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Leonurus sibiricus
| Common name: |
Chinese Motherwort |
Family: |
Labiatae |
| Author: |
L. |
Botanical references: |
58, 74, 266 |
| Synonyms: |
Leonurus manshuricus (Yabe.) |
| Known Hazards: |
See the notes under medicinal uses. |
| Range: |
E. Asia - China, Japan, Korea, Siberia. |
| Habitat: |
Stony and steppe slopes, pine forests and occasionally as a weed of cultivated land[74]. By the sea shore and along the margins of marshes and pools[178]. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
2 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 3 |
| Other Possible Synonyms: | From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below. |
| L. artemisia[B,G]
L. artemisia auct. non[P]
L. sibericus[H]
L. sibirica[Shl]
Stachys artemisia[G]
|
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Ch'Ung Wei [E], Chinese Motherwort [S], Ginjean [E], Honeyweed [P,B], I Mu [E], Me-Haziki [E], Mehaziki [E], Motherwort, Chinese [S], Siberian Motherwort [H], T'Ui [E], Tebing Agu [E], Yeh T'Ien Ma [E], |
| Systematics: | From a USDA
Plants Database |
|
Order: Lamiales. Renamed to Lamiaceae -- Mint family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
China; Japan; Java; Malacca; Malaya; Tibet
|
Physical Characteristics
Annual/Biennial growing to 1m by 0.6m . It is hardy to zone 6. It is in flower from July to September, and the seeds ripen in September. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees.
We rate it 2/5 for edibility and
3/5 for medicinal use.
The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils.
The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils.
It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade.
It requires moist soil.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Cultivated Beds.Edible Uses
Leaves; Root.
Young shoots - cooked[105, 177, 183]. A sweetish flavour[179].
Root - cooked with other foods[177, 183]. This probably means that it is
used as a flavouring[K].
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Antibacterial; Antispasmodic; Astringent; Cardiac; Depurative; Diaphoretic; Diuretic; Emmenagogue; Hypnotic; Nervine; Oxytoxic; Stimulant; Stomachic; Tonic.
Chinese motherwort is unusual amongst Chinese herbs in that it is often
prescribed for use on its own and not in a mixture with other plants[238].
The whole plant is antibacterial, antispasmodic, astringent, cardiac,
depurative, diaphoretic, diuretic, emmenagogue, hypnotic, nervine, oxytocic,
stomachic, tonic, uterine stimulant[4, 9, 21, 46, 165, 174, 178, 192, 279].
The seeds have a similar action to the plant, but are a less effective
diuretic and depurative[238]. The plant is used in the treatment of painful
and excessive menstruation, post-partum bleeding, oedema, kidney complaints,
kidney stones, eczema and abscesses[238, 240]. A tincture is used in the
treatment of rheumatic fever[192]. The plant stimulates uterine contractions
and should not therefore be used when in the earlier stages of
pregnancy[240]. The plant is harvested when in flower but before the seeds
have set, and is dried for later use[238].
The plant contains about 0.05% of an alkaloid called leonurine[240]. This
has a curare-like effect on the motor-endings of the nervous system, acting
in small doses as a stimulant to the respiratory system but in large doses
causing respiratory paralysis[240].
Other Uses
Essential.
Yields an essential oil[46]. No more details are given.
Cultivation details
Prefers a well-drained moist soil in sun or partial shade[238]. Prefers
a poor soil[108].
Plants are hardy to at least -15°c[238].
There is some confusion over the correct name for this species, it should
quite probably be called L. japonicus.
Propagation
Seed - sow late spring 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.
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]
- [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.
- [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 Leonurus japonicus (a possible synonym).
- [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.
- [G] Data
(Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
References for Leonurus sibericus (a possible synonym).
- [H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
References for Leonurus sibirica (a possible synonym).
References for leonurus sibiricus (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.
[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
[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.
[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.
[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
[58] Ohwi. G. Flora of Japan. (English translation) Smithsonian Institution 1965
The standard work. Brilliant, but not for the casual reader.
[74] Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968
An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers.
[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.
[108] International Bee Research Association. Garden Plants Valuable to Bees. International Bee Research Association. 1981
The title says it all.
[165] Mills. S. Y. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism.
An excellent small herbal.
[174] Kariyone. T. Atlas of Medicinal Plants.
A good Japanese herbal.
[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.
[178] Stuart. Rev. G. A. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre
A translation of an ancient Chinese herbal. Fascinating.
[179] Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 1977
A translation of an ancient Chinese book on edible wild foods. Fascinating.
[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.
[192] Emboden. W. Narcotic Plants Studio Vista 1979 ISBN 0-289-70864-8
A lot of details about the history, chemistry and use of narcotic plants, including hallucinogens, stimulants, inebriants and hypnotics.
[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.
[266] Flora of China 1994
On-line version of the Flora - an excellent resource giving basic info on habitat and some uses.
Readers Comments
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Bibliography
Plant information taken from the
Plants For A Future -
Species Database.
Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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