Practical
Plants

Serratula tinctoria

Saw-Wort

a perennial member of the Serratula genus in the family Compositae.

No photo available

Taxonomy and growth

Life cycle
perennial
Height
1 m
Fertility
Self sterile, Flies, Bees
Flower type
dioecious
Pollinators
Flies, Bees

Uses

Edible uses

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

Young leaves and flower buds? - cooked[3]. This report was for Hemistepta lyrata, which is said in the same report to be a synonym for this species.

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.

Astringent, vulnerary[7].

Product or use
Astringent
Product or use
Vulnerary

Material uses

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

A fine yellow dye is obtained from the juice of the plant, it is very durable[1][7][2][4].

Product or use
Dye

Environment

Range
Europe, including Britain, south and east from Scandanavia to N. Spain, Balkans and Siberia.
Habitat
Wood margins, clearings, rides and open grasslands on moist basic soils over limestone or chalk[5].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
light shade
Water
moderate
Hardiness
Zone 6+
Soil textures
sandy, loamy, clay
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline, very 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 spring in a greenhouse and only just cover the seed. Make sure the compost does not dry out. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out in early summer if they have grown sufficiently. Otherwise, grow them on in the greenhouse or cold frame for their first winter and plant them out the following year after the last expected frosts. Division in spring. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found it best to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame, planting them out once they are well established in the summer.

Cultivation

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

Succeeds in any well drained soil in a sunny position[6]. Suitable for the wild flower garden where it may naturalize[6].

References

  1. F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00

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  2. Polunin. O. Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. Oxford University Press 1969-00-00 ISBN 0192176218

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  3. Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976-00-00

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  4. Johnson. C. P. The Useful Plants of Great Britain.

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

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

    ↩1↩2

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

    ↩1↩2

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