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Herbs & Plants (Spices)

Claytonia virginica

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Botanical Name: Claytonia virginica
Family: Montiaceae
Genus: Claytonia
Species:C. virginica
Kingdom:Plantae
Order: Caryophyllales

Synonyms: Claytonia grandiflora.

Common Names: Virginia springbeauty, Eastern spring beauty, or Fairy spud,Spring Beauty, Hammond’s claytonia, Yellow Virginia springbeauty

Habitat:
Claytonia virginica is native to Eastern N. America – Quebec to Texas. A garden escape, locally naturalized in Britain. It grows in rich woods, thickets and clearings. Wetlands, seeps, moist woods, riparian hardwood forests, copses, bluffs, ravines and prairies from sea level to 1000 metres.

Description:
Claytonia virginica is a perennial plant, overwintering through a corm. It is a trailing plant growing to 5–40 cm long. The leaves are slender lanceolate, 3–14 cm long and 0.5–1.3 cm broad, with a 6–20 cm long petiole.

The flowers are 0.7–1.4 cm diameter with five pale pink or white (rarely yellow) petals, and reflect UV light. It has a raceme inflorescence, in which its flowers branch off of the shoot. The individual flowers bloom for three days, although the five stamens on each flower are only active for a single day. Flowering occurs between March and May depending on part of its range and weather. The seeds are between 0.2-0.3 cm in diameter and a shiny black. The seeds are released from the capsule fruit when it breaks open. Elaiosomes are present on the seeds and allow for ant dispersal.

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It is also a polyploid, having 2n between 12 and 191 chromosomes. The largest number of chromosomes was observed in New York City.

It is in flower from Mar to April, and the seeds ripen in May. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects.Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: acid soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland). It prefers moist soil.
Cultivation:
Landscape Uses:Rock garden, Woodland garden. Prefers a damp peaty soil and a position in full sun. Another report says that it requires some shade[188]. Requires a lime-free soil. Special Features:North American native, Naturalizing, Wetlands plant.

Propagation:
Seed – surface sow on a peat based compost in spring in a cold frame. Germination usually takes place within 2 – 4 weeks at 10°c. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the cold frame for at least their first winter. Plant them out in late spring or early summer after the last expected frosts. Division of offsets in spring or autumn.

Edible Uses:
Root – raw or cooked. Rich in starch, it has a pleasant nutty flavour. A radish-like flavour when raw, it tastes like a cross between a potato and a chestnut when cooked. The root is rich in vitamins A and C. The globose tuber is up to 20cm in diameter.Algonquin people cooked them like potatoes. Spring beauty corms along with the entire above ground portion of the plant are safe for human consumption. Leaves and flowering stems – raw or cooked. Added to salads or used as greens. The leaves are often available in the winter.

Medicinal Uses:
This plant has been used medicinally by the Iroquois, who would give a cold infusion or decoction of the powdered roots to children suffering from convulsions. They would also eat the raw roots, believing that they permanently prevented conception.A cold infusion or decoction of the powdered roots has been given to children with convulsions.

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/Claytonia_virginica
http://www.pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?LatinName=Claytonia+virginica

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Herbs & Plants

Cercis canadensis

Botanical Name :Cercis canadensis
Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Cercis
Species: C. canadensis
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Fabales

Common Name : Redbud or Eastern redbud

Habitat : Cercis canadensis is native to eastern North America from Southern Ontario, Canada south to northern Florida.

Description:
Cercis canadensis typically grows to 6–9 m (20–30 ft) tall with a 8–10 m (26–33 ft) spread. It generally has a short, often twisted trunk and spreading branches. A 10-year-old tree will generally be around 5 m (16 ft) tall. The bark is dark in color, smooth, later scaly with ridges somewhat apparent, sometimes with maroon patches. The twigs are slender and zigzag, nearly black in color, spotted with lighter lenticels. The winter buds are tiny, rounded and dark red to chestnut in color. The leaves are alternate, simple, heart shaped with an entire margin, 7–12 cm (3-5 inches) long and wide, thin and papery, and may be slightly hairy below.

CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES OF THE PLANT

The flowers are showy, light to dark magenta pink in color, 1.5 cm (½ inch) long, appearing in clusters from Spring to early Summer, on bare stems before the leaves, sometimes on the trunk itself. The flowers are pollinated by long-tongued bees such as blueberry bees and carpenter bees. Short-tongued bees apparently cannot reach the nectaries. The fruit are flattened, dry, brown, pea-like pods, 5–10 cm (2-4 inches) long that contain flat, elliptical, brown seeds 6 mm (¼ inch) long, maturing in August to October.

