Description
The leaves are large and toothed, the lower ones stalked, the rest embracing the stem; blades egg-shaped, elliptical, or lance-shaped, as big as 30 cm (12 in) long and 12 cm (4.7 in) wide. Leaves are green on the upper side with light, scattered hairs, but whitish on the underside because of a thick layer of wool. The flower heads up to 5 cm (2 inches) broad, each head containing 50to100 yellow ray flowers and 100to250 yellow disc flowe The root is thick, branching and mucilaginous, and has a bitter taste.
Himalayan Elecampane is a rather stout erect plant with very large handsome golden-yellow flower-heads 10-12.5 cm across, much larger than those of Showy Inula. Ray florets are numerous, up to 5 cm long. Leaves are large, elliptic-lanceshaped.
Plant Specifications
| Common Name | Horse-heal, alanroot |
| Maximum Reachable Height | 3 to 6 feet |
| Flower Colour | Yellow |
| Bloom Time | July to September |
| Difficulty Level | Easy to grow |
Planting and care
To create more Inula plants they can be divided in the spring or autumn. It is easy to look after Inula, simply keep the soil moist and cut back the stems after flowering has finished in the autumn. It is necessary to dvide the plants every three years or so to maintain vigor.
Elecampane care
Seeds of Elecampane and other Inula species can be planted either at the beginning of autumn or before the last frost of spring; once sown the sees should be lightly covered with soil. Elecampane and other Inula like to grow in sunny areas of the garden that have good drainage, the soil type is not to important.
If you first plan to grow Elecampane seedlings indoors then they should be prepared about 7 or 8 weeks before the last frost of spring. The seeds will take anything from two to six weeks to germinate at 12 to 18 degrees centigrade.
| Sunlight | Full sun to part shade |
| Watering | Medium |
| Soil | Well-drained soil |
| Temperature | 55 to 65 degrees C |
| Fertilizer | Apply any organic fertilizer |
Elecampane special feature
The absence of well-marked radiate structure in the wood.
Elecampane uses
Ornamental Use:
- A perennial herb, elecampane grows in zone 4-9
- Hardy and forgiving, it grows anywhere from full sun to partial shade
- Often found near woods, elecampane can withstand dry soil, but thrives in nice, damp ground
- If you are looking for a plant for the ornamental or herbal healing garden, this is the specimen for you! It is hard to kill and certainly unusual enough to be a showpiece for any garden design
Medicinal Use:
- The plant is disinfectant
- It is also considered to be poisonous
- The root has been used to adulterate the roots of Saussurea lappa
- It contains 3% of an alkaloid that produces a fall in blood pressure and stimulates tone and peristaltic movements in the intestines
Culinary Use:
- The herb is also a hard working multipurpose herb
- It s lovely yellow flowers are reminiscent of the wild sunflower