Potentilla erecta seed

LATIN NAME: POTENTILLA ERECTA

COMMON NAME: Tormentil

The tormentil coins the low, clumping, herbaceous perennial with the slender, branched stems and the narrow, toothed leaflets, the small, bright-yellow, four-petalled flowers opening in the loose clusters through the summer, the flowers coining among the leaves, the small, dry achenes following. The plant spreads slowly into the neat mat, and it likes the sun, and the moist, well-drained soil.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The four-petalled flowers of the tormentil give it a recognised place in the research on the meadow herbs of the rose family, and the erecta species appears in the studies of the tannin-rich plants and the acid-meadow growth. The work looks at the traditional astringent preparations, the way the mat spreads, and the seed biology. The pharmacognosists note the root uses, and the growers of the meadow and rock-garden plants keep the species in their catalogues.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

In the meadow and the rock garden, the tormentil coins the summer meadow with the yellow flowers. The blooms open for the bees, the roots have served the traditional remedies and the dyes for the ages, and the plant makes the neat, bright mat. It grows well in the moist, well-drained, sunny ground. Yellow, four-petalled and hardy.

To grow the Tormentil from seed, press the seeds into the surface of the damp, fine mix, then leave them uncovered, keep the tray cool and mist gently, and the seedlings surface within a couple of weeks.

Keep the tray cool and mist gently, and pot the seedlings on as they grow. The coin blooms come within the season. Settle the young plants in the sunny, moist ground, and the coin blooms will open through the summer.

Rosaceae: A creeping, downy perennial to 30cm, found in grassy places, heaths and moors. The flowers have four yellow petals, and sit on slender stalks, appearing from May-September. The leaves are dark-green, unstalked and trifoliate. Widespread right across the country. Native to Europe, including Britain, from Scandinavia south and east to North Africa, Western Asia and Siberia.
USES:
The roots are extremely rich in tannin, and after a long boiling, converts this into a gum and it can then be eaten, this is said to be an emergency food, and only eaten when all else fails. Also a tea is said to be made from the rhizomes.
Containing more tannin than oak bark, all parts of Tormentil are strongly astringent, finding use wherever that action is required. This plant is considered to be one of the safest native astringents and it is widely used in herbal medicine in the treatment of diarrhoea, dysentery, and sore throats. The whole plant, and especially the root, is antibiotic, strongly astringent, haemostatic and hypoglycaemic. It is used in the treatment of diarrhoea, dysentery, irritable bowel syndrome, colitis, ulcerative colitis. Externally, the plant makes a good styptic for cuts, and a strongly made decoction has been recommended as a wash for mouth ulcers, infected gums, piles and inflamed eyes. Extracts are used to treat chapping of the anus and cracked nipples. The plant’s effectiveness as a toothache remedy is undeniable and it has also been of benefit in treating bed-wetting by children.
GROWING INFORMATION:
Sow seeds early spring or autumn 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.