Scirpus maritimus
| Scirpus maritimus | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 6 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 3' |
| Width: | 3' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Late Summer |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Scirpus maritimus (common name: seaside 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: Succeeds in any wet to moisture retentive ground, pond margins and shallow water in full sun or shade[1].
Range: Found in most regions of the world, including Britain, but absent from the Arctic.
Habitat: Along the seashore, in shallow water of tidal rivers, also in ditches and ponds near the sea, avoiding shady positions[2][3].
Edibility: Root - raw or cooked. Rich in starch, it is usually dried and ground into a powder[4][5][6][7]. 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[8]. Tubers can be up to 2.5cm in diameter[8].
Seed - cooked[9]. They can be ground into a powder and used as a mush[9].
Medicinal: The root is astringent and diuretic[10]. It is used in the treatment of amenorrhoea, dysmenorrhoea, abdominal pain or tumours for post-partum females, abdominal distension and indigestion[11].
Usage: The leaves are used in weaving and basketry[6][9]. The leaves have been used to secure the edges of woven mats, as the warp for sandals, as the warps and twining wefts for clothing, to secure the edges of skirts etc[9]. They have been used to make twined mats for the insides of houses[9].
Pollinators: Wind
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Wind: Tolerates maritime wind exposure
Seed Ripens: Late Summer-Early Fall
Flower Type: Monoecious
Also Known As: Bolboschoenus maritimus. (L.)Pallas.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Harris, Ben. Eat the Weeds. Pivot Health, 1973.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Komarov, Vladimir. Flora of the USSR. Gantner Verlag, 1968.
- ↑ Cribb, Alan and Joan Cribb. Wild Food in Australia. Fontana, 1976.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Low, Tim. Wild Food Plants of Australia. Angus and Robertson, 1989.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ Chopra, R. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, 1986.
- ↑ Yeung, Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, 1985.