Alchemilla xanthochlora 

'Lady's Mantle'

[Ex. Co. Durham, England]

Rosaceae: grassland perennial to 30cm. similar in appearance to the familiar herbaceous border ornamental A. mollis. The flowers are green, in flat-topped clusters from May-September. The leaves are rounded, palmately lobed. Leaf shape variation used to separate aggregated species. Native to most of Europe, including Britain, from Norway to Spain and east to Poland.

USES:

The young leaves can be used raw or cooked, they have a dry, somewhat astringent flavour. They can be mixed with the leaves of Polygonum bistorta and Polygonum persicaria then used in making a bitter herb pudding called 'Easter ledger' which is eaten during Lent. The root can be cooked. The leaves are used commercially in the blending of tea.

Lady's mantle has a long history of herbal use, mainly as an external treatment for cuts and wounds, and internally in the treatment of diarrhoea and a number of women's ailments, especially menstrual problems. The herb has alterative, antirheumatic, astringent, diuretic, emmenagogue, febrifuge, sedative, styptic, tonic and vulnerary properties.

GROWING INFORMATION:

Easily grown in ordinary soil in sun or part shade. Sow seeds in spring in a cold frame or greenhouse. The seed usually germinates in 3 - 4 weeks at 16°c. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on a cold frame for their first winter, planting out in late spring or early summer.

HARVESTED: 2022

APPROX. 100 SEEDS