn and can be dried for later use[3].
A distilled water made from the plant is an excellent astringent eye lotion[3].
Pollinators: Bees, flies, beetles, self
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
In Leaf: Evergreen
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Chiej, Roberto. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald, 1984.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ Launert, Edmund. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn, 1981.