medicinal herbs
Canada Beadruby
Maianthemum canadense

• Medicinal herbs
• Natural herbs
• Latin names
• Common names

Herb: Canada Beadruby

Latin name: Maianthemum canadense

Synonyms: Maianthemum bifolium, Unifolium canadense

Family: Convallariaceae

Medicinal use of Canada Beadruby:

A tea made from the plant has been used in the treatment of headaches and as a kidney tonic for pregnant women. It is also used as a gargle for sore throats and as an expectorant.

Description of the plant:

Habitat of the herb:

Woods and recent clearings, often to the sub-alpine zone, in humus-rich slightly acid soils.

Edible parts of Canada Beadruby:

Fruit. We have no more details except a warning that the fruit should be used with caution. The fruit is about 6mm in diameter.

Other uses of the herb:

Plants can be used as ground cover in shady positions, doing well in a wild or woodland garden.

Propagation of Canada Beadruby:

Seed - best sown quite thinly it as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame, it should germinate in the spring. Stored seed should be sown in late winter in a cold frame, it might take 18 months to germinate. Allow the seedlings to grow on in the pot for their first year, giving liquid feeds as necessary to ensure that they do not go hungry. Divide the plants into individual pots once they have died down in late summer. Grow them on in pots for another year or more until large enough to plant out. Division as new growth commences in the spring. 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:

Woods and recent clearings, often to the sub-alpine zone, in humus-rich slightly acid soils.

Known hazards of Maianthemum canadense:

There is a warning that the fruit should only be used with caution, but no more details are given.

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.