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Herbs & Plants

Viburnum cassinoides

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Botanical Name : Viburnum cassinoides
Family: Adoxaceae
Genus: Viburnum
Species:V. nudum
Kingdom:Plantae
Order: Dipsacales

Synonyms: V. nudum cassinoides. (L.)Torr.&Gray.

Common Name: Withe Rod, Appalachian Tea, Witherod Viburnum, Witherod, Wild Raisin Viburnum,Blue haw

Habitat :Viburnum cassinoides is native to Eastern N. America – Newfoundland to Manitoba, Minnesota, New Jersey, Georgia and Alabama.
It grows on the thickets, clearings, swamps and borders of woods.

Description:
Viburnum cassinoides is a deciduous Shrub growing to 2.5 m (8ft 2in) at a medium rate.

It is in flower in June, and the seeds ripen in October. Leaves are opposite, simple, dull dark green leaves; 1.5 to 3.5 in. long; bronze to purple-tinged new growth; orange-red, dull crimson and purple fall color. Flowers are creamy white with yellow stamens in early summer on 2 to 5 in. flat-topped cyme; fruit changes from green to pink to red then blue and black. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects.The plant is not self-fertile….CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES

Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: acid and neutral soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.
Cultivation:
Landscape Uses:Border, Hedge, Massing, Screen, Specimen. An easily grown plant, it succeeds in most soils but is ill-adapted for poor soils and for dry situations. It dislikes chalk, growing best on lime-free soils. Prefers a deep rich loamy soil in sun or semi-shade. Best if given shade from the early morning sun in the spring. This species is closely allied to V. nudum. Plants are self-incompatible and need to grow close to a genetically distinct plant in the same species in order to produce fertile seed. There is at least one named variety, selected for its ornamental value. ‘Nanum’ has a dwarf habit and the leaves have a rich autumn colouring. Special Features:North American native, Fragrant flowers, Attractive flowers or blooms.

Propagation:
Seed – best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe. Germination can be slow, sometimes taking more than 18 months. If the seed is harvested ‘green’ (when it has fully developed but before it has fully ripened) and sown immediately in a cold frame, it should germinate in the spring. Stored seed will require 2 months warm then 3 months cold stratification and can still take 18 months to germinate. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in a cold frame or greenhouse. Plant out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer of the following year. Cuttings of soft-wood, early summer in a frame. Pot up into individual pots once they start to root and plant them out in late spring or early summer of the following year. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 5 – 8 cm long with a heel if possible, July/August in a frame. Plant them into individual pots as soon as they start to root. These cuttings can be difficult to overwinter, it is best to keep them in a greenhouse or cold frame until the following spring before planting them out. Cuttings of mature wood, winter in a frame. They should root in early spring – pot them up when large enough to handle and plant them out in the summer if sufficient new growth is made, otherwise keep them in a cold frame for the next winter and then plant them out in the spring. Layering of current seasons growth in July/August. Takes 15 months.

Edible Uses:
Fruit – raw or cooked. The scant flesh is sweet and well flavoured, hanging on the plant well into the winter. The oval fruit is about 10mm long and contains a single large seed. The leaves are used as a tea substitute. A pleasant taste. The leaves are steamed over boiling water, rolled between the fingers, allowed to stand overnight and then dried in an oven to be used as required.

Medicinal Uses:
The bark and root bark is antispasmodic, diaphoretic, febrifuge and tonic. An infusion has been used to treat recurrent spasms, fevers, smallpox and ague. The infusion has also been used as a wash for a sore 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/Viburnum_nudum
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/all/viburnum-cassinoides/
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Viburnum+cassinoides

Categories
Herbs & Plants

Artemisia michauxiana

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Botanical Name : Artemisia michauxiana
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Artemisia
Species:A. michauxiana
Kingdom:Plantae
Order: Asterales

Synonyms:
*Artemisia discolor Douglas ex Besser 1836, rejected name not Douglas ex DC. 1838
*Artemisia vulgaris subsp. michauxiana (Besser) H.St.John

Common Names: Mountain Sagewort, Michaux’s wormwood,and Lemon sagewort.

Habitat : Artemisia michauxiana is native to western Canada (Yukon, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan) and the western United States (Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado). It grows in mountain talus habitats in subalpine to alpine climates
Description:
Artemisia michauxiana is a rhizomatous perennial herb with green, lemon-scented foliage. The plant grows up to 100 cm (40 inches) tall with several erect branches. The leaves are divided into many narrow segments which are hairless or lightly hairy and bear yellowish resin glands. The inflorescence is a spike up to 15 centimeters long full of clusters of small flower heads.

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The plant is erect, lemon-scented. Stems green, many, unbranched. Leaves about 1 in. long, narrow, divided twice, often with small teeth, matted white hairs on the underside; top side hairless, green, dotted with yellow glands. Flower spikes narrow, 3–6 in. tall with nodding flower heads. Flower cup purplish, dotted with yellow glands, hairless.
Cultivation:
Easily grown in a well-drained circumneutral or slightly alkaline loamy soil, preferring a warm sunny dry position. Established plants are drought tolerant. Plants are longer lived, more hardy and more aromatic when they are grown in a poor dry soil. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer.
Propagation:
Seed – surface sow from late winter to early summer in a greenhouse, making sure that the compost does not dry out. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant out in late spring or early summer. Division in spring or autumn. Basal cuttings in late spring. Harvest the young shoots when about10 – 15cm long, pot up in a lightly shaded position in a greenhouse or cold frame and plant them out when well rooted. Very easy.

Edible Uses: ….Seed. Further details are not found, but the seed is very small and fiddly to use.

Medicinal Uses:…Poultice….A hot infusion of the plant has been used in the treatment of headaches[257]. A poultice of the chewed plant is applied to sprains and swellings.

Known Hazards: Although no reports of toxicity have been seen for this species, skin contact with some members of this genus can cause dermatitis or other allergic reactions in some people.
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.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Artemisia+michauxiana
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemisia_michauxiana
http://www.pnwflowers.com/flower/artemisia-michauxiana

Categories
Herbs & Plants

Iris cristata

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Botanical Name : Iris cristata
Family: Iridaceae
Subfamily: Iridoideae
Tribe: Irideae
Genus: Iris
Subgenus: Limniris
Section: Lophiris
Species: I. cristata
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Asparagales

Common Names: Crested Iris, Dwarf crested iris

Habitat :Iris cristata is native to Eastern N. America – Maryland to Ohio, south to Georgia, Tennessee and Missouri. It grows in rich woods, wooded bottoms and ravines, usually in calcareous soils.

Description:
Iris cristata is a Herbaceous perennial plant. This dwarf crested iris is a low-growing, rapidly spreading plant that typically grows to 3-6” tall. It features pale blue, lilac or lavender iris flowers with gold crests on the falls. Flowers are borne on very short stems, often appearing nearly stemless. Narrow, sword-shaped, yellowish-green to medium green leaves (to 6” long) arise from a network of branching rhizomes. Spreads quickly and forms dense colonies in optimum growing conditions. Native from Maryland to Oklahoma south to Georgia and Mississippi. In Missouri, it typically occurs on rocky, wooded slopes, on bluffs and along streams in the southeastern Ozark region (Steyermark). When in flower, a well-developed bed can produce a spectacular drift of blue color

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Flowers light blue to light violet, complicated in structure with petals and sepals all showy. Flower with 3 lower “sepals” hanging downward, base with a yellow shoehorn-like appendage (crest). “Sepals” not heavily veined with violet but with a basal patch of yellow. Upper 3 “petals” narrow and pointing generally upward. Seed pods elongate, ovate. Leaves relatively short and broad, embracing the stem, particularly those near the top of the plant..Flowering period: April to May.