In some parts of southern Appalachia, green twigs from the eastern redbud are used as seasoning for wild game such as venison and opossum. Because of this, in these mountain areas the eastern redbud is sometimes known as the spicewood tree.

In the wild, eastern redbud is a frequent native understory tree in mixed forests and hedgerows. It is also much planted as a landscape ornamental plant. The leaves are eaten by the caterpillars of some Lepidoptera, for example the Io moth (Automeris io).

A small tree with a sturdy upright trunk which divides into stout branches that usually spread to form a broad flat head. Found on rich bottom lands throughout the Mississippi River valley; will grow in the shade and often becomes a dense undergrowth in the forest. Very abundant in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and eastern Texas. Hardy far north; grows rapidly; is a satisfactory ornamental tree. Many trees are sterile and produce no fruit. It is also known as the Judas tree.

This tree is difficult to grow as far west as western Kansas and Colorado, as there is not sufficient water. Its far northern range of growth is southern New England. It grows well in New York State, New Jersey and southward.

You may click to see the pictures of  Cercis canadensis   

*Bark: Red brown, with deep fissures and scaly surface. Branchlets at first lustrous brown, later become darker.

*Wood: Dark reddish brown; heavy, hard, coarse-grained, not strong. Sp. gr., 0.6363; weight of cu. ft. 39.65 lbs.

* Winter buds: Chestnut brown, obtuse, one-eighth inch long.

* Leaves: Alternate, simple, heart-shaped or broadly ovate, two to five inches long, five to seven-nerved, chordate or truncate at the base, entire, acute. They come out of the bud folded along the line of the midrib, tawny green; when they are full grown they become smooth, dark green above, paler beneath. In autumn they turn bright clear yellow. Petioles slender, terete, enlarged at the base. Stipules caduceous.

*Flowers: April, May, before and with the leaves, papilionaceous. Perfect, rose color, borne four to eight together, in fascicles which appear at the axils of the leaves or along the branch and sometimes on the trunk itself.

*Calyx: Dark red, campanulate, oblique, five-toothed, imbricate in bud.

*Corolla: Papilionaceous, petals five, nearly equal, pink or rose color, upper petal the smallest, enclosed in the bud by the wings, and encircled by the broader keel petals.

*Stamens: Ten, inserted in two rows on a thin disk, free, the inner row rather shorter than the others.

*Pistil: Ovary superior, inserted obliquely in the bottom of the calyx tube, stipitate; style fleshy, incurved, tipped with an obtuse stigma.

*Fruit: Legume, slightly stipitate, unequally oblong, acute at each end. Compressed, tipped with the remnants of the style, straight on upper and curved on the lower edge. Two and a half to three inches long, rose color, full grown by midsummer, falls in early winter. Seeds ten to twelve, chestnut brown, one-fourth of an inch long -can be made to germinate by first dipping in boiled (99C) water (very hot) for a minute and then sowing in a pot (do not boil the seeds); cotyledons oval, flat

Cultivation;
C. canadensis is grown in parks and gardens, with several cultivars being available. The cultivar ‘Forest Pansy’, with purple leaves, has gained the Royal Horticultural Society‘s Award of Garden Merit.

Edible Uses:
Native Americans consumed redbud flowers raw or boiled, and ate roasted seeds. Analysis of nutritional components in edible parts of eastern redbud reported that:

*The flower extract contains anthocyanins,

*Green developing seeds contained proanthocyanides, and

*Linolenic, alpha-linolenic, oleic and palmitic acids to be present in seeds

Medicinal Uses:
Cercis canadensis inner bark and root can be made into a tea or decoction. This was used by different Native American Indian tribes to clear lung congestion, for whooping cough, to prevent nausea and vomiting, and to break fevers.  It has also been used for diarrhea, dysentery, and leukemia.

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://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cercis_canadensis
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_RST.htm

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Herbs & Plants

Catalpa bignonioides

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Botanical Name : Catalpa bignonioides
Family: Bignoniaceae
Genus: Catalpa
Species: C. bignonioides
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Lamiales

Synonyms:  Bignonia catalpa – L., Catalpa syringaefolia – Sims.

