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Aletris farinosa - L.

Unicorn Root

Author	L.	Botanical references	43, 200
Family	Liliaceae	Genus	Aletris
Synonyms
Known Hazards	The fresh root is mildly poisonous[21].
Range	South-eastern N. America - Southern Maine to Florida, west to Texas and Wisconsin.
Habitat	Grassy or sandy woodlands, in dry or moist peats, sands and gravels, especially on the seashore[4, 21, 43]
Edibility Rating	1 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	3 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.6m by 0.15m.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid soils and can grow in very acid soil. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats

Woodland Garden; Sunny Edge;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Root.

Bulb - cooked[105, 161, 177]. Intensely bitter[2]. A bitter-sweet soapy taste[238].

Medicinal Uses

Antiinflammatory; Bitter; Diuretic; Narcotic; Tonic.

The greatest value of unicorn root is its tonic influence on the female generative organs, proving to be of great use in treating cases of habitual miscarriages[4]. It also promotes the appetite and is used in the treatment of diarrhoea, rheumatism and jaundice[222]. The root is bitter, diuretic, narcotic and tonic[1, 21, 46, 213]. Only use the dried rootstock[21], in large doses the fresh root is somewhat narcotic, emetic and cathartic[4]. A decoction of the root is a bitter tonic and has been used for expelling flatulence and for various uterine disorders[207, 222]. It is used in the treatment of colic, though small doses, especially of the fresh root[4], can cause hypogastric colic[222]. The root is harvested in late summer after flowering and dried for later use[238]. The root contains diosgenin, which has both anti-inflammatory and oestrogenic properties[222]. A tea of the leaves has been used in the treatment of colic, stomach disorders, dysentery and bloody dysentery[213, 257].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Prefers a damp sunny position in peat, leafmold and sand[1]. Requires a sunny position[200]. Plants are hardy to between -10 and -15°c[200].

Propagation

Seed - we have no details for this species but suggest sowing the seed in a greenhouse in early spring. Sow the seed thinly to allow the seedlings to be grown on for their first year without potting them up, but give a liquid feed from time to time to ensure that they do not become nutrient deficient. Prick the young plants out into individual pots the following spring and grow them on in the greenhouse for the next winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer. Division in spring.

Links

Permaculture.info Details of this plant in the Permaculture.info project, a community plant and permaculture database.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[161] Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture. 0
A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[207] Coffey. T. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File. 1993 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6
A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.

[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

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