Wartime home grown anaesthetics. Part 2: Summer

In my last post in March, I described how Britain circumvented the German blockades in World Wars 1 and 2 by growing, or foraging, plant-based vital medications, and I showed how to start growing some of those plants.  We are now going to revisit the plants and see how they have got on in the last three months.



Henbane (Hyoscyamus niger)


This grows well in the Isle of Man climate and as you can see, this specimen has already started to flower.  The plants are still small (about 9 inches) but should reach a height of around three feet before setting seed.



Jimsonweed / Thornapple (Datura stramonium)


A plant of the sub-tropics, Jimsonweed can be an aggressive invasive weed in warm climates but is difficult to grow in cooler climates like the Isle of Man.  This is the third year I have tried to cultivate it  here.  My last two attempts were unsuccessful, but this plant is doing well.  I learned from my previous failures that Jimsonweed needs room temperature (around 20 degrees Celsius) to germinate, needs a soil with lots of nutrients, and is highly vulnerable to slug and snail attack.  You can see in the photograph that I have protected it with a copper slug band around the stem, and in a belt-and braces approach, formed an outer circle of copper plant labels.  Apparently slugs and snails do not like crossing copper because it reacts with their slime. 



Jimsonweed seedlings often struggle to free themselves from their seed capsules, which are quite hard, as in the photograph above.  When you see a seedling like this, with the tips of the primary leaves pinned together by the seed capsule and unable to open, it is tempting to give it a helping hand by pulling the seed capsule off.  It is best to resist this temptation as it is easy to tear the delicate leaves or even decapitate the plant.  The seedling will usually sort itself out if you leave it alone.



Some plants including jimsonweed and opium poppies (see below) struggle to cope with the strong, cold, salt-laden winds prevalent on the Isle of Man.  These have a dehydrating effect, sucking moisture out of the leaves faster than the roots can replenish it.  This results in yellowing leaves which turn brown and shrivel at the tips and edges, or in the worst cases, the death of the plants.  The effects of wind can be mitigated by growing the plants against a wall or fence, or protecting them with plastic sheeting.  The above photograph, taken last year, shows the effect of wind damage to a jimsonweed plant.    



White bryony / English mandrake (Bryonia alba)


As in previous years, this has taken off like a rocket and is now doing its best to invade the neighbouring allotment.  Its root contains a combination of toxic alkaloids similar to those found in Mandrake (see below) which does not grow nearly as well in cool climates, and is frost-sensitive.  



The above close up photograph shows the small, delicate flowers of white bryony.  Note the swelling behind the flower; later in the year this will become the berry containing seeds.



Mediterranean / European mandrake (Mandragora officinarum)


Doing reasonably well, although like Jimsonweed, it is very attractive to slugs and snails and is also protected by a copper band.  It grows much more slowly than white bryony and (at least in the Isle of Man climate) is not really practical to grow in bulk for extraction of the active ingredients. 



Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum)


Poppies grow wild throughout most of Europe, mainly as two species: the red Flanders or field poppy (Papaver rhoeas) and the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum).  The opium poppy is a little more difficult to grow and is sensitive to the strong cold winds on the Isle of Man (see above).  These specimens are sheltered by a fence and have not flowered yet.



Hemlock / Poison hemlock (Conium maculatum)


After three months there is nothing happening in the Hemlock seed tray.  The problem with trying to grow wild plants from seed is that they often seem to have a will of their own and will only germinate if the conditions are exactly right.  What the right conditions are, only the seed knows.  Seeds can remain dormant for many years, and in some cases, centuries.  I don’t think I am going to get any Hemlock plants in this tray any time soon.


If you do a Google search for “Hemlock”, many of the search results refer to Eastern Hemlock or Hemlock Spruce, a slow growing conifer common in North America.  This is an unrelated species which has nothing in common except the name.



Monkshood / Wolfsbane (Aconitum spp)


Doing well and about to flower.  There are over 250 species of Aconitum, and you can see two different species growing here: note the differently shaped leaves.



Deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna)


These plants are still quite small but can grow up to 5 feet high under the right conditions.  They prefer a chalky or well-limed soil.  The white granules you can see in the photograph are garden lime.  They are sensitive to frost and the roots often die over the winter: I lost one of my three plants in this way last winter.


You may remember that in Part 1 of this series, I mentioned a British wartime publication, The Cultivation of Medicinal Plants, from the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (1942).  I have now digitised the booklet and you can download a free PDF copy here:



In it you will find more information about cultivating these and other medicinal plants.


And finally, some other medicinal plants I have been cultivating are worth a brief mention:


                                                    American Mandrake


                                                        Autumn crocus


                                                        Common valerian


                                                                Foxglove


                                                            St Johns wort


                                                        Woody nightshade


I will give you a further update on the progress of my plants in September.


Slaynt vie, bea veayn, beeal fliugh as baase ayns Mannin




Comments

  1. Thanks a lot for these regular posts. And for the digitalized manual. I contacted you three years ago ( Irish GP in the West of Ireland here) about your post collapse guide. I’m now retired. I have grown my veg for 25 years in this windswept beautiful Connemara. I have also grown medicinal herbs for the last 10 years. They are very useful for family and neighbors. I am getting used to do without pharmaceutical products. I am going to start some toxic plants this year due to the remoteness of my location. I am taking notes from your posts. Did you find it easy to find seeds and roots for them ?

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for your kind words. To begin with, I got most of my seeds and roots from Poyntzfield Herb Nursery in Scotland:
      https://www.poyntzfieldherbs.co.uk
      but they are also available from numerous other suppliers. If you send me a mailing address, I will be happy to send you a selection of my own seeds (click on the "Visit profile" link on the blog to send an email).
      Here is an interesting fact which I have just discovered: if you do a Google search for "opium poppy seeds for sale" almost nothing comes up, but if you search for "papaver somniferum seeds for sale" suddenly you find there are lots of suppliers. Make of that what you will.

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