Common Names:Southern Catalpa,Common Catalpa, Cigartree, and Indian Bean Tree

Habitat : Catalpa bignonioides is native to the southeastern United States in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Despite its southern origins, it has been able to grow almost anywhere in the United States and southernmost Canada, and has become widely naturalized outside its restricted native range.
It grows in rich moist soils by the sides of streams and rivers.

Description:
It is a medium-sized deciduous tree growing to 15-18 meters tall, with a trunk up to 1 m diameter with brown to gray bark, maturing into hard plates or ridges. The short thick trunk supports long and straggling branches which form a broad and irregular head. The roots are fibrous and branches are brittle. Its juices are watery and bitter.

click to see the pictures……>......(01).......(1).…….(2).…...(3)…...(4)...

The leaves are large and heart shaped, being 20-30 cm long and 15-20 cm broad. The bright green leaves appear late and as they are full grown before the flower clusters open, add much to the beauty of the blossoming tree. They secrete nectar, a most unusual characteristic for leaves, by means of groups of tiny glands in the axils of the primary veins.

The flowers are 2.5-4 cm across, trumpet shaped, white with yellow spots inside; they grow in panicles of 20-40. In the northern states of the USA, it is a late bloomer, putting forth great panicles of white flowers in June or early in July when the flowers of other trees have mostly faded. These cover the tree so thickly as almost to conceal the full grown leaves. The general effect of the flower cluster is a pure white, but the individual corolla is spotted with purple and gold, and some of these spots are arranged in lines along a ridge, so as to lead directly to the honey sweets within. A single flower when fully expanded is two inches long and an inch and a half wide. It is two-lipped and the lips are lobed, two lobes above and three below, as is not uncommon with such corollas. The flower is perfect, possessing both stamens and pistils; nevertheless, the law of elimination is at work and of the five stamens that we should expect to find, three have aborted, ceased to bear anthers and have become filaments simply. Then, too, the flowers refuse to be self-fertilized. Each flower has its own stamens and its own stigma but the lobes of the stigma remain closed until after the anthers have opened and discharged their pollen; after they have withered and become effete then the stigma opens and invites the wandering bee. The entire Pink family behave in this way.

The fruit is a long, thin bean like pod 20-40 cm long and 8-10 mm diameter; it often stays attached to tree during winter. The pod contains numerous flat light brown seeds with two papery wings.

It is closely related to the Northern Catalpa (C. speciosa), and can be distinguished by the flowering panicles, which bear a larger number of smaller flowers, and the slightly slenderer seed pods.

*Bark: Light brown tinged with red. Branchlets forking regularly by pairs, at first green, shaded with purple and slightly hairy, later gray or yellowish brown, finally reddish brown. Contains tannin.

*Wood: Light brown, sapwood nearly white; light, soft, coarse-grained and durable in contact with the soil.

*Winter buds: No terminal bud, uppermost bud is axillary. Minute, globular, deep in the bark. Outer scales fall when spring growth begins, inner scales enlarge with the growing shoot, become green, hairy and sometimes two inches long.

*Leaves: Opposite, or in threes, simple, six to ten inches long, four to five broad. Broadly ovate, cordate at base, entire, sometimes wavy, acute or acuminate. Feather-veined, midrib and primary veins prominent. Clusters of dark glands, which secrete nectar are found in the axils of the primary veins. They come out of the bud involute, purplish, when full grown are bright green, smooth above, pale green, and downy beneath. When bruised they give a disagreeable odor. They turn dark and fall after the first severe frost. Petioles stout, terete, long.

*Flowers: June, July. Perfect, white, borne in many-flowered thyrsoid panicles, eight to ten inches long. Pedicels slender, downy.

*Calyx: Globular and pointed in the bud; finally splitting into two, broadly ovate, entire lobes, green or light purple.

*Corolla: Campanulate, tube swollen, slightly oblique, two-lipped, five-lobed, the two lobes above smaller than the three below, imbricate in bud; limb spreading, undulate, when fully expanded is an inch and a half wide and nearly two inches long, white, marked on the inner surface with two rows of yellow blotches and in the throat on the lower lobes with purple spots.

*Stamens: Two, rarely four, inserted near the base of the corolla, introrse, slightly exserted; anthers oblong, two-celled, opening longitudinally; filaments flattened, thread-like. Sterile filaments three, inserted near base of corolla, often rudimentary.

*Pistil: Ovary superior, two-celled; style long, thread-like, with a two-lipped stigma. Ovules numerous.

*Fruit: Long slender capsule, nearly cylindrical, two-celled, partition at right angles to the valves. Six to twenty inches long, brown; hangs on the tree all winter, splitting before it falls. Seeds an inch long, one-fourth of an inch wide, silvery gray, winged on each side and ends of wings fringed

 

Cultivation:
Prefers a good moist loamy soil and a sunny position that is not exposed. Tolerates heavy clay soils. Very resistant to atmospheric pollution[188]. Plants become chlorotic on shallow alkaline soils. Plants are hardy to about -15°c, probably more in continental climates, they grow best in areas with hot summers. Protect plants from late frosts when they are young. A very ornamental plant, it is fast-growing in the wild where it often flowers when only 6 – 8 years old. The sweetly-scented flowers are borne in forked panicles at the end of branches. There are some named varieties selected for their ornamental value. The trees transplant easily. The crushed foliage has an unpleasant smell. Another report says that the leaves are attractively scented when bruised. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus.

Propagation:
Seed – best sown outdoors, or in a cold frame, as soon as it is ripe. Stratify stored seed for 3 weeks at 1°c and sow in spring. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a cold frame for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Softwood cuttings, 10cm long, in a frame. They should be taken in late spring to early summer before the leaves are fully developed. Root cuttings in winter

 

Medicinal Uses:
Antidote; Antiseptic; Cardiac; Laxative; Ophthalmic; Sedative; Vermifuge.

A tea made from the bark has been used as an antiseptic, antidote to snake bites, laxative, sedative and vermifuge. As well as having a sedative effect, the plant also has a mild narcotic action, though it never causes a dazed condition. It has therefore been used with advantage in preparations with other herbs for the treatment of whooping cough in children, it is also used to treat asthma and spasmodic coughs in children. The bark has been used as a substitute for quinine in treating malaria. The leaves are used as a poultice on wounds and abrasions. A tea made from the seeds is used in the treatment of asthma and bronchitis and is applied externally to wounds. The pods are sedative and are thought to have cardioactive properties. Distilled water made from the pods, mixed with eyebright (Euphrasia officinalis) and rue (Ruta graveolens) is a valuable eye lotion in the treatment of trachoma and conjunctivitis.

Other Uses:
Wood.
A fast-growing tree with an extensive root system, it has been planted on land that is subject to landslips or erosion in order to stabilize the soil. Wood – coarse and straight-grained, soft, not strong, moderately high in shock resistance, very durable in the soil. It weighs about 28lb per cubic foot. It is highly valued for posts and fencing rails, and is also used for interior finishes, cabinet work etc.

Scented Plants:
Flowers: Fresh
The flowers have a sweet perfume.
Leaves: Crushed
The crushed foliage has an unpleasant smell. Another report says that the bruised leaves have an attractive aroma.

Known Hazards: The roots are highly poisonous

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://digedibles.com/database/plants.php?Catalpa+bignonioides
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_C.htm
http://www.duke.edu/~cwcook/trees/cabi.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalpa_bignonioides

http://woodyplants.nres.uiuc.edu/plant/catbi70

http://www.plantcare.com/encyclopedia/catalpa-2150.aspx

http://www.vilmorin-tree-seeds.com/seeds/broadleaved-trees/entry-12923-catalpa-bignonioides.html

http://www.rarewoodsandveneers.com/images/productimages/rarewood/Catalpa%20bignonioides,%20Southern%20Catalpa.jpg

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Herbs & Plants

Hesperis matronalis

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Botanical Name : Hesperis matronalis
Family: Brassicaceae
Genus: Hesperis
Species: H. matronalis
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Brassicales

Common Names:  Dame’s Rocket, Damask Violet, Dame’s Violet, Dames-wort, Dame’s Gilliflower, Night Scented Gilliflower, Queen’s Gilliflower, Rogue’s Gilliflower, Summer Lilac, Sweet Rocket, Mother-of-the-evening and, Winter Gilliflower.

Habitat :Hesperis matronalis is native to Eurasia and cultivated in many other areas of the world for their attractive spring blooming flowers. In some of those areas, it has escaped cultivation and become a weed species. The genus name Hesperis is Greek for evening, and the name was probably given because the scent of the flowers becomes more conspicuous towards evening.
It grows on the woodland edges, meadows, hedges, grass verges etc, avoiding acid soils.

