Giersch

Prefers damp shady conditions but succeeds in most soils. Prefers a well-drained soil, succeeding in sun or shade. Plants are hardy to at least -15°c. This species was cultivated in the Middle Ages as a medicinal and food plant. A very invasive plant, spreading freely at the roots, though it seldom sets seed in Britain. Once established it can be very difficult to eradicate because any small piece of root left in the ground can regrow[K]. If introducing this plant to your garden, it might be best to restrict the roots by growing the plant in a bottomless container buried in the soil. There is a variegated form of this species that is less invasive and is sometimes grown in the ornamental garden. Plants seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits. Special Features: Attractive foliage, Not North American native, Invasive, Naturalizing, Wetlands plant. In garden design, as well as the above-ground architecture of a plant, root structure considerations help in choosing plants that work together for their optimal soil requirements including nutrients and water. The root pattern is rhizomatous with underground stems sending roots and shoots along their length [2-1]. Bloom Color: White. Main Bloom Time: Early summer. Form: Prostrate, Spreading or horizontal.

Edible Parts: Leaves Edible Uses: Leaves - raw or cooked. An unusual tangy flavour, the majority of people we give it to do not like it[K] although some reports say that it makes a delicious vegetable. The leaves are best harvested before the plant comes into flower, they can be used in salads, soups, or cooked as a vegetable.

This species makes a good ground cover for semi-wild situations. Make sure that it has plenty of room since it can be very invasive and is considered to be a weed in many gardens. Landscape Uses: Border, Container, Foundation, Ground cover, Woodland garden.

Heimisch: Albania, Altay, Austria, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Brussels-Capital Region, Bulgaria, Central European Russia, Corse, Czechia-Slovakia, Denmark, East European Russia, Finland, Flanders, Flemish Region, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland [I]; Faeroe Isl. [I]; England (England, Wales, Isle of Man, Scotland, Outer Hebrides, Orkney Isl., Shetland Isl., Isles of Scilly); Ireland (Ireland, Northern Ireland); Denmark; Sweden; Finland; Netherlands; Luxembourg; Germany (Brandenburg, Berlin, Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Hessen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Schleswig-Holstein, Saarland, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Thüringen); Switzerland; Switzerland; Liechtenstein; Austria; Poland; Czech Republic; Slovakia; Hungary; Spain; France; Channel Isl. (Alderney, Guernsey, Jersey, Sark); Corsica; Italy; San Marino; Slovenia; Croatia; Bosnia & Hercegovina; Montenegro; Serbia; Kosovo; North Macedonia; Albania; Romania; Bulgaria; European Turkey; N-Greece; Estonia; Latvia; Lithuania; Belarus; C-European Russia; E-European Russia; N-European Russia; Ukraine; Crimea; Siberia (W-Siberia/Siberian Urals, SW-Siberia, Altay-Yenisey region, Baikal region [I]); Russian Far East [I] (Primorye [I], Sakhalin [I]); Kazakhstan; Northern Caucasus; Georgia [Caucasus]; Turkey (NE-Anatolia); North Korea; South Korea; Japan [I]; Australia [I] (New South Wales [I]); New Zealand [I]; Canada [I] (British Columbia [I], Manitoba [I], New Brunswick [I], Nova Scotia [I], Ontario [I], Québec [I], Saskatchewan [I]); St. Pierre et Miquelon [I]; USA [I] (Connecticut [I], District of Columbia [I], Delaware [I], Georgia [I], Idaho [I], Illinois [I], Indiana [I], Kentucky [I], Massachusetts [I], Maryland [I], Maine [I], Michigan [I], Minnesota [I], Missouri [I], Montana [I], North Carolina [I], New Hampshire [I], New Jersey [I], New York [I], Ohio [I], Oregon [I], Pennsylvania [I], Rhode Island [I], South Carolina [I], Tennessee [I], Virginia [I], Vermont [I], Washington State [I], Wisconsin [I], West Virginia [I]), Italy, Kamchatka, Kazakhstan, Korea, Krasnoyarsk, Krym, NW. Balkan Pen., Netherlands, North America, North Caucasus, North European Russia, Northwest European Russia, Poland, Romania, South European Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, Türkiye-in-Europe, Ukraine, Walloon Region, West Siberia Eingeführt: AM, AU, Alberta, Belgium, British Columbia, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Føroyar, Georgia, Great Britain, Iceland, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Ireland, Japan, Kentucky, Khabarovsk, Maine, Manitoba, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, New Zealand North, New Zealand South, Newfoundland, North Carolina, Norway, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Primorye, Québec, Rhode I., Sakhalin, Saskatchewan, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin