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Conyza canadensis
| Common name: |
Canada Fleabane |
Family: |
Compositae |
| Author: |
(L.)Cronquist. |
Botanical references: |
200 |
| Synonyms: |
Erigeron canadensis (L.) |
| Known Hazards: |
Skin contact with the plant can cause dermatitis in some people[222]. |
| Range: |
N. America. Naturalized in Britain[17]. |
| Habitat: |
Light soils on waste and cultivated land, also on walls, avoiding acid soils in Britain[17]. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
1 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 3 |
| Other Possible Synonyms: | From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below. |
| C. canadense[Sn1,Sn4]
C. canadensis var. canadensis[B,P]
Erigeron cascadensis[B,P]
Leptilon canadense[B,P]
|
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Butter-weed [L], Canada Fleabane [E], Canadese Fijnstraal [D], Canadian Fleabane [H,S,L], Canadian Horseweed [B,P], Cascade Fleabane [B,P], Coltstail [H], Fleawort [H], Horse-weed [L], Kanaryaotu [E], Mawi Pire Otu [E], Prideweed [H], Thwail Ath Theeb [E], |
| Epithets: | From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets |
|
canadensis = northeastern America;
cana = grayed due to hairs;
|
| Systematics: | From a USDA
Plants Database |
|
Order: Asterales. Renamed to Asteraceae -- Aster family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
Africa; Iraq; Lesotho; Turkey; Us; Us(Amerindian); Us(Appalachia); Us(Blackfoot)
|
| Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds | From USDA
PLANTS database, Weeds Australia
, DEFRA Injurious Weeds | | Listed as noxious/invasive for: USA Invasive. |
Physical Characteristics
Annual growing to 1m by 0.5m . It is hardy to zone 7. It is in flower from June to October, and the seeds ripen from July to October. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees and flies.
It is noted for attracting wildlife.
We rate it 1/5 for edibility and
3/5 for medicinal use.
The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil.
The plant prefers neutral and basic (alkaline) soils.
It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade.
It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Cultivated Beds, By Walls, By South Wall, By East Wall, By West Wall.Edible Uses
Condiment; Leaves.
Young leaves and seedlings - cooked[105, 177]. Boiled, cooked in rice
or dried for later use[183]. A nutritional analysis of the leaves is
available[218].
The source of an essential oil that is used commercially for flavouring
sweets, condiments and soft drinks[183]. The fresh leaves contain 0.2 - 0.66%
essential oil[218]. Composition
- Leaves (Dry weight)
-
In grammes per 100g weight of food:
Water: 0
Protein: 14.9
Fat: 1.8
Carbohydrate: 75.1
Fibre: 26.1
Ash: 8.2
In milligrammes per 100g weight of food:
Calcium: 1010
Phosphorus: 280
Potassium: 2610
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Astringent; Diuretic; Emmenagogue; Homeopathy; Hypoglycaemic; Styptic; Tonic; VD; Vermifuge.
In traditional North American herbal medicine, Canada fleabane was
boiled to make steam for sweat lodges, taken as a snuff to stimulate sneezing
during the course of a cold and burned to create a smoke that warded off
insects[254]. Nowadays it is valued most for its astringency, being used in
the treatment of gastro-intestinal problems such as diarrhoea and
dysentery[254]. It is said to be a very effective treatment for bleeding
haemorrhoids[254].
The whole plant is antirheumatic, astringent, balsamic, diuretic,
emmenagogue, styptic, tonic and vermifuge[4, 7, 9, 21, 222]. It can be
harvested at any time that it is in flower and is best used when fresh[4,
207, 238]. The dried herb should not be stored for more than a year[238]. The
seeds can also be used[4].
An infusion of the plant has been used to treat diarrhoea and internal
haemorrhages[213] or applied externally to treat gonorrhoea[213] and bleeding
piles[7]. The leaves are experimentally hypoglycaemic[218].
The essential oil found in the leaves is used in the treatment of diarrhoea,
dysentery and internal haemorrhages[4, 207, 218]. It is a uterine
stimulant[213] and is also said to be valuable in the treatment of inflamed
tonsils plus ulceration and inflammation of the throat[4].
A tea of the boiled roots is used to treat menstrual irregularities[213].
A homeopathic remedy is made from the plant[9]. It is used in the treatment
of haemorrhoids and painful menstruation[9].
Other Uses
Essential.
The plant contains small quantities of essential oil[7]. Since the
plant is readily obtainable, extraction of the oil is feasible - it has a
special quality that would make it suitable in the making of perfumes with
unusual nuances[7, 240].
Cultivation details
Prefers a well-drained light or medium neutral to alkaline soil in a
sunny position, though it tolerates most conditions[238].
Originally from N. America, Canada fleabane has become naturalized in many
areas of the world and is considered to be a nuisance weed in many
areas[268]. The plant is very adaptable to differing conditions and can vary
dramatically in height, from only a few centimetres in poor soils to as much
as 3 metres tall in rich soils[213].
The plant is used commercially as a food flavouring[183].
A good bee plant[200] but unfortunately it also harbours various insect
pests such as the tarnished plant bug[1].
Propagation
Seed - we have no information on this species but suggest sowing the
seed in spring in situ. An autumn sowing in situ might also be worthwhile.
Scent
-
- No details on scent.
Suppliers
For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.
Web References
- Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
- [H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
- [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.
- [S] Image
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [G] Data
(Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
- [C] Taxon data.
from the CalFlora database.
- Images
from the CalPhoto database.
- [PHARM] Phytochemical Data
(common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
- [HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
References for Conyza canadense (a possible synonym).
References for Conyza canadensis var. canadensis (a possible synonym).
References for Erigeron canadensis (a possible synonym).
References for Erigeron cascadensis (a possible synonym).
References for conyza canadensis (a possible synonym).
See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.
Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.
[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.
[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.
[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.
[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.
[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.
[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
[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.
[207] Coffey. T. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File. 1993 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6
A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.
[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.
[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.
[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.
[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.
[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.
[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
[268] Stuart. M. (Editor) The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism Orbis Publishing. London. 1979 ISBN 0-85613-067-2
Excellent herbal with good concise information on over 400 herbs.
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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
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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?Conyza+canadensis
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