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Lithospermum incisum
| Common name: |
Narrow-Leaf Gromwell |
Family: |
Boraginaceae |
| Author: |
Lehm. |
Botanical references: |
43, 200, 274 |
| Synonyms: |
Lithospermum brevifolium (Engelm.&Gray.), Lithospermum angustifolium (Michx.) |
| Known Hazards: |
None known |
| Range: |
Central N. America - British Columbia to Manitoba, south to Illinois, Texas and Arizona. |
| Habitat: |
Dry soils of plains, foothills and ridges in mountains to 2100 metres[212]. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
1 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 2 |
| Other Possible Synonyms: | From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Batschia linearifolia[B,P]
L. linearifolium[B,P]
L. mandanense[B,P]
|
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Fringed Gromwell [B], Narrowleaf Gromwell [P], |
| Epithets: | From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets |
|
incisum = deeply cut;
|
| Systematics: | From a USDA
Plants Database |
|
Order: Lamiales. Borage family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
Us(Blackfoot)
|
Physical Characteristics
Perennial growing to 0.3m. It is hardy to zone 3. It is in flower in June. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects.
We rate it 1/5 for edibility and
2/5 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 cannot grow in the shade.
It requires dry or moist soil.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Cultivated Beds.Edible Uses
Root; Tea.
Root - cooked[105, 161, 207, 212]. Eaten boiled or roasted[257].
The root has been used to make a tea[257].
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Contraceptive; Kidney; Miscellany; Ophthalmic; Pectoral; Stomachic.
The root has been chewed by some native North American Indian tribes as
a treatment for colds[213].
The finely powdered leaves, root and stem have been rubbed on the body in
the treatment of paralyzed limbs[257].
An infusion of the root has been used in the treatment of stomach aches and
kidney problems[257].
The plant has been eaten as an oral contraceptive and also as a treatment
for lung haemorrhages, coughs and colds[257].
A cold infusion of the pulverized root and seed has been used as an
eyewash[257].
This plant was used as a medicine by various native North American Indian
tribes and interest in the plant has revived recently as a possible source of
modern drugs[212]. No more details are given.
Other Uses
Beads; Dye; Incense.
The dried plant tops have been burnt as an incense[257].
A blue dye has been obtained from the roots[257]. A red dye is obtained from
the roots[274]. It is quite possible that both colours can be obtained,
depending on the mordant used[K].
The seeds have been used as beads[257].
Cultivation details
Requires a warm sunny position in a moderately fertile well-drained
soil[1, 200]. Dislikes acid soils[1].
After producing large, conspicuous flowers in the spring, the plant produces
lots of small very fertile cleistogamous flowers[274].
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.
Cuttings.
Division.
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.
- [V] Images
from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group.
- [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.
- [C] Taxon data.
from the CalFlora database.
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
- [HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
References for lithospermum incisum (a possible synonym).
References for the family Boraginaceae.
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.
[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]).
[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.
[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.
[212] Craighead. J., Craighead. F. and Davis. R. A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers The Riverside Press 1963 ISBN 63-7093
Excellent little pocket guide to the area, covering 590 species and often giving details of their 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.
[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
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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
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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?Lithospermum+incisum
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