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Bowman's Root

Gillenia

Also called Indian Physics, Ipecacs

Bowman's Root
Photo: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown., Public domain

Bowman's root is a genus of two perennial herbs (subshrubs) from eastern North America, Gillenia stipulata and Gillenia trifoliata, grown for their airy white flowers in late spring and summer. They thrive in dry, open woodland conditions with acidic soil.

Family
Rosaceae (Rose family)
Grows as
Perennial
Light
Part shade, Full sun
Water
Water regularly while establishing, then once soil surface dries; avoid waterlogging.
Soil
Well-drained, acidic, humus-rich soil or woodland-style loam.
Temperature
Hardy to about -30 °C (USDA zones 4 to 8).
How easy
Easy

About

Gillenia (syn. Porteranthus) is a genus of two species of perennial herbs in the family Rosaceae, Gillenia stipulata and Gillenia trifoliata. Common names for plants in this genus include: Bowman's root, Indian-physic, American ipecac. This genus is endemic to dry open woods with acidic soils in eastern North America. Both plants are subshrubs with exposed semi-woody branches and serrated leaves; the larger lower leaves are divided into palmately arranged leaflets. Plants bloom in May, June, or July; blooms are composed of five slender white petals which are loosely arranged and typically appear slightly twisted and limp as if they were wilted. The flowers mature into small capsules. G. stipulata and G. trifoliata are often planted as ornamentals and used in herbal medicine.

Other Gillenia plants

Bowman's root

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Gillenia 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.

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