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Hydrangea macrophylla

Botanical Name :Hydrangea macrophylla
Family: Hydrangeaceae
Genus: Hydrangea
Species: H. macrophylla
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Cornales

Synonyms : Hydrangea maritima – Haw-Booth.

Common Names :Azisai,Bigleaf Hydrangea, French Hydrangea, Lacecap Hydrangea, Mophead Hydrangea, Penny Mac and Hortensia., Florist’s Hydrangea, Bigleaf Hydrangea

Habitat : Native to E. Asia – Japan. Grows in sunny places near the coast of E. Japan. It grows  in the sunny places near the coast of E. Japan.   It is also widely cultivated in many parts of the world in many climates.

Description:
Hydrangea is a rounded shrub with huge, deciduous, opposite, serrated, medium to dark green leaves. It is usually seen at 3-6 ft (0.9-1.8 m) with an equal spread, but older specimens can exceed 8 ft (2.4 m)! Flowers are arranged in huge, ball shaped clusters on the most common varieties. There are many selected varieties (and many hybrids), the most striking of which is a variegated-leaf form that bears flat, or lace-capped inflorescences.  The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees.Hydrangea macrophylla blossoms can be either pink, blue, or purple shades, depending on a pH-dependent mobilization and uptake of soil aluminium into the plants.  Flowers on most hydrangeas are pH-sensitive, with dark purple or blue flowers in acidic soil, white or dull green in neutral earth, and pink in alkaline soil.

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Hydrangeas make beautiful foliage in warm months. Flowering is best in areas with mild winters, since the plant blooms on previous year’s growth. French hydrangea may be evergreen in very mild winter areas. In its northernmost range, hydrangea is a foliage shrub, since flower buds are killed in hard winters.

It is   frost tender. It is in flower from July to September.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid soil. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Hydrangea macrophylla blossoms can be either pink, blue, or purple shades, depending on a pH-dependent mobilization and uptake of soil aluminium into the plants.

Cultivation:
Tolerates most soil, thriving in a well-drained loamy soil, but resenting dryness at the roots. Succeeds in full sun or semi-shade,   but if it is grown in a low rainfall area then it requires shade at the hottest part of the day. Prefers a shady position. Does well on very acid soils with a pH around 4.5. Plants also tolerate alkaline soils, though they become chlorotic on shallow soils over chalk. The colour of the flowers reflects the pH of the soil the plant is growing in, the flowers are pink in a neutral to alkaline soil and blue in an acid soil. A very wind resistant plant when grown in mild areas.   Dormant plants are hardy to about -10°c, though the young growth in spring is frost-tender. A very ornamental plant and polymorphic species, there are many named varieties. This species was named for a sterile (or ‘mop head’) cultivar so that the true species should really be referred to as H. macrophylla normalis. Plants are cultivated for their leaves in China and Japan. Plants are very tolerant of pruning and can be cut back into old wood if required[188]. This species is notably susceptible to honey fungus.

Propagation:
Seed – surface sow in a greenhouse in spring. Cover the pot with paper until the seed germinates. 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, 8cm long, July/August in a frame. Overwinter in a greenhouse and plant out in late spring. Cuttings of mature wood in late autumn in a frame. Mound layering in spring. Takes 12 months. Leaf-bud cuttings of the current seasons growth in a frame

Edible Uses:
Edible Parts: Leaves.

Edible Uses: Sweetener.

The young leaves, when dried and rubbed between the hands, become very sweet and are used to make a sweet tea called ‘tea of heaven’, it is used in Buddhist ceremonies. The leaves contain phellodulcin (its chemical formula is C16 H14 O), a very sweet substance that can be used as a sugar substitute. One small leaf is sufficient to sweeten a cup of tea. The older leaves can be dried, powdered and used as a flavouring on foods. The young leaves and shoots are also eaten cooked. Young leaves contain the toxin hydrocyanic acid, this reduces as the leaves grow older, often to zero levels.

