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Teucrium scordium

Common name:	Water Germander	Family:	Labiatae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Europe, including Britain, from Sweden south and east to France, W. Siberia and Serbia.
Habitat:	Banks of rivers and ditches on calcareous soils and on dune slacks[17]. A rare plant in Britain[17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Garlic,Wood [E], Germander,Water [E], Moerasgamander [D], Water Germander [H,E], Wood Sage [H], Yilanotu [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	teucrium = like Teucrium
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Lamiales. Renamed to Lamiaceae -- Mint family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Eurasia Germany Turkey Us

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.6m. . It is in flower from July to September, and the seeds ripen from August to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 1/5 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 and can grow in very alkaline soil. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Anthelmintic Antifungal Antiseptic Diaphoretic Skin TB Tonic.

The herb is anthelmintic, antifungal, antiseptic, diaphoretic, skin, tonic[4, 61]. Water germander was at one time esteemed as an antidote for poisons and also as an antiseptic and anthelmintic, though it is scarcely used nowadays. However, its tonic and diaphoretic actions make it an excellent remedy for all inflammatory diseases[4]. It us also used in the treatment of TB[61].

Other Uses

Dye.

A green dye is obtained from the leaves[61].

Cultivation details

Succeeds in any moderately good soil. See notes on the plants habitat for more ideas on its needs.
Water germander was at one time cultivated in gardens as a medicinal herb, though it has fallen into disuse[4]. The crushed plant has a penetrating odour that is somewhat like garlic. It is said to taint the milk if eaten by cows[4].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a cold frame and only just cover the seed[113]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out in the summer if they are large enough. Otherwise, grow them on in a cold frame for the winter and plant them out in the following spring.
Division in early spring[1]. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found that it is best to pot up smaller divisions and grow them on in light shade in a greenhouse or cold frame until they are growing away well. Plant them out in the summer or the following spring.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame[113].

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]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

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.

[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.

[113] Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press 1987 ISBN 0942375009
A very detailed book on propagating trees. 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
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?Teucrium+scordium
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