There are herbaceous plants that, although at first they seem too common to us, when you get to know them they surprise you ... and for the better, as is the case with Agrimony eupatoria. This plant, which is easily found anywhere in Spain, produces very decorative flowers, and also has an ideal height to plant on both sides of garden paths or in pots.
Its maintenance is simple, and if we talk about its medicinal properties we will realize that it deserves to have its space in the patio or directly on our land. Discover it.
Origin and characteristics
Image - Wikimedia / O. Pichard
Our protagonist is a perennial herb native to the Iberian Peninsula, found in cultivated land, oak or holm oak groves, or in mixed forests. Its scientific name is Agrimonia eupatoria, although it is popularly known as St. William's grass, agrimony, oraga, lacera grass, chicken grass or Greek grass.
It grows to a height of between 20cm and one meter, with erect stems from which sprout leaves composed of three to six pairs of greenish leaflets. The flowers are yellow, have five petals and arise from long spikes. It can be self-pollinated.
Uses
Apart from being able to be used as ornamental plant, it is interesting also how medicinal, since both the essential oil that is extracted from the stem and flowers and the infusion are astringent and decongestant for the digestive system. It is also used against diarrhea and dysentery.
What are their cares?
Image - Flickr / HermannFalkner / sokol
If you want to have a copy, we recommend that you provide it with the following care:
- Location: it must be outside, in full sun.
- Earth:
- Garden: grows in fertile, well-drained soils.
- Pot: universal growing substrate can be used.
- Irrigation: 3-4 times a week in summer, somewhat less the rest of the year.
- Subscriber: from early spring to late summer with ecological fertilizers, once a month.
- Multiplication: by seeds in spring.
- Rusticity: it resists frosts down to -17ºC, although it lives better in hot climates.
Enjoy your agrimony 🙂.