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Herbs & Plants

Anemone nemorosa

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Botanical Name : Anemone nemorosa
Family: Ranunculaceae
Genus:     Anemone
Species: A. nemorosa
Kingdom: Plantae
Order:     Ranunculales

Synonyms:  Crowfoot. Windflower. Smell Fox.,  Anemanthus nemorosus Fourr. Pulsatilla nemorosa Schrank.

Common Names :  Wood anemone, Windflower, Thimbleweed, and Smell fox

Habitat : Anemone nemorosa is native to Europe. It  occurs  throughout the northern temperate zone of C. Europe, including Britain, and W. Asia. It grows in  woodland and shady hillsides in all but the most base deficient or water-logged soils.

Description:
Anemone nemorosa  is a perennial herbaceous plant growing 5–15 centimetres (2.0–5.9 in) tall.It is an early-spring flowering plant.The plants start blooming soon after the foliage emerges from the ground. The leaves are divided into three segments and the flowers, produced on short stems, are held above the foliage with one flower per stem. They grow from underground root-like stems called rhizomes and the foliage dies back down by mid summer (summer dormant). The rhizomes spread just below th e soil surface, forming long spreading clumps that grow quickly, contributing to its rapid spread in woodland conditions, where they often carpet large areas.

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The flower is 2 centimetres (0.79 in) diameter, with six or seven (and on rare occasions eight to ten) tepals (petal-like segments) with many stamens. In the wild the flowers are usually white but may be pinkish, lilac or blue, and often have a darker tint on the backs of the tepals. The flowers are pollinated by insects, especially hoverflies.

The yellow wood anemone (Anemone ranunculoides) is a similar plant with slightly smaller, yellow flowers.

It has a long, tough, creeping root-stock, running just below the surface; it is the quick growth of this root-stock that causes the plant to spread so rapidly, forming large colonies in the moist soil of wood and thicket. The deeply-cut leaves and star-like flowers rise directly from it on separate unbranched stems. Some distance below the flower are the three leaflets, often so deeply divided as to appear more than three in number and very similar to the true leaves. They wrap round and protect the flower-bud before it unfolds, but as it opens, its stalk lengthens and it is carried far above them.

Cultivation:
Prefers a moist soil but tolerates dry conditions during its summer dormancy. Plants tolerate dry conditions and drought so long as there is plenty of humus in the soil. Prefers a well-drained humus-rich soil. Dislikes very acid soils. Prefers a shady position, growing well on woodland edges, but plants can also be naturalized in thin turf. Plants seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits. A greedy plant, inhibiting the growth of nearby plants, especially legumes. The plant has a running rootstock and can spread rapidly when well-sited. A very ornamental plant, there are several named varieties.

Propagation:
Seed – best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe in the summer. Surface sow or only just cover the seed and keep the soil moist. Sow stored seed as soon as possible in late winter or early spring. The seed usually germinates in 1 – 6 months at 15°c. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in light shade in the greenhouse for at least their first year. When the plants are large enough, plant them out in the spring. Division in late summer after the plant dies down.

Medicinal Uses:

Antirheumatic; Homeopathy; Rubefacient; Tonic.

The leaves are antirheumatic, rubefacient and tonic. The plant is sometimes used externally as a counter-irritant in the treatment of rheumatism. The herb is gathered in spring before the plant comes into flower. Various parts of this herb used to be recommended for a variety of complaints such as headaches and gout, though the plant is virtually not used nowadays. A homeopathic remedy has been made from the leaves.

Though this species of Anemone has practically fallen out of use, the older herbalists recommended application of various parts of the plant for headaches, tertian agues and rheumatic gout.’The body being bathed with the decoction of the leaves cures the leprosy: the leaves being stamped and the juice snuffed up the nose purgeth the head mightily; so doth the root, being chewed in the mouth, for it procureth much spitting and bringeth away many watery and phlegmatic humours, and is therefore excellent for the lethargy…. Being made into an ointment and the eyelids annointed with it, it helps inflammation of the eyes. The same ointment is excellent good to cleanse malignant and corroding ulcers.’

Known Hazards:The plant contains poisonous chemicals that are toxic to animals including humans. The plant contains poisonous chemicals that are toxic to animals including humans, but it has also been used as a medicine. All parts of the plant contain protoanemonin, which can cause severe skin and gastrointestinal irritation, bitter taste and burning in the mouth and throat, mouth ulcers, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and hematemesi All parts of the plant contain protoanemonin, which can cause severe skin and gastrointestinal irritation, bitter taste and burning in the mouth and throat, mouth ulcers, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and hematemesis.

Other Uses:
Anemone nemorosa is grown as an ornamental plant for use in gardens and parks.

Disclaimer:
The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

Resources:
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/a/anemo036.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anemone_nemorosa

http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Anemone+nemorosa

Categories
Herbs & Plants

Asplenium trichomanes

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Botanical Name :  Asplenium trichomanes
Family: Aspleniaceae
Genus:     Asplenium
Species: A. trichomanes
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Pteridophyta
Class:     Polypodiopsida
Order:     Polypodiales

Common Names : Maidenhair spleenwort,Dense spleenwort, Toothed spleenwort, Brightgreen spleenwort

Habitat : It is widespread in temperate and subarctic areas and also occurs in mountainous regions in the tropics. Its range includes most of Europe and much of Asia south to Turkey, Iran and the Himalayas with a population in Yemen. It occurs in northern, southern and parts of eastern Africa and also in eastern Indonesia, south-east Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand and Hawaii. It is found in North America and Central America and Cuba, and the northern and western regions of South America such as Chile.

It grows in rocky habitats such as cliffs, scree slopes, walls and mine waste, the type of rock used as a substrate depending on the subspecies. It grows from sea-level up to 3000 metres in North America while in the British Isles it reaches 870 metres.

Description:
Asplenium trichomanes is an evergreen Fern growing to 0.4 m (1ft 4in).

It grows in tufts from a short rhizome. The fronds are long and narrow, gradually tapering towards the tip. They are simply divided into small, yellow-green to dark-green pinnae. The stipe and rachis of the frond are dark all along their length. The fronds can reach 40 cm in length but are more commonly 8-20 cm. They bear long, narrow sori which contain the spores.

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Rhizome: short-creeping, often branched, scales clathrate, black, or sometimes with brown borders, to 5 mm , lanceolate.

Frond: 20 cm high by 1.5 cm wide, evergreen, monomorphic or nearly so, but the sterile fronds are earlier and prostrate, blade/stipe ratio: 3:1 to 5:1.

Stipe: a diagnostic feature (10x hand lens) is a narrow wing running the length of the stipe and rachis; brown-black or coppery, lustrous all the way to the end of the rachis , dark brown to black, filiform scales at base, then glabrous above, vascular bundles: 2 c-shaped, back to back, uniting to 1 upwards in an x-shape.

Blade: 1-pinnate, linear, widest above the middle, tapering to either end, thin, glabrous or minutely hairy.

Pinnae: 20 to 35 pair, opposite to subopposite, oblong, round at apex; margins finely dentate; veins free, evident.
Sori: oblong to linear, about 1.5 mm long, , 2–5 pairs per pinna, indusium: translucent, pale tan, hidden by sporangia at maturity, on one side of the sorus, sporangia: brown, maturity: late summer to early fall.

Dimensionality: spreading.

It is hardy to zone 6. It is in leaf 12-Jan, and the seeds ripen from May to October.

Cultivation:      
Requires a well-drained position and lots of old mortar rubble in the soil[1]. Requires a humid atmosphere and some shade. A good plant for growing on a shady part of an old dry-stone or brick wall. Plants are hardy to about -30°c. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer.

Propagation:   
Spores – best sown as soon as they are ripe on the surface of a humus-rich sterilized soil. Keep the compost moist, preferably by putting a plastic bag over the pot. The spores usually germinate in the spring. Spring sown spores germinate in 1 – 3 months at 15°c. Pot on small clumps of plantlets as soon as they are large enough to handle and grow them on in light shade in a greenhouse. Keep the plants humid until they are well established. Once the plants are 15cm or more tall, plant them out into their permanent positions in the spring.

Edible Uses :  
Edible Uses: Tea.

The dried fronds have been used as a tea substitute

Medicinal Uses:
A tea made from the fronds is sweet, demulcent, expectorant and laxative. It has been used in the treatment of chest complaints and to promote menstruation

Known Hazards:  Although it is  found that no reports of toxicity for this species, a number of ferns contain carcinogens so some caution is advisable. Many ferns also contain thiaminase, an enzyme that robs the body of its vitamin B complex. In small quantities this enzyme will do no harm to people eating an adequate diet that is rich in vitamin B, though large quantities can cause severe health problems. The enzyme is destroyed by heat or thorough drying, so cooking the plant will remove the thiaminase.

Disclaimer:
The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

Resourcs:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asplenium_trichomanes
http://hardyfernlibrary.com/ferns/listSpecies.cfm?Auto=146
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Asplenium+trichomanes

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