Spilanthes acmella Seeds | Toothache Plant
LATIN NAME: Spilanthes acmella
COMMON NAME: Toothache Plant
Plant Profile
Known to gardeners as Toothache Plant, Spilanthes acmella is a noteworthy species. Latin Name: Spilanthes acmella English/Common Name: Toothache Plant. Not many plants ask so little and repay so much.
Science & Biotechnology
Spilanthes acmella sits in the Spilanthes group, a group that keeps botanists, horticulturists and plant breeders busy with questions of classification, adaptation and ornamental potential. Spilanthes acmella is of interest in phytochemical research, plant secondary metabolites, floral biology and studies of bioactive compounds. The upshot for anyone sowing it is reassurance — cultivated stock of this plant has a long, well-documented track record.
Uses & Benefits
Beyond its ornamental appeal, Toothache Plant has the practical versatility that makes a plant worth growing from seed year after year. It is cultivated in botanical collections, specialty herb gardens, educational plots and ethnobotanical collections. Its unusual flower heads and chemistry also make it an interesting teaching plant. In later seasons it demands little more than an appreciative eye.
The toothache plant earns its name: chewing the flower heads releases spilanthol, a tingling alkylamide long used in folk oral care, and the young leaves are a peppery salad herb in Brazil and Southeast Asia.
Growing from Seed
Raising Toothache Plant from seed is straightforward. Sow seed on a fine medium and press it lightly into the surface. Keep moisture consistent and provide bright light. Fill a pot with a light seed compost, sow evenly on the surface, cover thinly and stand it somewhere warm, bright and evenly moist. Shift the seedlings into small pots as soon as they can be handled, and give them bright light until planting-out time.
Our Take
Its role in herbal practice, noted above, adds depth to an already garden-worthy plant. Toothache Plant earns its space through character rather than fuss. Keep the sowing evenly moist at the start — that is the one real requirement.
Related Reading
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