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Purple Avens
Geum rivale L.
Other names: Water avens
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Family: Rosaceae,
Rose
Genus: Geum
Description
General: perennial with short to rather extensive, scaly
rootstocks. Flowering stems mostly 40-60 cm tall, mostly
stiff-hairy but becoming softly short-hairy above.
Leaves: the basal ones several, up to 30 cm long,
pinnately divided, the leaflets mostly 7-15, once or twice
round- to sharp-toothed, the 3 at the end much larger,
obovate to wedge-shaped, up to 10 cm long. Stem leaves
2-5, alternate, reduced, the stipules leafletlike, the blades
pinnatifid below to deeply 3-lobed above.
Flowers: bell- to urn-shaped, about 3 to 7 in an open
cluster, the flowers nodding in the bud but becoming erect.
Calyx reddish-purple, the 5 lobes lanceolate, pointed, about
10 mm long, erect. Petals 5, rounded, yellow to pinkish,
not spreading, mostly 2-3 mm shorter than the sepals.
Stamens 100 or more. Styles bent at joint near tip.
Flowering time: Late June-July.
 Fruits: achenes, elliptic, 3-4 mm long, stiff-hairy, the
lower (persistent) joint of the style 6-8 mm long, stiff-hairy
below, hairless above, hooked at the tip, the upper segment
ultimately dropped, sparsely stiff-hairy, 3-4 mm. long.
Distribution
Stream banks, lake shores, bogs, and wet meadows, in w.
and c. parts of MT. Also from B.C. and Alberta to WA, s. in
the Rocky Mts. to NM, e. to MO, IN, NJ, and in Eurasia.
 Edible and Medicinal plant: see below. |
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(click on image for full size)
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(click on images for full size)
Edible Uses:
The dried or fresh root can be boiled in water to make a delicious chocolate-like drink. It can also be used as a seasoning. It is best harvested in the spring or autumn but can be used all year round. Fragrant, it was once used to flavor ales.
Medicinal Uses:
The root is anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, aromatic, astringent, diaphoretic, febrifuge, stomachic, tonic, and has agents that check bleeding by contracting blood vessels. An infusion is taken internally in the treatment of diarrhea (and is suitable for children to use), intestinal and stomach complaints, liver disorders etc, it is also applied externally as a wash to various skin afflictions - it is said to remove spots, freckles and eruptions from the face. This plant has similar properties but is less active than the related G. urbanum and so is seldom used medicinally. The root is best harvested in the spring, since at this time it is most fragrant. Much of the fragrance can be lost on drying, so the root should be dried with great care then stored in a cool dry place in an airtight container, being sliced and powdered only when required for use. The root is rich in tannin and is a powerful astringent.
Other Uses:
The dried root repels moths.
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