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Herniaria glabra

Common name:	Rupture Wort	Family:	Caryophyllaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Europe, including Britain, from Scandanavia south and east to N. Africa and temperate Asia.
Habitat:	A rare and local plant of dry sandy areas in south Devon and eastern England[9, 17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	H. glagra[E]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Herniaria [E], Kaal Breukkruid [D], Kasikotu [E], Nabat Al Sheikh [E], Rupturewort [H], Showail [E], Smooth Rupturewort [B,P,L], Um Waja' Al Kabed [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	glabra = glabrous;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Caryophyllales. Pink family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Iraq; Spain; Turkey

Physical Characteristics

Biennial/Perennial growing to 0.02m by 0.3m . It is hardy to zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower in July, and the seeds ripen in August. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds, Ground Cover.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Astringent; Diuretic; Expectorant.

The whole plant, gathered when in flower, is astringent, very actively diuretic and expectorant[4, 9, 61, 240, 254]. It appears to have an antispasmodic effect upon the bladder and is used in the treatment of dropsy, catarrh of the bladder, cystitis and kidney stones[240, 254]. It has also gained a reputation for treating hernias[4, 9, 61]. Externally, it has been used as a poultice to speed the healing of ulcers[254].

Other Uses

Cleanser; Ground cover.

A good ground cover plant, allowing spring bulbs to grow through it[200].
An aqueous extract of the plant is a hand cleanser, making the skin soft and supple[240].

Cultivation details

Grows well in hot dry soils[1]. Dislikes excessive moisture[1]. Succeeds in very poor soils[1].
Useful for covering rocks or as a carpet bedding[1], it makes a good ground cover for spring bulbs since they can grow through it easily[200].
The leaves emit a musky smell when they are handled[245].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.

Scent

Leaves: Crushed: The leaves emit a musky smell when they are handled.

Suppliers

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

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

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
[L] Scientific and Common Names (some photos) from Lepidoptera and some other life forms
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany 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.
[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 Herniaria glagra (a possible synonym).

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.

References for herniaria glabra (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

References for the family Caryophyllaceae.

[CHINA] 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

[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.

[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.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[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.

[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.

Readers Comments

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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
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?Herniaria+glabra
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Herniaria+glabra

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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.