Łódź, Botanical Garden

Native to grassland in temperate Eurasia and North Africa. Edible plant - the young seedpods are 'nibbled', caution is advised, see notes on toxicity. Herbal plant - flowers are antispasmodic, cardiotonic and sedative; roots are carminative, febrifuge, restorative and tonic; plant is used externally as a local anti-inflammatory compress in all cases of skin inflammation. Usable plant - nitrogen fixing; can be used as bioremediator to reduce boron and selenium levels in contaminated soils; orange-yellow dye is obtained from the flowers.