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Polygonum bistorta
| Common name: |
Bistort |
Family: |
Polygonaceae |
| Author: |
L. |
Botanical references: |
17, 200 |
| Synonyms: |
Persicaria bistorta, Bistorta major (S.F.Gray.) |
| Known Hazards: |
Although no specific mention has been made for this species, there have been reports that some members of this genus can cause photosensitivity in susceptible people.
Many species also contain oxalic acid (the distinctive lemony flavour of sorrel) - whilst not toxic this substance can bind up other minerals making them unavailable to the body and leading to mineral deficiency. Having said that, a number of common foods such as sorrel and rhubarb contain oxalic acid and the leaves of most members of this genus are nutritious and beneficial to eat in moderate quantities. Cooking the leaves will reduce their content of oxalic acid. People with a tendency to rheumatism, arthritis, gout, kidney stones or hyperacidity should take especial caution if including this plant in their diet since it can aggravate their condition[238]. |
| Range: |
Northern and central Europe, including Britain, mountains of S. Europe, western and central Asia. |
| Habitat: |
Damp meadows and by water, especially on acid soils[13, 17]. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
3 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 3 |
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Adderwort [H], Adderwortel [D], Bistort [H], Bistort, Snakeroot [MS], Bistorta [E], Ch'Uan Shen [E], Common Bistort [H,L], Easter Giants [H], Easter Magiants [H], Easter-Ledge [H], Easter-mangiant [H], English Serpentary [E], Enjebar [E], Ibuki-Tora-No-O [E], Kurtpencesi [E], Meadow Bistort [P,B], Mou Meng [E], Naterwurz [E], Oderwort [H], Osterick [H], Passion Dock [H], Patience Dock [H], Snakeroot [E], Snakeweed [H], Twice Writhen [H], Tzu Shen [E], |
| Epithets: | From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets |
|
bistorta = twisted twice;
torta = twisted;
|
| Systematics: | From a USDA Plants Database |
|
Order: Polygonales. Buckwheat family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
Britain; China; Germany; Iraq; Spain; Turkey; Us; Ussr
|
Physical Characteristics
Perennial growing to 0.5m by 0.5m . It is hardy to zone 4. It is in flower from June to September, and the seeds ripen from August to October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects.
We rate it 3/5 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 and can grow in very acid soil.
It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade.
It requires moist or wet soil.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Meadow, Bog Garden, Cultivated Beds.Edible Uses
Leaves; Root; Seed.
Leaves - raw or cooked[2, 7, 9, 103]. One report says that they are
rather bitter[5], but we have found them to have a fairly mild flavour,
especially when the leaves are young, though the texture is somewhat chewy
when they are eaten raw[7, K]. They make an excellent substitute for
spinach[183]. In Northern England the leaves are an ingredient of a bitter
Lenten pudding, called Easter ledger pudding, that is eaten at Lent[183]. The
leaves are available from late winter in most years and can be eaten until
the early autumn though they become much tougher as the season progresses[K].
The leaves are a good source of vitamins A and C[257], a nutritional analysis
is available[218].
Seed - raw or cooked[172]. The seed is very small and rather fiddly to
utilize[K].
Root - raw or cooked[7, 172, 257]. Rich in starch and tannin, it is steeped
in water and then roasted in order to reduce the tannin content[4, 115]. It
is then said to be a tasty and nutritious food[4]. The root has also been
boiled or used in soups and stews[183] and can be dried then ground into a
powder and used in making bread[4]. The root contains 30% starch, 1% calcium
oxalate and 15 - 36% tannin[218]. Composition
- Leaves (Fresh weight)
-
In grammes per 100g weight of food:
Water: 82.6
Protein: 3
Fat: 0.8
Carbohydrate: 7.9
Fibre: 3.2
Ash: 2.4
Source: [218]
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Astringent; Demulcent; Diuretic; Febrifuge; Laxative; Styptic.
Bistort is one of the most strongly astringent of all herbs and it is
used to contract tissues and staunch blood flow[254].
