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Common Name:

General Information

Lysichiton camtschatcense is a perennial plant that can grow up to 0.75 metres tall.
It is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and source of materials.

Known Hazards

The plant is rich in calcium oxylate, this is toxic and if consumed makes the mouth and digestive tract feel as though hundreds of needles are being stuck into it. However, calcium oxylate is easily destroyed by thoroughly cooking or drying the plant.

Botanical References

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Range

E. Asia - Japan.

Habitat

Bogs and wet places, also by ponds and lakes[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Habit	Perennial
Height	0.75 m
Pollinators	Insects, Self
Self-fertile	Yes
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Requires a wet or damp humus-rich soil in full sun or semi-shade[]. Grows well by water or in the bog garden[]. Succeeds in shallow water.
Hardy to about -15°c[]
Young plants require protection from slugs[].
Plants are slow to establish at first, taking some years, but they can then become naturalized and self-sow[]. The flowers are sweetly scented according to one report[], whilst another says that the plant emits an unpleasant animal smell[].
Hybridizes with L. americanus[].

Edible Uses

Young shoots - they must be thoroughly cooked otherwise they are poisonous[].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

The plants have very large leaves and form a slowly spreading clump. They can be grown as a ground cover, spaced about 1 metre apart each way[].

Propagation

The seed is best sown as soon as it is ripe in pots in a cold frame[]. Keep very moist, preferably by emmersing the pot in 2 -3 cm of water[]. Germination is usually good, taking place within 1 - 2 months at 15°c[]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in trays of water in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division in the middle of autumn or mid to late winter, but no later than this because the plant will be coming into growth.