ECLIPTA (Eclipta alba), also known as the Beauty Plant, is an important medicinal herb because of its hair-promoting and wrinkle reducing properties, and also its beneficial impact on liver disease, reducing inflammation and swelling and helping to combat hepatitis. It is a low-growing herbaceous annual with black-green stem and small white flowers on a long stalk that produces black seed heads. It is easy to grow and has a very neat habit that is not unattractive, so you should consider putting in the decorative border as long as your grow thickly. It grows freely in the tropics, and is hardy in zones 5-11. Self-seeding annual. 10 seeds. FOR YOUR HAIR: Eclipta is used in Ayurvedic medicine to restore thinning hair, prevent graying and/or darken hair (Grind in a mortar & pestle with a little pure olive oil and apply to whole head) - I can personally attest to its ability to stimulate hair growth, although it may not work for everyone. It is VERY soothing to the aging scalp. For hair darkening, you'll get some anti-gray effect by topical application but for best darkening it must be taken internally, and I have not yet tried that, nor do I know how to process for that purpose. By the way, if your shampoo contains SLS, it may be a contributing cause to your thinning hair. Try switching to a non-SLS shampoo before beginning the eclipta treatment. SLS (Sodium laureth sulfate, or sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLES), is a detergent and surfactant found in many modern personal care products (soaps, shampoos, toothpaste etc.). SLES is an inexpensive and very effective foaming agent that can irritate your scalp and even contains some low levels of the carcinogen 1,4-dioxane. So do yourself a favor and find a nice all-natural shampoo and/or body wash.
MEDICINAL PROPERTIES: The list of uses is pretty long. Eclipta has bio-active steroidal alkaloids. Its name "Bhringaraja" means "rule of the hair." In traditional Chinese medicine, it is used to treat liver and kidney disease, including reducing liver enlargement, jaundice and other associated ailments. The whole plant is useful. The tops are used to treat skin inflammation and in fact show excellent antifungal properties. It is also used to treat anemia, dysentery, eye diseases, asthma, mixed with honey as a cough syrup for children, and an extract has been shown to neutralize the venom of South American rattlesnakes! It is also said to destroy nematodes in the garden.
GROWING TIPS: Best germination is at 95 degrees F but can be sown in spring if soil is at least 68 degrees F. Needs partial shade (although mine grows well in a sunny patch with higher herbs around it); tolerates high altitudes; needs moisture (but has survived a hot Carolina summer well). Harvest entire plant when in flower and dry for use. If saving seed, when the tiny white flowers appear, you will want to keep a close eye on the seed heads. They go from green to full black seeds fairly quickly and then they're gone! See the last photo. Easy to collect the seeds though - just pinch a black seed head and keep a tight grip - you'll get them all that way until you deposit in a paper bag or envelope for additional drying. I also potted up some stray seedlings of this and they are doing nicely, so I will be bringing in for the winter to have on hand fresh.) One additional note, like peonies, this plant attracts ants in the flowering stage. I think they are important pollinators for this plant, as I did not notice them before it was budding, so please do not spray them. Just ignore them. Live and let live. CHERRYGAL HEIRLOOM GARDEN SEEDS & PLANTS offer hundreds of heirloom and vintage open-pollinated varieties. Most have histories dating back centuries and are tried and true producers. Some are rare, or threatened with extinction. When you grow a plant from heirloom seed and save that seed, you are participating in a practice that goes back for generations. Our grandparents and their grandparents grew these varieties. Often the seeds were prized possessions carried to the New World when they emigrated.
Ever notice how most seed catalogs require you to buy much more seed than you could possibly use in a season? If you have a budget for garden seeds, this limits your choices! Although seeds can be viable for longer than one growing season, it requires that they be stored at a consistent temperature and humidity. Few of us do this. CherryGal sizes its seed packets for the home gardener, because we know you may want to grow 5 different lettuces, or three different corns, or 50 different vegetables, herbs and flowers -- and don’t want to have to take out a second mortgage to pay for it all! We strive to keep our overhead as low as possible so our seed prices can stay as low as possible. So we do not have a huge staff, no printed catalogues -- just very fine fresh heritage seeds at unbelievable prices. CHERRYGAL SEEDS ARE A TREMENDOUS BARGAIN!
