Vaccaria seeds herb
LATIN NAME: Vaccaria hispanica
COMMON NAME: Cowherb
The cowherb raises its small, five-petalled, rose-pink flowers above the slender stems, and the whole plant stands in the airy, branching clumps. The upright, branching, annual plant carries the narrow, pointed, pale-green leaves on the slender, wiry stems and the loose heads of the small, five-petalled, rose-pink or white flowers through the summer, one of the fine, airy sights of the dry border, drawing the bees, to be followed by the small, rounded, brownish seed capsules. The plant has a long record in the old practice of the cool lands, and it is a fine, historic presence of the dry border. It is a plant of the open, sunny, sharp-draining ground.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The cowherb is a curious subject of the plant science, and the slender stems keep showing up in the work on the dry-land annuals. The way the loose heads of the small, five-petalled, rose-pink or white flowers form along the slender, wiry stems has been studied at length, and it keeps appearing in the studies of the dry-land annuals, the capsule-seeded plants and the members of the pink family. The narrow, pointed leaves and the upright, branching habit have also made it a fine study plant, and the cowherb is a regular subject of the work on the slender stems of the dry world.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
The cowherb is a fine, airy plant of the dry border and the study collection. The loose heads of the small, five-petalled, rose-pink or white flowers open through the summer, one of the fine, airy sights of the dry border, drawing the bees, and the plant has a long record in the old practice of the cool lands, with the small, rounded, brownish seed capsules following the flowers. It is one of the fine choices for the dry border, the wild patch and the study collection, and it has been written about in the botanical and the horticultural papers for the slender stems and the long record of use. It is a fine, airy plant of the open, sunny, sharp-draining garden.
Give the young plants the sharp-draining soil and the open, sunny spot, and the heads will rise in the first summer.
To grow the cowherb from seed, sow the small, brown seeds a centimetre and a half down in the tray of fine, gritty soil, keep the tray in a bright, open spot and water gently, then set the young plants out in the open ground. The seedlings are up within a week or two and grow on fast. With the sun and the sharp-draining ground, the rose-pink heads will rise through the summer.
Vaccaria is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the pink family containing the single species Vaccaria hispanica. It is known by several common names including cowherb, cowcockle, and cow soapwort. Its subspecies were previously treated as separate species. It is used medicinally in Chinese medicine and acupuncture.it is an annual herb with blue-gray, waxy herbage and pale pink flowers.