Withania Somnifera seed
LATIN NAME: Withania somnifera
COMMON NAME: Ashwagandha
Ashwagandha is the small, tough, aromatic shrub of the dry plains and the sandy ground of the warm regions, and it has been a familiar of the traditional practice of the east for a very long time. The plant grows a neat clump of the grey-green, softly hairy leaves, with small, greenish-yellow, bell-like flowers and then small, orange-red berries wrapped in the papery calyces. The root is the part that has been prized through the ages, and the whole plant has a quiet, useful presence in the dry garden. It is a tough, easy plant of the open, sunny ground.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
Ashwagandha has a strong and growing presence in the plant science, and the root has been the subject of a long line of the phytochemical and the pharmacological research. The compounds in the root and the way the traditional use has been understood in the modern laboratory have been studied closely, and the plant keeps showing up in the work on the adaptogenic herbs of the east. The breeding and the cultivation of the plant for the consistent root quality are also an active field, and the plant is a regular subject of the studies of the sustainable medicinal crops. The science here is careful and ongoing, and the information is well grounded in the long traditional use.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
Ashwagandha is one of the most widely used of the traditional herbs of the east, and the dried root has been traded and valued for a very long time. The plant is now grown as a serious medicinal crop across the warm regions, and the root is used in the traditional preparations and the modern supplements alike. Around the garden the plant is a tough, easy, silver-leaved shrub of the dry, sunny ground, and it brings a quiet, useful presence to the border. It has been written about in the botanical and the herbal papers for its long history of use and its growing modern interest.
Ashwagandha grows wild on the dry, open plains and the sandy ground of the warm regions of the east, and the root has been prized in the traditional practice for a very long time. The plant is now grown as a serious medicinal crop across the warm world, and the demand for the carefully dried root has grown steadily with the modern interest in the traditional herbs. The small, orange-red berries wrapped in the papery calyces give the plant a quiet charm in the dry garden, and the silver-grey leaves catch the light. It is a tough, useful plant of the hot, dry, sunny ground.
To raise the ashwagandha from seed, sow the small, round, brown seeds at a shallow depth in pots of moist, gritty, free-draining soil, keep them in a warm, bright, dry spot and water them sparingly. The seedlings are up within a couple of weeks and grow on into tough young plants that prefer the sun and the very well-drained ground. Water them lightly once they are up, give them the full sun and the dry, open position they like, and the silver-leaved shrub will be at home.
Description:
NAME: Indian Ginseng
OTHER COMMON NAMES: Withania Somnifera
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Ashwaganda
COLOR: Red Berries & White Flowers
PLANT SEEDS: Fall / Outdoors after frost / Indoors weeks before last frost
BLOOM TIME: Late Spring – Early Summer
HARDINESS ZONE: N/A
PLANT HEIGHT: 24 – 48″
PLANT SPACING: 24 – 36″
LIGHT REQUIREMENTS: Sun – Part Shade
SOIL & WATER PREFERENCES: Average
OTHER: Ginseng has many herbal & medicinal uses. Both the roots & leaves of the plant are utilized. It is used in the treatment of diabetes, erectile dysfunction, increased energy, & an enhanced immune system. It also attracts bees, butterflies, and birds. Ginseng can easily be grown in containers.