Practical
Plants

Arenaria serpyllifolia

Thyme-Leaf Sandwort

an annual or biennial member of the Arenaria genus in the family Caryophyllaceae.

No photo available

Taxonomy and growth

Life cycle
annual, biennial
Height
0.3 m
Fertility
Self fertile, Insects, Self
Flower type
hermaphrodite
Pollinators
Insects, Self

Uses

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

The entire plant is used as a pot-herb[3].

Plant part
Leaves

Medicinal uses

Historical medicinal uses. These records describe reported uses. They do not establish safety or effectiveness. Ask a qualified health professional before using any plant medicinally.

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

The plant is antitussive, depurative, diuretic and febrifuge[[1][4]. A decoction of the leaves is used in the treatment of dysentery[4]. It is also used in the treatment of bladder complaints, calculus troubles and acute and chronic cystitis[5].

Product or use
Antitussive
Product or use
Depurative
Product or use
Diuretic
Product or use
Febrifuge

Environment

Range
Most of Europe, including Britain, temperate Asia and N. America.
Habitat
Bare ground, arable fields, walls, bare soil on chalk downs, cliffs etc[2].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
no shade
Water
moderate
Soil textures
sandy, loamy, clay
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline, very alkaline
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed - sow spring in situ.

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

This species is apparently disliked by rabbits since it is often abundant round their burrows[2].

References

  1. ? A Barefoot Doctors Manual. Running Press ISBN 0-914294-92-X

    ↩

  2. Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962-00-00

    ↩1↩2

  3. Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984-00-00 ISBN 3874292169

    ↩

  4. Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985-00-00 ISBN 0-917256-20-4

    ↩1↩2

  5. Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986-00-00

    ↩

  6. ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964-00-00

Edit this page