Herb: Winged Buckwheat


Latin name: Eriogonum alatum


Family: Polygonaceae (Buckwheat Family)



Medicinal use of Winged Buckwheat:

The plant has been used in the treatment of pain and also to make a lotion to treat rashes. A cold infusion of the root has been used to treat diarrhoea and bad coughs. It has also been used as a mouthwash for sore gums. The powdered root has been mixed with oil and used as a dressing on a baby's sore navel.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Perennial


Height:
75 cm
(2 feet)

Habitat of the herb:

Plains.

Edible parts of Winged Buckwheat:

Root - raw or dried for later use. Seed - ground into a powder and made into a mush.

Propagation of the herb:

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a sandy compost in a greenhouse. Sow stored seed in early spring in a warm greenhouse. As soon as they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Division in early spring. This has to be done with care because the plant resents root disturbance. Try to obtain divisions from around the edges of the plants without digging up the whole clump. Tease the divisions out with as much root on them as possible and pot them up. Grow them on in light shade in the greenhouse until they are rooting well and plant them out in the summer. Cuttings of greenwood with a heel in the summer.

Cultivation of Winged Buckwheat:

Plains.

Known hazards of Eriogonum alatum:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.