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Botanical Name: Myricaria squamosa
Kingdom : Plants
Division: vascular plants
Class: Dicotyledonous angiosperms
Order: Tamaricales
Family: Tamaricaceae
Genus: Klådrissläktet
Species: Myricaria squamosa
Habitat : Myricaria squamosa is native to E. Asia – Himalayas from Afghanistan to central Nepal and eastern Tibet. It grows along the sides of rivers and streams in the lower subalpine to upper alpine zones.
Description:
Myricaria squamosa is a deciduous Shrub. It is erect, 1-5 m tall, much branched in upper part. Old branches purple-brown, red-brown, or gray-brown; branches of current year yellowish green to red-brown. Leaves lanceolate, ovate-lanceolate, oblong, or narrowly ovate, 1.5-5(-10) × 0.5-2 mm, base slightly enlarged, margin narrowly membranous, apex obtuse or acute. Racemes lateral on old branches, solitary or several clustered in axils, dense before anthesis, later elongating and lax, with many imbricate scales at base; scales broadly ovate or elliptic, submembranous; bracts elliptic, broadly ovate, or obovate-oblong, 4-6(-8) × 3-4 mm, equaling or exceeding calyx, rarely shorter than calyx, base narrow, acuminate, margin broadly membranous or submembranous, apex obtuse or acute. Pedicels 2-3 mm. Sepals ovate-lanceolate, oblong, or narrowly elliptic, 2-4 × 0.5-1 mm, margin broadly or narrowly membranous, apex acute or obtuse. Petals purple-red or pink, obovate or narrowly elliptic, 4-5 × ca. 2 mm, base narrow, apex obtuse, often incurved. Filaments ca. 2/3 united. Ovary conic, 3-5 mm. Capsule conic, ca. 1 cm. Seeds narrowly elliptic or narrowly obovate, ca. 1 mm, apex awned; awns more than 1/2 white villous. Fl. and fr. May-Aug. 2n = 24.
The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs)Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soils.
It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.
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 the country. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus. Prefers a fertile well-drained soil in full sun with shelter from cold drying winds. Tolerates chalk soils.
Propagation:
Seed – sow early spring in a cold frame and only just cover the seed. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Cuttings of mature wood of the current seasons growth, November to January in a sandy propagating mix in an open frame.
Medicinal Uses:
The entire plant is used in Tibetan medicine, where it is considered to have an astringent taste and a cooling potency. Antitussive and febrifuge, it localizes poison, ripens pimples and dries up serous fluids. It is used in the treatment of inflammation due to poisoning, the spreading of fever from various infections, pimples that do not ripen, coughing, accumulation of serous fluids in bone joints, and meat poisoning
Disclaimer : The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplement, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.
Resources:
https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myricaria_squamosa
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200014291
http://www.pfaf.org/User/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Myricaria+squamosa
