Polygonum tinctorium
| Polygonum tinctorium | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 2' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Polygonum tinctorium
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.
Cultivation: Succeeds in an ordinary garden soil[1] but prefers a moisture retentive not too fertile soil in sun or part shade[2]. Requires full sun and a fertile soil[3]. Prefers hot humid climates[3].
A frost tender plant[3], it can be grown as a half-hardy annual in Britain.
This plant used to be cultivated as a dye plant[4][5].
Plants seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits[6].
Range: E. Europe to E. Asia.
Habitat: Weed infested places[4]. Moist valleys and along streambanks at elevations of 200 - 1000 metres in China[7].
Edibility: Young plant - cooked[8][9].
Seed - raw or cooked. It is rather small and fiddly to utilize.
Medicinal: The stems and the leaves are antidote, anti-inflammatory, antiphlogistic, antipyretic and depurative[10][11][12][13]. Their use increases the phagocytosis of white blood cells and decreases the permeability of the capillaries[11]. The indigo pigment in the leaves is used[11]. It is used in the treatment of freckles, pimples, erysipelas, mumps, thrush, epidemic protitis, infantile convulsions and high febrile conditions of children[11].
The leaves and fruits are used in Korea to help protect the liver and to treat burns and food poisoning caused by eating fish[13].
The fruits are antidote and febrifuge[12].
The plant is anti-inflammatory[12].
Usage: A blue dye is obtained from the leaves of this plant[14][8][3]. The leaves produce about 4 - 5% indigo by hydrolysis and acidification[5].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Seed Ripens: Early Fall-Late Fall
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 tictoria. (Ait.)Spach.
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References
- ↑ 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 3.2 3.3 Buchanan, Rita. A Weavers Garden.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Tutin, Tom et al.. Flora Europaea. Cambridge University Press, 1964.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Komarov, Vladimir. Flora of the USSR. Gantner Verlag, 1968.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Perennial Garden Plants. J. M. Dent & Sons, 1990.
- ↑ Flora of China. 1994.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Kariyone, Tatsuo. Atlas of Medicinal Plants.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Yeung, Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, 1985.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Medicinal Plants in the Republic of Korea. World Health Organisation, 1998.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.