Description:
Hesperis matronalis is biennial or short lived perennial  herb.It grows 100 cm or taller, with multiple upright hairy stems. Typically the first year of growth produces a mound of foliage and flowering occurs the second year, plants are normally biennials but a number of races can be short lived perennials. The plants have showy blooms in early to mid spring. The leaves are alternately arranged on upright stems and lanceolate shaped, they typically have very short or lack petioles and have toothed margins but sometimes are entire, they are widest at the base. The foliage has short hairs on the top and bottom surfaces that give the leaves a somewhat rough feel. The larger leaves are around 12 cm long and over 4 cm wide. In early spring, a thick mound of low growing foliage is produced, during flowering the lower parts of the stems are generally unbranched and denuded of foliage and the top of the blooming plant might have a few branches that end in inflorescences.
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The plentiful fragrant flowers are produced in large showy terminal racemes, that can be 30+ cm tall, that elongate as the flowers of the inflorescence bloom. When stems have both flowers and fruits, the weight sometimes causes the stems to bend. Each flower is large (2 cm across), with four petals. Flower coloration varies, with different shades of lavender and purple most common, but white, pink, and even some flowers with mixed colors exist in cultivated forms. A few different double-flowered varieties also exist. The four Petals are clawed and hairless. The flowers have six stamens in two groups, the 4 closest to the ovary are longer than the two oppositely positioned. Stigmas are two-lobed. The four sepals are erect and form a mock tube around the claws of the petals and are also colored similarly to the petals.

Some plants may bloom until August, but warm weather greatly shortens the duration on each flowers blooming. Seeds are produced in thin fruits that are 5–14 cm long pods, containing two rows of seeds separated by a dimple. The fruits are terete and open by way of glabrous valves, constricted between the seeds like a pea-pod. Seeds are oblong shaped and 3–4 mm long and 1–1.5 mm wide.

In North America, Hesperis matronalis is often confused with native Phlox species that also have similar large showy flower clusters. They can be distinguished from each other by foliage and flower differences; Dame’s rocket has alternately arranged leaves and four petals per flower, while phlox have opposite leaves and five petals.

Cultivation:
Prefers a rich moist well-drained soil, succeeding in full sun or semi-shade. Requires a neutral to alkaline soil. Prefers an alkaline soil. Tolerates poor soils. Grows well in damp, shady or grassy places. Established plants are drought resistant. Plants are hardy to about -20°c. A very ornamental plant, it is a short-lived perennial and is often grown as a biennial. A good bee, butterfly and moth plant, it is a specific food plant for the orange-tip butterfly. The flowers are very aromatic with a clove-like fragrance, this is especially apparent in the evening. They usually have very little scent during the day and thus obtained a reputation in folk-lore for deceit. The plant is sometimes cultivated for the essential oil contained in its seed. Special Features:Not North American native, Naturalizing, Attracts butterflies, Suitable for cut flowers, Fragrant flowers.
Propagation:
Seed – sow spring in an outdoor seedbed and plant them out in late summer. Germination should take place within 3 weeks. The seed can also be sown in early spring in a warm greenhouse. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in late spring. The seed can also be sown in July for planting out in the following spring. Division. Plants are short-lived perennials, division may not be worthwhile. Cuttings in summer 7cm long in a shady border. Only done with named varieties being grown for ornament, it is not worthwhile otherwise..

 

Edible Uses:
Edible Parts: Leaves; Oil; Seed.
Edible Uses: Oil.

Young leaves – raw. Rich in vitamin C, they are used as a cress substitute in salads. A rather bitter flavour, though many people like the extra tang it gives to salads. For culinary purposes, the leaves should be picked before the plant flowers. The seed can be sprouted and added to salads. The seed contains 50% of an edible oil – there is a potential for cultivation.

Medicinal Uses:
The leaves are antiscorbutic, diaphoretic and diuretic.  They are best harvested when the plant is in flower.

Other Uses :Landscape Uses:Border, Massing, Specimen, Woodland garden.  An essential oil from the seed is used in perfumery. The plant is cultivated for this purpose.

