Categories
Herbs & Plants

Fragaria nubicola

[amazon_link asins=’0140564098,B005HQMY7E,B074V4MVYS,B00K418214,B01LZEHRIH,B01GERSSKG,B009POD3P6,B01KVCYSMM,B075MBQ241′ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’1fdfefd7-e275-11e7-9367-6b18dc756ddf’]

Botanical Name : Fragaria nubicola
Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Fragaria
Species: F. nubicola
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Rosales

Common Name : Indian Strawberry

Habitats: Fragaria nubicola is native to E. Asia – Himalayas from Kashmir to western China. It grows in open grassland at elevations of 1600 – 4000 metres in Nepal. Meadows on mountain slopes, forests in valleys and forest edge at elevations of 2500 – 3900 metres.

Description:
Fragaria nubicola is a low-growing, softly hairy perennial herb with trifoliate leaves, and long runners rooting at the nodes. White flowers, 1.5-2.5 cm across, have 5 broadly obovate petals. The 5 sepals alternate with the petals. Leaves are long-stalked, with 3 leaflets which are ovate, 2.5-4 cm long, deeply and coarsely toothed. Himalayan Strawberry is found in the Himalayas, from Pakistan to Burma, at altitudes of 1800-3800 m. Flowering: April-June and the seeds ripen from Jun to July. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. It is distinguished by its 1 cm round red berry and entire sepals.

CLICK  & SEE THE PICTURES
Cultivation:
We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain. However, judging by its native range, it is likely to succeed outdoors in many areas of the country. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus. Prefers a fertile, well-drained, moisture retentive soil in a sunny position. Tolerates semi-shade though fruit production will be reduced. Likes a mulch of pine or spruce leaves.

Propagation :
Seed – sow early spring in a greenhouse. The seed can take 4 weeks or more to germinate. The seedlings are very small and slow-growing at first, but then grow rapidly. Prick them out into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out during the summer. Division of runners, preferably done in July/August in order to allow the plants to become established for the following years crop. They can also be moved in the following spring if required, though should not then be allowed to fruit in their first year. The runners can be planted out direct into their permanent positions.

Edible Uses: .…Fruit  is  eaten raw. It has a very pleasant strawberry flavour.
Medicinal Uses :

Astringent…….The juice of the plant is used in the treatment of profuse menstruation. The unripe fruit is chewed to treat blemishes on the tongue.

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://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragaria_nubicola
http://flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Himalayan%20Strawberry.html
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Fragaria+nubicola

Categories
Herbs & Plants

Fragaria californica

 

[amazon_link asins=’B01KCDICN6′ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’7e1ce014-b7b3-11e7-88e5-1f37fc4d3cc9′]

Botanical Name: Fragaria californica
Family: Rosaceae
Subfamily: Rosoideae
Tribe: Potentilleae
Subtribe: Fragariinae
Genus: Fragaria
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Rosales

Synonyms : Fragaria vesca californica. (Cham.&Schldl.)Staudt.

Common Name : Californian Strawberry

Habitat : Fragaria californica is native to South-western N. AmericaCalifornia. It grows in shaded, fairly damp places in woodland.

Description:
Fragaria californica is a perennial plant growing to 0.3 m (1ft). The plant is pretty, fast-spreading shady groundcover, with white flowers and red thimble-sized fruit that is the yummiest of any native strawberry. It looks lovely creeping among stepping stones, spilling out of a pot, or spreading in between shade-loving perennials like Columbine and Coral Bells. It is deer resistant once established, and likes dappled light and occasional water.

CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES

It is not frost tender. It is in flower from Apr to May, and the seeds ripen from Jun to July. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects

Cultivation:
Prefers a fertile, well-drained, moisture retentive soil in a sunny position. Tolerates semi-shade though fruit production will be reduced. A vigorous plant, spreading rapidly by means of runners. It flowers freely with us, but has not set fruit on our Cornwall trial ground as yet, possibly because all our plants are one clone.

Propagation:
Seed – sow early spring in a greenhouse. The seed can take 4 weeks or more to germinate. The seedlings are very small and slow-growing at first, but then grow rapidly. Prick them out into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out during the summer. Division of runners, preferably done in July/August in order to allow the plants to become established for the following years crop. They can also be moved in the following spring if required, though should not then be allowed to fruit in their first year. The runners can be planted out direct into their permanent positions

Edible Uses:
Edible Parts: Fruit.
Edible Uses: Tea.

Fruit – raw. Aromatic, sweet and succulent. The fruit can also be dried for later use. The fruit is about 15mm in diameter. The fresh or dried leaves are used to brew an excellent tea.

Medicinal Uses:

Astringent.

The leaves are astringent. A decoction has been used in the treatment of dysentery[

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:
http://www.yerbab.uenanursery.com/viewplant.php?pid=274
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Fragaria+californica

Categories
Herbs & Plants

Inula dysenterica

Botanical Name: Inula dysenterica
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Asteroideae
Tribe: Inuleae
Genus: Inula
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Asterales

Synonyms: Pulicaria dysenterica (Gaertn.). Middle Fleabane.
(Arabian) Rarajeub.

Common Name: Fleabane, Meadow false fleabane

Habitat: Inula dysenterica is a native of most parts of Europe, in moist meadows, watery places, by the sides of ditches, brooks and rivers, growing in masses and frequently overrunning large tracts of land on account of its creeping underground stems. In Scotland, however, it is rare, though common in Ireland. It grows on
Marshes, wet meadows, ditches etc, avoiding calcareous soils.

Description:
Inula dysenterica is a rough-looking plant, well marked by its soft, hoary foliage, and large terminal flat heads of bright yellow flowers, single, or one or two together, about an inch across, large in proportion to the size of the plant, the ray florets very numerous, long and narrow, somewhat paler than the florets in the centre or disk.

The creeping rootstock is perennial, and sends up at intervals stems reaching a height of 1 to 2 feet. These stems are woolly, branched above and very leafy, the leaves oblong, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches long, heart or arrowshaped at the base, embracing the stem, irregularly waved and toothed. Like the stem, the leaves are more or less covered with a woolly substance, varying a good deal in different plants. The under surface is ordinarily more woolly than the upper, and though the general effect of the foliage varies according to its degree of woolliness, it is at best a somewhat dull and greyish green....CLICK  & SEE THE PICTURES

The plant is in bloom from the latter part of July to September. The fruit is silky and crowned by a few short, unequal hairs of a dirty-white, with an outer ring of very short bristles or scales, a characteristic which distinguishes it from Elecampane and other members of the genus Inula, whose pappus consists of a single row of hairs this being the differing point which has led to its being assigned to a distinct genus, Pulicaria.

Another English plant bears the name of Fleabane (Erigeron acris), a member of the same order. For the sake of distinction, it is commonly known as the Blue Fleabane, its flowerheads having a yellow centre, and being surrounded by purplish rays. It is a smaller, far less striking plant, growing in dry situations.

Parts Used in medicines: Herb, root.

Medicinal Uses:
The leaves when bruised have a somewhat soap-like smell. The sap that lies in the tissues is bitter, astringent and saltish, so that animals will not eat the plant, and this astringent character, to which no doubt the medicinal properties are to be ascribed, is imparted to decoctions and infusions of the dried herb.

Other Uses:
Repellent……..The plant is burnt to repel parasites.

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://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inula
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/f/flecom27.html
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Pulicaria+dysenterica

css.php