Setaria viridis
| Setaria viridis | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 6 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 1' |
| Width: | 0.3' |
| Blooms: | Late Summer-Mid Fall |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Setaria viridis (common name: green bristle grass)
Propagation: Seed - sow early spring in a greenhouse and only just cover the seed. Germination is usually quick and good. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and grow them on fast. Plant them out in late spring, after the last expected frosts. Whilst this is fine for small quantities, it would be an extremely labour intensive method if larger amounts were to be grown.
The seed can be sown in situ in the middle of spring though it is then later in coming into flower and may not ripen its seed in a cool summer.
Cultivation: Succeeds in any well-drained soil in full sun[1].
Range: Europe to E. Asia - Japan. A casual in Britain[2].
Habitat: Dry places and cultivated ground[3]. Mountain slopes, roadsides and grassy waste places throughout most of China[4].
Edibility: Seed[5]. Small[6]. It is used in the same ways as rice or millet, either boiled, roasted or ground into a flour[7].
The seed (roasted?) is said to be a coffee substitute.
Medicinal: The seed is diuretic, emollient, febrifuge, refrigerant and tonic[8].
The plant is crushed and mixed with water then used as an external application in the treatment of bruises[9].
Pollinators: Wind
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Seed Ripens: Early Fall-Mid Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Polunin, Oleg. Flowers of the Mediterranean. Hogarth Press, 1987.
- ↑ Flora of China. 1994.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ McPherson, Alan and Sue McPherson. Wild Food Plants of Indiana. Indiana University Press, 1977.
- ↑ Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ 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.