The root is powerfully astringent, demulcent, diuretic, febrifuge, laxative
and strongly styptic[4, 218]. It is gathered in early spring when the leaves
are just beginning to shoot, and then dried[4]. It is much used, both
internally and externally, in the treatment of internal and external
bleeding, diarrhoea, dysentery, cholera etc[4, 9, 13, 21, 147, 165, 172]. It
is also taken internally in the treatment of a wide range of complaints
including catarrh, cystitis, irritable bowel syndrome, peptic ulcers,
ulcerative colitis and excessive menstruation[238, 254]. Externally, it makes
a good wash for small burns and wounds, and is used to treat pharyngitis,
stomatitis, vaginal discharge, anal fissure etc[238, 254]. A mouth wash or
gargle is used to treat spongy gums, mouth ulcers and sore throats[254].
The leaves are astringent and have a great reputation in the treatment of
wounds[4]. We have a more details factsheet on the history and medicinal use of this plant. Email webmaster@pfaf.org for details.
Other Uses
Tannin.
The roots contain up to 21% tannin[223].
Cultivation details
Succeeds in an ordinary garden soil[1] but prefers a moisture retentive
not too fertile soil in sun or part shade[200]. The plant repays generous
treatment[1].
A very cold-hardy plant, tolerating temperatures down to at least
-25°c[187].
Bistort was formerly cultivated as a medicinal and edible plant[4], though
it has now fallen into virtual disuse.
Plants are somewhat spreading, forming quite extensive colonies[187]
especially in low-lying pastures[4]. They seem to be immune to the predations
of rabbits[233].
Propagation
Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. Germination is usually free and
easy. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into
individual pots and plant them out in the summer if they have reached
sufficient size. If not, overwinter them in a cold frame and plant them out
the following spring after the last expected frosts.
Division in spring or autumn. Very easy, larger divisions can be planted out
direct into their permanent positions. We have found that it is better to pot
up the smaller divisions and grow them on in light shade in a cold frame
until they are well established before planting them out in late spring or
early summer.
Suppliers
Plants For A Future is working with the following groups to try and make these plants easily available. Parts of the proceeds will be donated to so please mention us when ordering.
- Wildwood Nurseries
-
Lower Manor Cottage
Thornbury
Holsworthy
Devon
EX22 7DD
Email: lorna@macace.co.uk
Phone 01409 261324
Fax 01409 261324
Distribution: UK
How to order: Direct from Wildwood by email/phone
Last Updated: March 03
Item:
Polygonum bistorta
(bistort)
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
- [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.
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
- [HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
References for Bistorta major (a possible synonym).
- [H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
References for Persicaria bistorta (a possible synonym).
References for bistorta major (a possible synonym).
References for the family Polygonaceae.
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]).
[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
[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.
[5] Mabey. R. Food for Free. Collins 1974 ISBN 0-00-219060-5
Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the 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.
[13] Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn 1975 ISBN 0-600-33545-3
Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore.
[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.
[103] Haywood. V. H. Flowering Plants of the World. Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-217674-9
Very readable and well illustrated, it lists plants by families giving the basic diagnostic features and some details of plant uses.
[115] Johnson. C. P. The Useful Plants of Great Britain.
Written about a hundred years ago, but still a very good guide to the useful plants of Britain.
[147] ? A Barefoot Doctors Manual. Running Press ISBN 0-914294-92-X
A very readable herbal from China, combining some modern methods with traditional chinese methods.
[165] Mills. S. Y. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism.
An excellent small herbal.
[172] Schofield. J. J. Discovering Wild Plants - Alaska, W. Canada and the Northwest.
A nice guide to some useful plants in that area.
[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.
[187] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2. Pan Books 1991 ISBN 0-330-30936-9
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.
[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.
[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.
[223] Rottsieper. E.H.W. Vegetable Tannins The Forestal Land, Timber and Railways Co. Ltd. 1946
A fairly detailed treatise on the major sources of vegetable tannins.
[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.
[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.
[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.
[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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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?Polygonum+bistorta
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