Practical
Plants

Silene firma

Catchfly

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

No photo available

Taxonomy and growth

Genus
Silene
Life cycle
annual, biennial
Height
0.9 m
Flower type
hermaphrodite

Uses

Edible uses

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

Young plant - cooked[2][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 leaves and stems contain several medically active constituents including saponins and flavonoids[6]. They have been shown to promote the production of drug-metabolizing enzymes in the liver[6]. The plant is said to be contraceptive, emmenagogue and galactogogue[6]. It is used in Korea in the treatment of gonorrhoea, to stimulate the milk and the menstrual flow, and also as a contraceptive[6].

Product or use
Contraceptive
Product or use
Emmenagogue
Product or use
Galactogogue
Product or use
Hepatic

Environment

Range
E. Asia - China and Japan.
Habitat
Pebbly river banks, sandy and pebbly shores and shrub thickets[7]. Mountain grassland and scrub throughout China[5].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
light shade
Water
moderate
Soil textures
sandy, loamy, clay
Soil pH
acid, neutral, 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. It is quite likely that an early autumn sowing will overwinter successfully to produce a larger plant in the spring and summer[K].

Cultivation

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

W have very little information on this species, though judging by its wide range it should be hardy in most of Britain[K]. It is likely to prefer a well-drained moisture retentive light loamy soil in a sunny position[1][4].

References

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

    ↩

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

    ↩

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

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

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  5. Flora of China 1994-00-00 http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/

    ↩

  6. Medicinal Plants in the Republic of Korea World Health Organisation, Manila 1998-00-00 ISBN 92 9061 120 0

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4

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

    ↩

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