Medicinal Uses:
Antiperiodic; Antitussive; Diuretic.
An extract of the leaves, roots and flowers are said to be a more potent antimalarial than quinine, due to one of its alkaloids.

Other Uses
Hedge.

A useful hedging plant because of its vigorous growth. The Hortensias or mop-head cultivars are recommended

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://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrangea_macrophylla
http://www.floridata.com/ref/h/hydran_m.cfm
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_AB.htm

http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Hydrangea+macrophylla

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Inula britannica

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Botanical Name : Inula britannica
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Inula
Species: I. britannica
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Asterales

Common Names: British elecampane, British yellowhead, and Meadow fleabane.Xuan Fu Hua

Habitat :Native to E. Asia – China and Japan. This plant occurs in wet habitats at low altitudes, including river and stream margins, marshes, ditches, wet grassland, and wet woods.

Description;
Inula britannica is a herbaceous  perennial plant, It is erect, ranging from 6 to 30 inches tall (15 to 75 cm). The stems may be densely covered with appressed hairs or almost
hairless. Inula britannica reproduces by seed, short rhizomes, and root fragments. It is considered to be a biennial or perennial. A common configuration is to have a mother plant surrounded by 8 to 10 “satellite plants” connected by rhizomes.

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Flowers: Flower heads are yellow, daisylike, and occur alone or in clusters of two or three. Flower heads are medium to large, 0.8 to 1 inch (2 to 5 cm) across. The bracts are linear, in 2 rows, hardly overlapping, green and soft. The rays are long and narrow, usually twice as long as the surrounding bracts. Individual flowers are surrounded by a single pappus of capillary (extremely fine)   hairs. They flower from July to August, but in greenhouses potentially all year. For correct identification, the features in bold must be examined.

Leaves: The leaves are sparsely pubescent (covered with hairs, especially soft downy hairs) on theupper surface and densely pubescent on the lower surface. Rarely the leaves are almost sericeous.

Cultivation:
Succeeds in a sunny position in any moderately fertile well-drained soil. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Plants are hardy to at least -15°c. This sub-species is the form that is most used medicinally, it is cultivated as a medicinal plant in China[178].

Propagation:
Seed – sow spring or autumn in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer. If you have sufficient seed, it is worthwhile trying a sowing in situ in the spring or the autumn. Division in spring or autumn[

Edible Uses:
Edible Parts: Leaves.

Leaves – cooked. An emergency food, it is only used when better foods are not available

Medicinal Uses:
Xuan Fu Hua is used in Chinese herbalism as a mildly warming expectorant remedy and it is especially suitable where phlegm has accumulated in the chest. The flowers are more commonly used, but the leaves are also used, generally for less serious conditions. The flowers are used internally in the treatment of bronchial complaints with profuse phlegm, nausea and vomiting, hiccups and flatulence. The flowers have an antibacterial action, but this can be destroyed by proteins in the body. The plant is harvested when in flower and can be dried for later use. The plant has been mentioned as a possible treatment for cancer of the esophagus.

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:

Click to access ANR-1227.pdf

http://keys.lucidcentral.org/keys/v3/FNWE2/key/FNW_Seeds/Media/Html/fact_sheets/Inula_britannica.htm
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_UZ.htm

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Yellow Rattle

Rhinanthus minor
Rhinanthus minor (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Botanical Name : Rhinanthus minor
Family: Orobanchaceae
Genus: Rhinanthus
Species: R. minor
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Lamiales

Common Names ;Yellow Rattle or Cockscomb, Rhinanthus minor

Habitat : Rhinanthus minor is  native to Europe and Western Asia.Its preferred habitat is dry fields or meadows.In Ireland and Scotland, this species is often associated with Machair habitat.

Description:
Rhinanthus minor is a hemi-parasitic herbaceous annual plant that gains some of its nutrients from the roots of neighbouring plants. It grows to 25-50 cm tall, with opposite, simple leaves, with a serrated margin. The flowers are yellow, produced on a terminal raceme. The fruit is a dry capsule, which contain loose, rattling seeds when ripe; the plant’s name refers to these. Its flowering period is between June and September.

You may click to see the pictures.>....(01).……..(2).…...(1)


Research at the UK’s Centre for Ecology and Hydrology has shown that encouraging Yellow Rattle to grow in hay meadows greatly increases biodiversity by restricting grass growth and thereby allowing other species to thrive. The seeds are spread very effectively by traditional hay-making practices.

It can be cultivated by scarifying the surface of the ground with a fork or similar, then sowing onto short grass, 0.5 to 1 gram of seed per square metre. Yellow Rattle seed is short-lived and should always be sown in the autumn, using seed harvested that year. Then, keep grass short for beginning of March when seedlings establish. Thereafter, the grass should not be cut until the end of July to allow the Yellow Rattle to flower and go to seed, then cut short.

Medicinal Uses:
The plant is ophthalmic.  Rhianthus has been reported to be an effective substitute for eyebright.  Used as an internal tea for colds and an external wash for the eyes.

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://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinanthus_minor
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_UZ.htm

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Oxalis stricta

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Botanical Name : Oxalis stricta
Family: Oxalidaceae
Genus: Oxalis
Species: O. stricta
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Oxalidales

Common Names:Common yellow woodsorrel (or simply yellow woodsorrel), Common yellow oxalis, upright yellow-sorrel, lemon clover, or more ambiguously and informally “sourgrass” or “pickle plant”

Habitat : Oxalis stricta is native to North America, parts of Eurasia, and has a rare introduction in Britain. It tends to grow in woodlands, meadows, and in disturbed areas.

Description:
Oxalis stricta is a herbaceous plant grows as both a perennial and annual. Erect when young, this plant later becomes decumbent as it lays down, and branches regularly. It is not to be confused with similar plants which are also often referred to as “yellow woodsorrel”.
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Leaves:  Arranged alternately along the stem, long-petiolated, and divided into 3 heart-shaped leaflets.   Leaf margins are smooth but fringed with hairs.

Stems:  Green to pink, weak, branched at base, more prostrate than erect to 20 inches tall, varying from smooth to pubescent.

Roots:  Long, slender rhizomes occur with a fibrous root system.

Flowers:  Occur in clusters that arise from long stalks at the leaf axils.  Individual flowers consist of 5 yellow petals that are 4 to 9 mm long.

Fruit:  A capsule that is cylindrical and pointed with flat sides, sparsely hairy. Each capsule is approximately 3/4 inch long.  Seed disperse from capsules by explosively ejecting up to 13 feet from the parent plant.

Commonly considered a weed of gardens, fields, and lawns, it grows in full sun or shade. The alternate leaves of this plant are divided into three heart-shaped leaflets (a typical trait of other species of Oxalis) that can grow up to 2 cm wide. These leaves curl up at night (exhibiting nyctinasty), and open in the day to perform photosynthesis. The mature seed capsules open explosively when disturbed (a very similar trait to that of the mature seed capsules or fruits of plants found in the genus Impatiens) and can disperse seeds up to 4 meters (about 13 feet) away. The flowers of the plant are hermaphroditic, blooming from July to October.

Identifying Characteristics:  A weed of greenhouses and ornamentals with leaves that are divided into 3 heart-shaped leaflets with small yellow flowers.  Yellow woodsorrel may be distinguished from Creeping Red Woodsorrel (Oxalis corniculata) by the presence of underground rhizomes versus the aboveground stolons of creeping red woodsorrel.  Also, creeping woodsorrel has a more prostrate growth habit and often has more reddish-purple leaves than yellow woodsorrel.

