Herb latin name: Hemerocallis forrestii


Family: Hemerocallidaceae



Medicinal use of Hemerocallis forrestii:

The juice of the roots is an effective antidote in cases of arsenic poisoning. A tea made from the boiled roots is used as a diuretic.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Evergreen
Perennial

Height:
40 cm
(1 foot)

Habitat of the herb:

Dry ridges and rocky banks around 250 metres. Forests, grassy slopes and limestone cliffs at elevations of 2300 - 3200 metres in SW Sichuan and NW Yunnan.

Edible parts of Hemerocallis forrestii:

Leaves and young shoots - cooked. They must be consumed when very young or else they become fibrous. Flowers and flower buds - raw or cooked. Root - raw or cooked. The roots are swollen and conspicuously enlarged at each end. The roots are slightly fleshy, with a large, globose, swollen, tuberous part near the tip.

Other uses of the herb:

The tough dried foliage is plaited into cord and used for making footwear.

Propagation of Hemerocallis forrestii:

Seed - sow in the middle of spring in a greenhouse. Germination is usually fairly rapid and good. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle. Grow the plants on for their first winter in a greenhouse and plant out in late spring. Division in spring or after flowering in late summer or autumn. Division is very quick and easy, succeeding at almost any time of the year. Larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring.

Cultivation of the herb:

Dry ridges and rocky banks around 250 metres. Forests, grassy slopes and limestone cliffs at elevations of 2300 - 3200 metres in SW Sichuan and NW Yunnan.

Known hazards of Hemerocallis forrestii:

Large quantities of the leaves are said to be hallucinogenic. Blanching the leaves removes this hallucinatory component. (This report does not make clear what it means by blanching, it could be excluding light from the growing shoots or immersing in boiling water.)

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.