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/Hesperis_matronalis
http://www.herbnet.com/Herb%20Uses_RST.htm?Voucher2=Connect+to+Internet

http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Hesperis+matronalis

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Herbs & Plants

Sabatia angularis

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Botanical Name :Sabatia angularis
Family: Gentianaceae
Genus: Sabatia
Species: S. angularis
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Gentianales

Common Names :Rosepink, Rose Pink, American centaury, Bitterbloom, Bitter floom, Square-stemmed Sabbatia)
Habitat :Sabatia angularis is native to the United States.Occurring over much of the eastern United States, rosepink is distributed from New York west to Illinois and eastern Kansas, ranging south to the Florida panhandle and Texas. It is considered rare in Kansas and New York, and is considered to be extirpated in Ontario (NatureServe 2007). Rocky open woods, glades, thickets, fields, prairies, roadsides.

Description:
It is a herbaceous flowering plant.
Stems – To +60cm tall, branching above, herbaceous, erect, glabrous, 4-angled, winged on angles, from thickened roots.

Leaves – Opposite, sessile, clasping, ovate, entire, acute, glabrous, decussate, reduced upward, to +4cm long, +3cm broad, with 3 conspicuous veins and 4 faint veins (best seen from below).

Inflorescence – Typically flat-topped cymes with many flowers, dichotomously branching. Each division of inflorescence subtended by small foliaceous bracts.

Flowers – Corolla tube greenish, 4mm long, glabrous, 5-lobed. Lobes spreading, pink or white, to 1.3cm long, +/-6mm broad, oblanceolate to spatulate, glabrous, greenish-yellow at very base. Stamens 5, alternating with corolla lobes, erect. Filaments to 5mm long, glabrous, yellowish. Anthers curling, 3mm long, brownish. Style 6mm long, glabrous, whitish to pale yellow. Stigma 2-lobed. Lobes curled, yellow. Ovary superior, unilocular. Placentation parietal. Calyx tube 1.5mm long(in flower), green, glabrous, 5-lobed. Lobes linear, 8-9mm long, 1mm broad, glabrous, ascending to erect, acute, entire. Calyx accrescent. Capsule to 8mm long, cylindric, glabrous, green, many seeded.
...CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES
Flowering period – June – September.

Propagation : : Seed – best sown as soon as it is ripe in late summer or early autumn. Sow in a peaty soil in a moist shady border or sow in pots in a shady part of the cold frame and keep the soil moist by standing the pot in 2 – 3cm of water.

Cultivation :  Rich soils in open woods, clearings, fields and prairies.

Medicinal Uses:
This herb, which should be gathered when in full bloom, is an active tonic, of the more stimulating class, with moderate and somewhat diffusive relaxing qualities, allied to the American  gentian, but rather milder.   Its chief power is exerted upon the stomach, gall-ducts, and spleen; and the general circulation and uterus feel it moderately.  A warm infusion gently promotes the menstrual secretion, in cases of debility.   Cold preparations increase appetite and digestion in weak and flaccid conditions of the stomach, and may be used for chronic dyspepsia and general debility.  By maintaining the portal circulation somewhat vigorously,  it proves of eminent service for the intermediate treatment of agues; and though not a nervine stimulant and antiperiodic as cinchona is, it is of decided value against intermittents where the cinchona preparations (and similar antiperiodics) prove too exciting to the nerve centers.  In cases of this class, I have several times arrested ague paroxysms by the fluid extract of this plant alone, with suitable daily hepatics; yet it is not strong enough to meet the chills of deeply-prostrated or congested cases.   It makes an excellent tonic addendum to such agents as fraxinus, angustura, or euonymus, in treating chronic biliousness with indigestion; and may be used to advantage with caulophyllum, convallaria, and similar uterine remedies, in chronic prolapsus, leucorrhea, hysteria, etc.   Its sustaining influence is shown to excellent advantage in the treatment of night sweats, exhaustion from excessive purulent discharges, recovery from malignant scarlatina, and other prostrated conditions.  Some use it for worms, as a tonic.   Usually given by infusion, made by digesting an ounce of the herb in a pint of hot water; of which a fluid ounce may be given every two or three hours during the intermission of an ague, or half a fluid ounce every three hours as a tonic.

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.missouriplants.com/Pinkopp/Sabatia_angularis_page.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabatia_angularis
http://beetlesinthebush.wordpress.com/2009/08/28/friday-flower-sabatia-angularis/
http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/species/saan.htm

http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/sabatiaangu.html

http://www.naturalmedicinalherbs.net/herbs/s/sabatia-angularis=bitter-bloom.php

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