Silphium terebinthinaceum
| Silphium terebinthinaceum | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 4 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 5' |
| Width: | 3' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Late Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Medicinal Rating: | |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Silphium terebinthinaceum (common name: prairie dock)
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse[1]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and plant them out in the summer.
Division in spring[2]. This is very difficult due to the deep and extensive root system.
Cultivation: Succeeds in any ordinary garden soil[3]. Prefers a deep moisture retentive moderately fertile soil that is not too nitrogen rich, in sun or dappled shade[1].
Succeeds in the wild or woodland garden[1].
Plants have a deep and extensive root system which makes transplanting difficult[1].
Range: Eastern N. America - Ontario to Tennessee, Ohio and Indiana.
Habitat: Prairies, dry woods and glades[4][5].
Medicinal: A tea made from the roots is vermifuge and a tonic for general debility[6][7][4].
A tea made from the leaves is emetic, it has been used in the treatment of coughs, lung ailments and asthma[6][7][4].
A resin in the plant is diuretic[6][7][4].
Usage: A gum or resin that is obtained from the stem can be chewed to cleanse the mouth and teeth[8].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Seed Ripens: Late Summer
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Brickell, Christopher. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers. Dorling Kindersley Publishers, 1990.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
- ↑ Britton, Nathaniel and Addison Brown. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1970.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Coffey, Timothy. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File, 1993.