Menu list goes here

Herbal Database Search Results

Back to: Pathways Main Search Page For Metaphysical uses visit The Witchs Haven

Comandra pallida

Common name:	Pale Bastard Toadflax	Family:	Santalaceae
Author:	A.DC.	Botanical references:	43, 200, 274
Synonyms:	Comandra umbellata pallida ((A.DC.)Piehl.)
Known Hazards:	There is a report that the plant can be toxic to mammals.
Range:	Western N. America - Manitoba to British Columbia and south to Texas.
Habitat:	Dry hills and plains[43]. Sandy or open rocky ground in Texas[274].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	C. umbellata ssp. pallida[B,P] C. umbellata subsp. pallida[G] C. umbellata var. angustifolia[B,P] C. umbellata var. pallida[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Pale Bastard Toadflax [P], Toadflax,Bastard [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	pallida = pale
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Santalales. Sandalwood family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Us(Amerindian)

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.4m. . It is in flower from May to June. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid soils and can grow in very acid soil. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Fruit Seed.

Fruit[105, 161, 177]. A sweet flavour[274]. The fruit is about 10mm in diameter[200].
The small round seeds are eaten like nuts by children[257].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Foot care Narcotic Ophthalmic Salve.

The plant is narcotic[257]. A decoction has been used in the treatment of headaches and externally as a foot bath to treat corns[257].
The plant has been used to treat sore eyes and sores on the body and also as a mouth wash for canker sores[257].

Other Uses

Dye.

A blue dye is obtained from the area next to the root bark[257].

Cultivation details

Requires a well-drained moisture retentive lime-free soil[200].
A parasitic plant obtaining at least some of its nutrients from the roots of other plants[200, 235]. It is said to parasitize over 200 different species of plants in the wild[274].

Propagation

Seed - stratify for 3 months at 5° c and then sow in the greenhouse in a pot with a suitable host. Plant out when it is well established close to a mature host plant[200].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Comandra umbellata ssp. pallida (a possible synonym).

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for Comandra umbellata subsp. pallida (a possible synonym).

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.

References for the family Santalaceae.

[CHINA] Draft Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[161] Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture.
A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[235] Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970 ISBN 0-486-22642-5
Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

Back to: Pathways Home page, Main Search Page Help Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Comandra+pallida
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Comandra+pallida

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
(You can copy, distribute, display this works but: Attribution is required, its for Non-Commercial purposes, and it's Share Alike (GNUish/copyleft) i.e. has an identical license.)
We also ask that you let us know (michael@thewitchshaven.com) if you link to, redistribute, make a derived work or do anything groovy with this information.

Pathways Home :: View Cart :: Shipping & Returns :: Contact Us :: Privacy Policy :: Philosophy :: The Witchs Haven

We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.