Potentilla discolor

From Permawiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Potentilla discolor
Light:Full Sun Part Shade
Moisture:Mesic
Soil pH:5.6-8.4
Self Pollinated
Height:1'
Blooms:Late Spring-Early Fall
Native to:
Edible Rating:PFAF Edibility RatingPFAF Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating:PFAF Medicinal RatingPFAF Medicinal Rating
Tea:Yes
Poisonous

Potentilla discolor

Propagation: Seed - sow early spring or autumn in a cold frame. 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. 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: We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain, though judging by its native range it should succeed outdoors in most parts of the country. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus.

Easily grown in a well-drained loam, preferring a position in full sun but tolerating shade[1]. Prefers an alkaline soil but tolerates a slightly acid soil[2].

Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer[3].

Range: E. Asia - China, Japan, Korea.

Habitat: Virgin wilds, mountain slopes and uplands in open ground[4]. Valleys, ravines, meadows on mountain slopes, meadows and sparse forests in China[5].

Edibility: Root - raw or cooked[6][7][8]. It is preferred raw[9].

Medicinal: The root is aphrodisiac, astringent, depurative, styptic[4][9][10].

Pollinators: Insects

Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.

Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.

Seed Ripens: Late Spring-Early Fall

Flower Type: Hermaphrodite

Links

References

  1. Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
  2. Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
  3. Thomas, Graham. Perennial Garden Plants. J. M. Dent & Sons, 1990.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Revolutionary Health Committee of Hunan Province. A Barefoot Doctors Manual. Running Press.
  5. Flora of China. 1994.
  6. Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
  7. Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
  8. Read, Bernard. Famine Foods Listed in the Chiu Huang Pen Ts'ao. Taipei Southern Materials Centre, 1977.
  9. 9.0 9.1 Stuart, George. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei Southern Materials Centre.
  10. Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.