Another important reason to grow a large variety of plants is that one of the chief culprits in honey bee colony collapse disorder seems to be that their immune systems are weakened by the prevalence of commercial mono-cropping. In other words, bees pollinating only one variety crop have a diet equivalent to eating only bread. Growing an abundant variety of vegetables, herbs and flowers will help sustain our precious honeybees!
All seeds offered are FRESH stock, with high germination rates, tested by the growers and myself. Varieties are specially selected for home gardeners. If you want the flavor you remember from grandma's kitchen garden or the beauty of her cottage flowers, choose CHERRYGAL HEIRLOOM SEEDS.
ABOUT OPEN-POLLINATED SEEDS . . . All CherryGal Heirloom Seeds are heirlooms (dating at least 100 years) or vintage (mid-20th Century or older) varieties, with an occasional modern variety included which I believe merits special attention. All CherryGal Heirloom Seeds are OPEN-POLLINATED. This means saved seed will be true to the parent. Don't be dazzled by the never-ending array of hybrid seeds promoted by gardening suppliers. First, seeds from that produce will not grow true to the parent -- you have to keep buying the hybrid seed (get the picture?). Second, most hybrids are developed for market – not home -- growers with an emphasis on extended shelf life, storage and shipping qualities -- NOT flavor, texture, fragrance and all those other elements that home growers seek.
All CHERRYGAL HEIRLOOM SEEDS come from reputable growers (with a preference given to small independent farms) and wherever possible ORGANIC suppliers (so noted). We do not knowingly offer any genetically modified seeds, and customers should understand that in order to be designed “certified organic” a seed is by law not genetically modified. By buying CHERRYGAL SEEDS you are supporting the growing worldwide movement of SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE and with a little practice you will be able to save even more money in the future by growing these open-pollinated varieties and saving seed for next year.
Please Note: CherryGal Heirloom Seeds are guaranteed to be fresh to the season stock, but are not guaranteed as to results. Sorry, but there are too many variables in gardening that can impact germination so please do not ask for a refund, replacement or to return unused seed. I always recommend that if you are new to gardening, or to a particular type of plant or variety, that you grow just a few at first to test your germination method. Email with any questions - I always respond promptly. Having said all that, we think you will be pleased and would like to hear about your gardening success! SPECIAL NOTE TO MARKET GROWERS: We market to the home gardener, but we are happy to fill your order for multiples of any variety available. We do not offer bulk discounts. Also, we will not accept responsibility for crop failures, so please keep that in mind as purchase constitutes acceptance of 100% of the risk involved in growing any seed offered at CherryGal.com.
SHIPPING: This is important! Practiced gardeners know that the best time to order seeds is as early as possible in the season. I do not list varieties for sale that are not in hand, unless it is noted as "coming." I also add/subtract varieties all season long as inventory fluctuates, so check back often. We are constantly improving our fulfillment procedures to decrease the amount of time from order to shipping. We have added a SHIPPING BANNER to the front of the site and on every listing page which will give you the current time frame for shipping seeds. In off-season, seeds ship very quickly - usually the next business day. But as the prime season comes on, shipping can slow. Please consult this shipping banner before you purchase, so there will be no disappointments! We fulfill orders in the order received. Choosing priority or express shipping does not influence the speed with which your order is processed, only the speed with which it moves through the postal system. I package my seeds for shipping in a manner appropriate to the amount and type of seed - larger orders and larger seeds require more packaging. Whether you choose first class mail or priority shipping, your seeds will ship using a delivery confirmation number which will be supplied to you. Our checkout system is keyed to the US Postal System. For small seed orders, I recommend choosing FIRST CLASS mail at checkout. Larger orders (over 13 ounces) can ship either parcel post, or you may find PRIORITY MAIL to be less expensive, depending on your zipcode. (I gave up trying to figure out the US Postal System rates a long time ago).
I appreciate all my CherryGal.com customers, but have a special affinity for my seed customers. If you have a problem, please email me, using the contact links that are all over the website. Calling is likely to be a frustrating experience, as I do not have the staff to answer the phone, but your email will be promptly responded to.
Lastly, keep an eye out for my end of season sale which starts in June until all inventory is sold. It is always a bargain and helps us clear the shelves each season so that I am offering you only the freshest seeds year to year. Happy Gardening and don't forget to share your garden surplus with your local food bank.
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