Rubia cordifolia
| Rubia cordifolia | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 6 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 20' |
| Width: | 10' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Early Fall |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Rubia cordifolia (common name: indian madder)
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Stored seed can be very slow to germinate[1]. Prick out the seedlings when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in light shade in the greenhouse for the first year. Plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer.
Division in spring or at any time in the growing season if the divisions are kept well watered until established[1]. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found it best to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame, planting them out once they are well established in the summer.
Cultivation: Prefers a loose moist leafy soil in some shade[1]. Tolerates dry soils but quickly becomes scorched when growing in full sun[1].
It is possible that the entries on edibility for this plant should apply to R. manjith. Roxb. ex Fleming. (syn R. cordifolia. auct non L.).
Range: S. Europe to Africa and Asia.
Habitat: Amongst scrub in the Himalayas[2]. To 2400 metres in Dehra Dun[3]. Damp wet upland forests in China[4].
Edibility: Leaves - cooked. Used as a side dish with rice[5][6]. It is much esteemed as a lab-lab by the Javanese[7].
Fruit - raw[8]. The fruit is about 8mm in diameter[1].
Medicinal: The roots are alterative, anodyne, antiphlogistic, antitussive, astringent, diuretic, emmenagogue, expectorant, styptic, tonic and vulnerary[4][9][10][11][12]. They have an antibacterial action, inhibiting the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis, Pneumococci etc[9]. They are used to lower the blood pressure[9]. The roots are used internally in the treatment of abnormal uterine bleeding, internal and external haemorrhage, bronchitis, rheumatism, stones in the kidney, bladder and gall, dysentery etc[13]. The roots are harvested in the autumn from plants that are at least 3 years old. They are peeled and then dried[13].
The stems are used in Tibetan medicine, where they are considered to have a bitter taste and a cooling potency[14]. Febrifuge, they are used in the treatment of blood disorders and spreading fever of kidneys and intestines[14].
Usage: A red dye is obtained from the stems and the root[7][5][3]. It is inferior to R. tinctoria, the madder plant[15].
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Singh, Gurcharan and Premnath Kachroo. Forest Flora of Srinagar. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, 1976.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Gupta, Basant. Forest Flora of Chakrata, Dehra Dun and Saharanpur. Forest Research Institute Press, 1945.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Revolutionary Health Committee of Hunan Province. A Barefoot Doctors Manual. Running Press.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Read, Bernard. Famine Foods Listed in the Chiu Huang Pen Ts'ao. Taipei Southern Materials Centre, 1977.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Yeung, Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, 1985.
- ↑ Stuart, George. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei Southern Materials Centre.
- ↑ Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.
- ↑ Chopra, R. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, 1986.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Tsarong, Tsewang. Tibetan Medicinal Plants. Tibetan Medical Publications, 1994.
- ↑ Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.