Herb latin name: Podocarpium oldhamii


Synonyms: Desmodium oldhamii


Family: Leguminosae



Medicinal use of Podocarpium oldhamii:

The whole plant is used medicinally for eliminating toxins in the body, promoting blood production and diuresis.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Perennial


Height:
120 cm
(4 feet)

Flowering:
August to
September

Habitat of the herb:

Woods and thickets in C. and S. Japan. Forests on mountain slopes, streamsides, thickets and rocky places at elevations of 100 - 1700 metres.

Edible parts of Podocarpium oldhamii:

Seed - cooked. Young seedpods. No more details. A tea is made from the leaves.

Other uses of the herb:

The whole plant is used as an insecticide.

Propagation of Podocarpium oldhamii:

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse. Scarify and pre-soak stored seed for 5 hours in warm water then sow March in a greenhouse. The seed usually germinates within 1 - 4 months at 25°C. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots once they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out in late spring or early summer and consider giving them some protection from frost in their first winter outdoors. Cuttings of half-ripe wood with a heel, July/August in a frame. Division as the plant comes into growth 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. Root cuttings in winter.

Cultivation of the herb:

Woods and thickets in C. and S. Japan. Forests on mountain slopes, streamsides, thickets and rocky places at elevations of 100 - 1700 metres.

Known hazards of Podocarpium oldhamii:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.