Polygonum amphibium
| Polygonum amphibium | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Early Fall |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Polygonum amphibium (common name: willow grass)
Propagation: Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. Germination is usually free and easy. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer if they have reached sufficient size. If not, overwinter them in a cold frame and plant them out the following spring after the last expected frosts.
Division in spring or autumn. Very easy, larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found that it is better to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in light shade in a cold frame until they are well established before planting them out in late spring or early summer.
Cultivation: A water or marsh plant growing in water up to 3 metres deep or in boggy soil[1].
This species is hardy to about -25°c[1].
Plants seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits[2].
The leaves are often attacked by the larvae of the water-lily beetle[1].
Plants can either be aquatic with floating ovate-oblong leaf-blades or a leggy marsh plant with lanceolate leaves[1]. Their stems root at the nodes wherever they come into contact with the soil[3].
Range: Most of Europe, including Britain, temperate Asia, N. America and S. Africa.
Habitat: Lakes, ponds, slow-flowing rivers and canals, also on banks by the river[4][1].
Edibility: Leaves - raw or cooked. The young shoots are eaten in the spring[5].
Seed - cooked[6]. It is rather small and fiddly to utilize.
Medicinal: The whole plant, but especially the root, is astringent, depurative, skin[7][8][6][9].
An infusion of the leaves and stems has been used to treat stomach pains and children with diarrhoea[5].
The root has been eaten raw, or an infusion of the dried, pounded roots used, in the treatment of chest colds[5]. A poultice of the fresh roots has been applied directly to the mouth to treat blisters[5].
Usage: Tannin is obtained from the plant[7]. No more details, but it is likely to be from the root.
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: Although no specific mention has been made for this species, there have been reports that some members of this genus can cause photosensitivity in susceptible people._x005F
Many species also contain oxalic acid (the distinctive lemony flavour of sorrel) - whil
Also Known As: Persicaria amphibia.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Perennials - The Definitve Reference. Pan Books, 1991.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Perennial Garden Plants. J. M. Dent & Sons, 1990.
- ↑ Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Stuart, George. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei Southern Materials Centre.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Singh, Gurcharan and Premnath Kachroo. Forest Flora of Srinagar. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, 1976.
- ↑ Schofield, Janice. Discovering Wild Plants.
- ↑ Coffey, Timothy. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File, 1993.