would smoke
Fumitory is a very resistant plant that can be enjoyed for its two main advantages: ornamental and medicinal.It has very good properties when it comes to growing it, which has allowed it to be planted in almost any climate and type of soil.
It does not produce flowers as such, but it does produce purple inflorescences that can be pleasing to the eye when not growing wild. Do you want to know a little more about it and assess whether it may be useful to you? Let’s see next.
Important points when sowing Fumaria:
- When? In spring.
- Where? Outdoors, in full sunlight.
- How do we prepare the land? It has no preferences or requirements that are remarkable. It is a rustic plant that adapts well to all types of terrain.
- How should we water? By drip.
- How often do you have to water? 1 or 2 times a week during the summer and 1 time a week the rest of the year.
- What care do you need? They are minimal since it does not require fertilization or pruning, beyond what you could do to extract parts that you will consume for medicinal purposes.
- What pests and diseases does it have? It is very resistant and is hardly affected by pests or diseases.
What is fumaria?
Fumaria officinalis is a wild plant with good characteristics that grows with hardly any care.In certain spaces, where the conditions are the most pleasant, it is able to grow vigorously, being cut down because it is treated as a weed.
However, it is a type of plant capable of offering us many benefits, especially in the medicinal field, which has made it gain some popularity. Other names with which you can find it are moth or blood of Christ.
What is the fumaria for?
Fumitory has different uses in the field of natural medicine, among which we can mention:
- Control and eradication of bacteria.
- Allergy treatment.
- Blood pressure control.
- Regulation of biliary processes.
Keep in mind that all of this is based on the results of treatments designed by some communities and other scientific studies. However, it is necessary to control the doses administered, especially when it is consumed fresh in infusions because they are not easy to measure.
This implies that a high consumption of fumaria could cause adverse effects that are not very well specified due to a lack of deeper studies.
What properties does fumaria have?
Fumitory has the property of containing alkaloids within its composition, protopine being the most abundant. This property helps to counteract certain types of pain and can be useful in the treatment of allergies.
Fumitory has also been associated with phenolic compounds that would play an important role in regulating the body’s oxidative processes.It is possible that there are other properties that are also beneficial medicinally, but until now they have not been exactly determined.
How to take care of a fumaria?
One of the main advantages of this crop is that it is very undemanding when it comes to care. It is resistant to drought because it usually grows in spaces where human attention is minimal, so you could work it with 1 or 2 irrigations in summer.
For the rest of the year, a weekly watering could be more than enough. And if it rains, don’t worry about adding more water.It does not need fertilization due to its good growth condition. However, you can always give it some during the summer to make it better.
If it is planted in a space of fertile land and that has already been worked with some organic fertilizer, it will not be necessary to apply fertilization later.
Pruning will only be aimed at eliminating areas in poor condition or when they are generated, perhaps dry leaves at times. Pruning can also be implemented to control its growth when it is planted in a small space.
As for exposure to sunlight, it can remain in the open field without major problems and also adapt to a semi-shaded space. And since it is very resistant to the presence of pests or diseases, you will not have to worry about enemy attacks that want to kill your specimen.
Where to plant fumaria?
Fumitory can be planted in almost any space and climate, as it has a high level of hardiness.In Europe it is very popular in Mediterranean areas, while in America and Asia it is found in many different spaces.
It likes to be in full sunlight, preferably in flat areas where waterlogging is unlikely to arise in the ground.
What characteristics does the fumaria have?
The characteristics of the fumaria are:
- It is an annual cycle plant.
- It does not produce flowers but inflorescences in the form of clusters that become showy due to the pronounced purple color.
- It does well in dry climates, so it is common to find it on flat land that is characterized by long droughts.
- It can be treated as a weed when it appears among other crops, the most pleasant for it being cereals and beets. In these cases it is discarded.
- Its name is associated with smoke because when it was prepared in infusions in ancient times it tended to irritate the eyes, as smoke does. In addition, its roots emit a certain aroma of smoke.
- It is native to Europe, but today it is found almost naturally in many areas of the world.
Fumitory planting is not very common in home gardens, unless it is available in the area of medicinal plants. However, one cannot lose sight of the fact that it is a species with exceptional characteristics for treating various health problems.
The fact that it hardly requires care makes it even more valuable, especially for those people who have little time or are just starting out in agricultural tasks.