Cultivation:
Landscape Uses:Alpine garden, Container, Ground cover, Massing, Rock garden, Woodland garden. Requires a light or gravelly lime-free soil of a woodland nature in partial shade or full sun. Likes plenty of moisture in summer but the soil must be well-drained. Grows well on a peat bank. Plants are hardy to about -20°c. Another report says that it is best if the plants are lifted intact in October, stored in sand and planted out in March. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer and rabbits. Plants require protection from slugs. Frequent division and transplanting every other year is necessary if the plant is to thrive and persist. Special Features:North American native, Naturalizing, All or parts of this plant are poisonous, Suitable for cut flowers.

Propagation :
Seed – best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. It does not require cold stratification. Stored seed should be sown as early in the year as possible in a cold frame. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse or cold frame for their first year. Plant out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer. Division in July/August. Very easy, larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring.

History:
Legend attributes the use of the yellow iris by the French monarchs to Clovis, the King of the Franks from 481 to 511 and the founder of Frankish state.  During a campaign against Alaric, the King of Aquitaine, Clovis was seeking a ford across a river for his army. A deer was frightened by the soldiers, and crossed the river at a ford that was thus revealed to Clovis. On the far side, he found a yellow iris that he put on his helmet as a testament to his good fortune which continued through to his defeat of Alaric near Poitiers in 507.  This story is almost certainly apocryphal, as the fleur-de-lis was first used as a heraldic symbol by King Phillipe II in 1180 and adopted as the French royal standard with three golden fleurs-de-lis on an azure background by King Charles the Wise in 1376.  But, like George Washington and the cheery tree, it is a good story.

In Greek mythology, Iris was the anthropomorphized goddess of the rainbow. She served as a messenger for the gods in general, but primarily for Hera, the wife and sister of Zeus. She was thus the female counterpart of Hermes (Mercury in Roman mythology).  In that a rainbow extends from the heavens to the earth, it was believed in Ancient Greece that this phenomenon afforded a means of communication between gods and mortals.  Accordingly, whenever a rainbow appeared, Iris was bringing a message from Olympus to a mortal or to a god on a terrestrial mission.  She had several collateral duties.  She led the souls of dead women to the Elysian Fields which gave rise to the custom of planting irises on the graves of women.  She also brought water from the River Styx which was used as a means of certifying the veracity of the gods. If they drank it after taking a solemn oath, they were rendered unconscious for one year if they had lied. Iris was married to Zephyrus, the god of the west wind and, according to some accounts, the mother of Eros, the god of love. There is a metaphorical appeal to the notion of love being a child born of the rainbow and the wind.

Edible Uses:….Root – used as a spice. Frequently chewed by local people to alleviate thirst. When first chewed the roots have a pleasant sweet taste, within a few minutes this changes to a burning sensation far more pungent than capsicums. Caution is advised, see the notes above on toxicity.

Medicinal Uses: It is notable for its medicinal uses as well as for its toxic effects. Native Americans used the root in a poultice to treat sores and to make a tea that was a laxative and an emetic. It was adopted by early medical practitioners who used small, frequent doses to stimulate the bowels and the kidneys, and to otherwise “cleanse the blood.”  As with many medicinal treatments derived from plants, the chemical that provides the palliative effect in small doses is toxic if consumed in quantity. The blue flag contains furfural which can cause nausea and iridin, a powerful hepatic stimulant. Livestock have been poisoned when grazing in wild iris.

An ointment made from the roots is applied to cancerous ulcers. A tea made from the roots is used in the treatment of hepatitis.

Other Use:Charming blue flowers float above sword-shaped leaves in spring. Use this beautiful but tough plant to edge a shady garden or path. It is also an effective, slow moving ground cover that provides tremendous shelter for small animals.

Known Hazards: Many plants in this genus are thought to be poisonous if ingested, so caution is advised[65]. The roots are especially likely to be toxic[238]. Plants can cause skin irritations and allergies in some people.

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.nearctica.com/flowers/iton/iris/Icrist.htm
http://www.abnativeplants.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=plants.plantdetail&plant_id=79
http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Plant.asp?code=K690
http://sneezypb.livejournal.com/322957.html
http://www.sierrapotomac.org/W_Needham/DwarfIris_050605.htm
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Iris+cristata

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