Łódź, Botanical Garden

It is native across most of Europe, North Africa, and temperate Asia. Edible plant - leaves raw or cooked; a yellow dye from the flowering stems is used as a food colouring; the roasted seeds are a coffee substitute; the chopped up plant can be used as a rennet to coagulate milk; the flowering tops are distilled in water to make a refreshing acid beverage. Herbal plant - the leaves, stems and flowering shoots are antispasmodic, astringent, diuretic, foot care, lithontripic and vulnerary; the plant is used as a remedy in gravel, stone or urinary disorders and is believed to be a remedy for epilepsy; a powder made from the fresh plant is used to soothe reddened skin and reduce inflammation whilst the plant is also used as a poultice on cuts, skin infections, slow-healing wounds etc; the plant is harvested as it comes into flower and is dried for later use; a number of species in this genus contain asperuloside, a substance that produces coumarin and gives the scent of new-mown hay as the plant dries; asperuloside can be converted into prostaglandins (hormone-like compounds that stimulate the uterus and affect blood vessels), making the genus of great interest to the pharmaceutical industry. Usable plant - a red dye is obtained from the root, which is rather fiddly to utilize; a yellow dye is obtained from the flowering tops, it is obtained from the foliage when it is boiled with alum; the dried plant has the scent of newly mown hay, it was formerly used as a strewing herb and for stuffing mattresses etc.