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Bistorta officinalis
Also called Common bistort, Dragonwort, Easter giant, Easter ledger, Gentle dock, Osterick, Oysterloit
Adderwort, or common bistort, is a hardy perennial with pink flower spikes and a twisted rootstock, found in moist meadows and wetlands. It grows best in damp soil in sun or light shade.
Bistorta officinalis (synonym Persicaria bistorta), known as bistort, common bistort, European bistort, or meadow bistort, is a species of flowering plant in the dock family Polygonaceae native to Europe and northern and western Asia. Other common names include snakeroot, snake-root, snakeweed, and Easter-ledges.
This species is grown as an ornamental garden plant, especially the form 'Superba' which has larger, more showy flowers, and has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. It is suitable for use as a marginal or in bog gardens. Bistort has been cultivated as a vegetable, its roots, leaves, and young shoots being steamed or boiled. Many of its occurrences in the wild may be as a garden escape.
Bistort is a native of Europe but is often cultivated and has become naturalized in other parts of the world such as in the United States in New England. It is typically found growing in moist meadows, nutrient-rich wooded swamps, forest edges, wetlands, parks, gardens, and disturbed ground.
Bistort has been used traditionally for medicinal purposes. The roots are rich in tannic and gallic acids and both these and the leaves have been used to treat wounds.
Himalayan Fleeceflower · American bistort · Bistorta vacciniifolia · Alpine Bistort
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Bistorta officinalis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
