Scirpus fluviatilis
| Scirpus fluviatilis | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 7' |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Scirpus fluviatilis (common name: river bulrush)
Propagation: Seed - sow in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe in a pot standing in 3cm of water. Only just cover the seed with soil[1]. The seed usually germinates fairly quickly. Prick out the plants when large enough to handle and plant out in their permanent positions in early summer.
Division in spring. Very easy, 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: 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 this country. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus.
Succeeds in any wet to moisture retentive ground, pond margins and shallow water in full sun or shade[1].
Range: E. Asia to N. America and Australia.
Habitat: Fresh or brackish marshes and quiet water along streams and lakes, sometimes in water up to 1 metre deep, in western and eastern N. America[2][3].
Edibility: The stems are peeled and eaten[4].
Root - raw or cooked. The roots form tubers at intervals along their length and new plants are formed from these tubers. When first formed, the tubers are white and starchy with a sweet coconut-milk flavour, they become black and woody with age[5]. Tubers can be up to 3cm in diameter[5].
Medicinal: This plant was ranked 11th in a survey of 250 potential antifertility plants in China[6].
Usage: The roots have been used to form the black part of the basket design[7]. The roots were stained by burying them in the mud with ashes until a black colour was obtained[7].
Pollinators: Wind
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Hitchcock, Leo. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press, 1955.
- ↑ Britton, Nathaniel and Addison Brown. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1970.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Low, Tim. Wild Food Plants of Australia. Angus and Robertson, 1989.
- ↑ Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.