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Common Name: Single Delight

General Information

Moneses uniflora is a Evergreen Perennial up to 0.10 metres tall.
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and a medicine.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

Europe, including Britain, from Iceland south and east to Spain, N. Asia to Japan, N. America.

Habitat

Pine woods, the margins of moist woods in shady mossy places often in a bed of pine needles, avoiding calcareous soils[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Evergreen Perennial
Height	0.10 m
Pollinators	Bees, Flies, Beetles, Self
Self-fertile	Yes
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Prefers a moist sandy woodland soil[, ] in a cool position with partial shade[, , ]. Requires a peaty or leafy acid soil that remains moist in the summer[].
This is a very difficult plant to grow. It requires a mycorrhizal relationship in the soil and therefore needs to be grown initially in soil collected from around an established plant[]. It is also very difficult from seed as well as being intolerant of root disturbance which makes division difficult[].
This species is rare decreasing in the wild in Britain. Surviving populations are threatened, usually by commercial forestry[].

Edible Uses

Fruit[, , , , ]. No more details are given. The fruit is a capsule about 8cm wide[].
Seed - raw or cooked[].

Medicinal

An infusion of the dried plant has been used in the treatment of coughs and colds[]. The plant has been chewed, and the juice swallowed, as a treatment for sore throat[]. A poultice of the leaves has been used to draw out the pus from boils and abscesses, to draw blisters, to help reduce swellings and also to relieve pain[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -