Practical
Plants

Reseda odorata

Mignonette

an annual or perennial member of the Reseda genus in the family Resedaceae.

No photo available

Taxonomy and growth

Genus
Reseda
Life cycle
annual, perennial
Height
0.45 m
Spread
0.3 m
Fertility
Self fertile, Bees, Lepidoptera, Insects, Self
Flower type
hermaphrodite
Pollinators
Bees, Lepidoptera, Insects, Self

Uses

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 acrid root is diaphoretic, diuretic and laxative[5]. The seed is applied externally as a resolvent[5].

Product or use
Acrid
Product or use
Diaphoretic
Product or use
Diuretic
Product or use
Laxative
Product or use
Resolvent

Material uses

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

An essential oil is obtained from the flowers[9][10]. Used in perfumery[8][11]. 1200 Kg of flowers yields 350gr absolute[8]. A yellow dye is obtained from the plant[2].

Product or use
Dye
Product or use
Essential

Environment

Range
N. Africa - Egypt. An occasional garden escape in Britain[3].
Habitat
a common weed, it also grows amongst rocks[6].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
light shade
Water
moderate
Soil textures
sandy, loamy, clay
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline
Drainage
well drained
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

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

Seed - sow in situ in the spring and only lightly cover the seed. Germination usually takes place within 2 weeks. An autumn sowing usually succeeds in areas where winter temperatures do not fall below about -10°c[4].

Cultivation

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

Easily grown in any well-drained neutral to slightly alkaline soil in a sunny position or in some shade if the summers are long and hot[1][4]. The flowers are very fragrant[6]. Plants are sometimes cultivated for the essential oil in their flowers[10]. A good plant for bees and butterflies[7][4], it is also an important food plant for the caterpillars of many species of butterfly[7].

References

  1. International Bee Research Association. Garden Plants Valuable to Bees. International Bee Research Association. 1981-00-00

    ↩

  2. Grae. I. Nature's Colors - Dyes from Plants. MacMillan Publishing Co. New York. 1974-00-00 ISBN 0-02-544950-8

    ↩

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

    ↩

  4. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

    ↩1↩2↩3

  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

    ↩1↩2

  6. Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994-00-00 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8

    ↩1↩2

  7. Carter D. Butterflies and Moths in Britain and Europe. Pan 1982-00-00 ISBN 0-330-26642-x

    ↩1↩2

  8. Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959-00-00

    ↩1↩2

  9. Schery. R. W. Plants for Man.

    ↩

  10. Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974-00-00 ISBN 0094579202

    ↩1↩2

  11. Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968-00-00

    ↩

Edit this page