Mountain Avens, Eightpetal mountain-avens, Alaskan mountain-avens, Hooker's mountain-avens, Kamtsch
Dryas octopetala
Family: Rosaceae
What it is like
Bloom Color: White. Main Bloom Time: Early summer, Late spring. Form: Prostrate, Spreading or horizontal.
Dryas octopetala is an evergreen Shrub growing to 0.1 m (0ft 4in) by 1 m (3ft 3in) at a medium rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 2. It is in leaf all year, in flower from June to July. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Insects. It can fix Nitrogen. 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 moist soil.
Height (m): 0.1
Where it is found
Rocky places and high pastures, especially on limestone rocks.
Arctic and sub-arctic Europe, Asia and America. Mountains in south Europe, including Britain.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 1
The leaves are used as a tea substitute.
Tea: the various herb teas that can be used in place of tea, plus the genuine article.
Medicine
Rating: 1
The entire plant, harvested just before or at flowering time is astringent and digestive. An infusion is used as a stomach tonic, and also as a gargle for treating gingivitis and other disorders of the mouth and throat.
Antidiarrhoeal: Provides symptomatic relief for diarrhoea. Also see Astringent.
Astringent: Produces contraction in living tissue, reducing the flow of secretions and discharges of blood, mucus, diarrhoea etc.
Digestive: Aids digestion.
Other
Rating: 2
The plant makes a good ground cover for spring bulbs, though it is not strongly weed suppressive. Slow-growing at first, it then forms a dense mat. Plants should be spaced about 30cm apart each way and they form a carpet, the branches rooting at intervals along the stems.
Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.
Ground cover: Ground Cover
Nitrogen Fixer: Plants that fix nitrogen in the soil
How it is grown
Landscape Uses:Alpine garden, Ground cover, Rock garden. Easily grown in ordinary gardening soil, preferring a sunny position. Prefers limestone soils. Prefers a gritty well-drained peaty soil. A sub-shrub, producing annual stems from a woody base. A good plant for a rock garden, it succeeds on banks and on walls. A very ornamental plant. The sub-species D. octopetala hookeriana has been shown to produce nitrogen nodules on its roots due to a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, in the same way as peas and beans. It has been assumed here that the species type can also do this. Some of the nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby. Established plants strongly resent root disturbance. Special Features:Attractive foliage, Not North American native. For polyculture design as well as the above-ground architecture (form - tree, shrub etc. and size shown above) information on the habit and root pattern is also useful and given here if available. An evergreen. A clumping mat former. Forming a dense prostrate carpet with a limited spread. The root pattern is fibrous dividing into a large number of fine roots.
Propagating it: Seed - best sown in pots a shady cold frame or sheltered place outdoors as soon as it is ripe. Stored seed requires stratification and should be sown as soon as possible. The seed usually germinates in 1 - 12 months or more at 20°c. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Division of self-layered shoots in early spring. Cuttings of half-ripe wood with a heel, July/August in sharp sand in a frame.
Best place to grow: Ground Cover;
Habit: Shrub
Hardiness: 3-6
Growth: Medium
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: No shade
Moisture: Moist