Phleum pratense
| Phleum pratense | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 3' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer |
| Meadows | |
| Medicinal Rating: | |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Phleum pratense (common name: timothy)
Propagation: Seed - sow spring in situ, only just covering the seed. If seed is in short supply, it can be surface sown in a pot in a cold frame. Ensure the pot does not dry out. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant out in the summer.
Division in spring.
Cultivation: An easily grown plant, it succeeds in a sunny position in any ordinary soil[1]. The plant is not drought tolerant[2]. Timothy grass is reported to tolerate an annual precipitation in the range of 35 to 176cm, an annual temperature range of 4.4 to 18.6°C, and a pH of 4.5 to 7.8[2]. The plant is best adapted to a cool, humid, temperate climate, growing best on rather heavy, deep and moist or even wet soils[2]. Yields are lower on light dry soils and sands[2]. The optimum temperature for growth is 18.3° - 21.6°C varying with day/night temperatures of 15°/10°C and 21°/15°C[2].
Timothy grass is a very variable species that is commonly grown as a hay grass. Several named forms have been develped[3][2]. A short-lived perennial it is a common cause of hayfever[4].
An attractive addition to the wild flower meadow, the inflorescence dries and dyes well so is used in dried flower displays[1].
Range: Britain.
Habitat: Common in meadows throughout Britain, though rare in the north[3].
Medicinal: Stored sterile timothy extracts arrested the growth of Sarcoma 45 and other tumour types[2].
Usage: The stems have been used to make hair brushes[4].
The plant can yield up to 15 tonnes of plant material per hectare and is a potential source of biomass[2].
Pollinators: Wind
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: Two allergens producing strong skin reactions and a haemaglutinating action have been isolated from timothy pollen. The pollen contains several flavonol-glycosides, among them dactylin (isorhamnetin-31,4-diglucoside)[2].
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Duke, James. Handbook of Energy Crops. 1983.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.