Circaea lutetiana, Großes Hexenkraut, Samen

100 seeds Circaea lutetiana

Circaea is a perennial plant with nonwoody stems also known as broadleaf enchanter’s nightshade and Enchanter’s Nightshade. The plant synonym is Circaeae Canadensis. The plant belongs to Onagraceae evening primrose family and Circaea genus. The species was originally from Eastern United States, Canada, Middle Asia, Siberia and Europe but has widely spread across the globe.

Circaea lutetiana is a lasting herbaceous plant with simple alternating leaves at opposite each other. The leaves grow on slender green stems. It has white flowers and the flowering occurs during the summer. It does not grow tall only about 20cm to 60cm. The leaves are spherical or sometimes notched at the base. The shape narrows as it approaches the tip and has serrated margins and its leaf stalk are hairy all round. The flower consists of two petals and stamens with lobed stigma and open ones are sparsely spaced along the stalk. The flowers are followed by fruits with 2 same sells which later become seeds that are relatively small with about 3-5mm in diameter. The small size and light weight makes it easier to be dispersed by zoochory. Strong winds often kill the aerial parts of the plant leaving the rhizome at the ground. The plant does well in moist soil and partial shade specifically in woodland conditions.

Circaea lutetiana was traditionally used as a herb and has also been used in Austrian medicine as tea or flavours of tea. The plant was also useful in cold maceration in ethanol. Some belief to be an effective cure to rheumatism, gout, fever and infections.