Serratula tinctoria
| Serratula tinctoria | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 6 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Cross Pollinated | |
| Height: | 3' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Early Fall |
| Meadows Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Serratula tinctoria (common name: saw-wort)
Propagation: Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse and only just cover the seed. Make sure the compost does not dry out. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out in early summer if they have grown sufficiently. Otherwise, grow them on in the greenhouse or cold frame for their first winter and plant them out the following year after the last expected frosts.
Division in spring. 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 well drained soil in a sunny position[1].
Suitable for the wild flower garden where it may naturalize[1].
Range: Europe, including Britain, south and east from Scandanavia to N. Spain, Balkans and Siberia.
Habitat: Wood margins, clearings, rides and open grasslands on moist basic soils over limestone or chalk[2].
Edibility: Young leaves and flower buds? - cooked[3]. This report was for Hemistepta lyrata, which is said in the same report to be a synonym for this species.
Medicinal: Astringent, vulnerary[4].
Usage: A fine yellow dye is obtained from the juice of the plant, it is very durable[5][4][6][7].
Pollinators: Flies, bees
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Seed Ripens: Late Summer-Early Fall
Flower Type: Dioecious
Also Known As: Hemistepta lyrata
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Polunin, Oleg. Flowers of Europe. Oxford University Press, 1969.
- ↑ Sowerby, John. The Useful Plants of Great Britain. 1862.