Butterwort, Common butterwort
Pinguicula vulgaris
Family: Lentibulariaceae
What it is like
Pinguicula vulgaris is a PERENNIAL growing to 0.1 m (0ft 4in). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 3. It is in flower from May to July. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs). Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers wet soil.
Height (m): 0.1
Where it is found
Boggy soils on wet rocks and damp places, avoiding shady places.
Europe, including Britain, from Iceland south and east to Spain, Macedonia and N. Asia. N. America.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 1
The plant can be used to curdle plant milks. The milk is poured over a strainer on which fresh leaves of butterwort have been laid. The milk is then left for a day or two until it sours when it becomes solid like yoghurt and is considered to be most delicious. A small quantity of the milk can be kept to inoculate further batches. Another report says that the leaves are infused in the milk for some time.
Curdling agent: used to curdle soya milk in making cheese.
Medicine
Rating: 2
Butterwort is little used in contemporary herbal medicine, though it was commonly used in the past as a purgative in Wales. Its main application is as a cough remedy. The leaves are antispasmodic and antitussive. The plant is an effective treatment for whooping cough. Used externally as a poultice, it has a healing effect on the skin. The leaves are harvested in early summer as the plant comes into flower and are dried for later use. A homeopathic remedy is made from the plant. It is used in the treatment of whooping cough and nervous throat irritations.
Antispasmodic: Relaxes muscular spasms and cramps, calming nervous irritation.
Antitussive: Prevents or relieves coughing.
Homeopathy: A plant used in homeopathic treatments.
Other
Rating: 1
A colouring substance is obtained from the leaves.
Dye: Plants that provide dyes.
How it is grown
Requires a boggy soil. Because of their insectivorous habit, plants are able to succeed on soils very deficient in nitrogen. Butterwort is an insectivorous plant, the leaves are sticky and trap insects which are then digested by the plant. Plants overwinter as a tight winter-resting bud with virtually no roots.
Propagating it: Seed - we have no information on this species but suggest sowing the seed in a greenhouse as soon as it is ripe in the summer if this is possible otherwise in early spring. Place the pots in shallow water to keep them moist. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first two growing seasons. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Division of the resting buds in the winter. Leaf cuttings.
Best place to grow: Bog Garden;
Habit: Perennial
Hardiness: 3-7
Growth:
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: No shade
Moisture: Wet