O. stricta generally requires dry or moist, alkaline soils, preferring sandy and loamy dirt to grow in. It requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor grounds. It does not do well in shade

Edible Uses:
The leaves and flowers of the plant are sometimes added to salads for decoration and flavoring. These can also be chewed raw (along with other parts of the plant, but not the root) as a thirst quencher. The green pods are pleasant raw, having a juicy crisp texture and a tartness similar to rhubarb in flavour.

The leaves can be used to make a flavored drink that is similar in taste to lemonade, and the whole plant can be brewed as a tisane that has an aroma somewhat like that of cooked green beans.

The juices of the plant have been extracted from its greens as a substitute to common vinegar.

Oxalis stricta contains large amounts of vitamin c.

Medicinal Uses:
Medicinally, in moderate dosages, wood sorrel is cooling (refrigerant, febrifuge), diuretic, stomachic (soothing to the stomach, relieves indigestion), astringent, and catalytic. It’s also attributed with blood cleansing properties and is sometimes taken by cancer patients. A poultice of the plant has been used to treat swellings.An infusion of the plant hason of the plant has been used in the treatment of fevers, stomach cramps and nause been used in the treatment of fevers, stomach cramps and nausea.

Other uses: An orange dye can be obtained by boiling the whole plant.

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://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxalis_stricta
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_UZ.htm

http://www.ppws.vt.edu/scott/weed_id/oxast.htm

http://www.bio.brandeis.edu/fieldbio/Wildflowers_Kimonis_Kramer/PAGES/YELLOWWOODSORREL_PAGE_FINAL.html

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Centaurea calcitrapa

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Botanical Name : Centaurea calcitrapa
Family: Asteraceae
Tribe: Cynareae
Genus: Centaurea
Species: C. calcitrapa
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Asterales

Common Nams:  Common Star Thistle, Red star-thistle, Purple starthistle

Habitat : Centaurea calcitrapa is native to Europe but is rarely found there, it is known across the globe as an introduced species and often a noxious weed. It grows  on  waysides and waste places on sandy, gravelly and chalky soils.

Description:
Centaurea calcitrapa is an annual or Biennial plant growing erect to a maximum height of one  to 1.3 metres.
The stems are hairless and grooved.

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It sometimes takes the shape of a mound, and it is finely to densely hairy to spiny. The leaves are dotted with resin glands. The lowermost may reach a length of 20 centimeters and are deeply cut into lobes. The inflorescence contains a few flower heads. Each is 1.5 to 2 centimeters long and oval in general shape. The phyllaries are green or straw-colored and tipped in tough, sharp yellow spines. The head contains many bright purple flowers. The fruit is an achene a few millimeters long which lacks a pappus.

It flowers from July until September, and the seeds ripen from August to October.

The Red Star-thistle has been identified as a Priority Species by the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. It is identified as ‘vulnerable’ by the UNIC and is listed as Nationally Rare in the UK Red Data Book. There is no national or Sussex BAP for this species.

Cultivation:
Succeeds in ordinary garden soil. Prefers a well-drained fertile soil and a sunny position. Tolerates dry, low fertility and alkaline soils. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer.

Propagation:
Seed – sow April in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer. If you have sufficient seed, it can also be sown in situ during August/September.
Edible Uses: Leaves and young stems – raw or cooked.

Medicinal Uses:
Star thistle has had medicinal use, most notably for reducing fevers.  In the 19th century, one botanist noted that Americans were employing the plant for kidney complaints such as nephritis and gravel.  A modern European herbal lists the seeds as a diuretic and suggests a palatable prescription made by crushing them in white wine. It also recommends an infusion of the leaves and flowers for fevers and general debility.  For a more potent remedy, the herbal mentions brewing the leaves with angelica, wormwood, or white willow bark.  The powdered root is said to be a cure for fistula and gravel.

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://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centaurea_calcitrapa
http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?enlarge=5205+1622+2824+0051
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_RST.htm
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archivo:Centaurea_calcitrapa_01.JPG

http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Centaurea+calcitrapa

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