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Lithospermum officinale

Lithospermum officinale: Leaves and Flowers
Photo by NatEnv.

Common name:	Gromwell	Family:	Boraginaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Europe, including Britain, except the extreme southwest and north, east to Iran and the Caucasus.
Habitat:	Hedges, bushy places and woodland borders, usually on basic soil[17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Common Gromwell [L,E], European Gromwell [P,B], Glad Parelzaad [D], Gromwell [H], Habb Al Qalb [E], Mijo De Sol [E], Pearl Gromwell [L], Taskesenotu [E], Ti Hsueh [E], Tzu Tan [E], Tzu Ts'Ao [E], Ya Hsien Ts'Ao [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	officinale = sold as an herb;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Lamiales. Borage family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	China; Europe; Iraq; Spain; Turkey

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.75m. It is hardy to zone 6. It is in flower from June to July, and the seeds ripen from July to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees and flies. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. 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

Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

Tea.

The leaves are used as a tea substitute[46, 61, 183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Contraceptive; Depurative; Diuretic; Lithontripic; Oxytoxic; Sedative.

The mature seeds are diuretic, lithontripic and oxytocic[9, 240]. They are ground into a powder and used in the treatment of bladder stones, arthritis and febrile conditions[9].
An infusion of the leaves is used as a sedative[240].
The root is depurative[240]. A syrup made from a decoction of the root and stems is used in the treatment of eruptive diseases such as smallpox, measles and itch[240].
All parts of the plant contain a substance that inhibits the secretion of the pituitary gonadotrophic hormone[240]. Extracts of the herb possess contraceptive properties[240].

Other Uses

Dye.

A purple dye is obtained from the roots. It is best harvested in the spring[178].

Cultivation details

Prefers a moderately fertile well-drained soil[200].

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

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[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 the family Boraginaceae.

[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

[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.

[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.

[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.

[178] Stuart. Rev. G. A. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre
A translation of an ancient Chinese herbal. 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.

[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.

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
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?Lithospermum+officinale
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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.