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Caprifoliaceae FAMILY

Morina longifolia

Morina longifolia

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Perennial
Growth—

Requires a fertile, humus-rich, moisture retentive but well-drained sandy or gritty soil in a sunny position[1, 2, 3]. It grows best with a little shade and shelter from high winds[1]. Prefers a slightly acid soil[4]. A very ornamental plant[1], the leaves are spicily aromatic[5]. A fairly easy plant to grow, though it tends to be short-lived[5]. It is hardy to about -17°c when growing in a perfectly drained soil[5, 3]. It grows best in the western side of Britain, sometimes succumbing to cold in the south-east of the country[6]. Requires protection from slugs[PFAF]. The flowers open in the evening and are pollinated by moths. If pollination does not take place by morning then the top of the pistil curves over and effects self-pollination[7]. Resents root disturbance[3].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in individual pots to minimize disturbance to the tap root. Overwinter in a well ventilated cold frame[3]. Sow stored seed in early spring in a cold frame[2]. Plant out into their permanent positions in the summer when the plants are at least 15cm tall. Division in spring is possible but very difficult. Divided plants are often extremely slow to re-establish[3]. It is best carried out immediately after the plant flowers[8]. Root cuttings in individual pots in late autumn. Plants are quick to produce foliage but slow to form roots. They are best left in pots for 12 months before planting out[4]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Morina+longifolia>

Pollinators

Moths, Self

References

  1. [1]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  2. [2]Popular Hardy Perennials. — Sanders. T. W. · Collingridge · 1926 · ISBN - ↩︎A fairly wide range of perennial plants that can be grown in Britain and how to grow them.
  3. [3]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  4. [4]Focus on Plants. Volume 5. (formerly 'Growing from seed') — Bird. R. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1991 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Corydalis spp.
  5. [5]Perennials. Volumes 1 and 2. — Phillips. R. & Rix. M. · Pan Books · 1991 · ISBN 0-330-30936-9 ↩︎Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.
  6. [6]Perennial Garden Plants — Thomas. G. S. · J. M. Dent & Sons, London. · 1990 · ISBN 0 460 86048 8 ↩︎A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.
  7. [7]Wild Flowers of Kashmir — Coventry. B. O. · Raithby, Lawrence and Co. · 1923 · ISBN - ↩︎A nice little pocket guide to 50 wildflowers of Kashmir. This is part one of three, we have not seen the other two volumes
  8. [8]The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers — Brickell. C. · Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. · 1990 · ISBN 0-86318-386-7 ↩︎Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.
  9. [9]Flowers of the Himalayas. — Polunin. O. and Stainton. A. · Oxford Universtiy Press · 1984 · ISBN - ↩︎A very readable and good pocket guide (if you have a very large pocket!) to many of the wild plants in the Himalayas. Gives many examples of plant uses.
  10. [10]Tibetan Medicinal Plants — Tsarong. Tsewang. J. · Tibetan Medical Publications, India · 1994 · ISBN 81-900489-0-2 ↩︎A nice little pocket guide to the subject with photographs of 95 species and brief comments on their uses.
  11. [11]Forest Flora of Srinagar. — Singh. Dr. G. and Kachroo. Prof. Dr. P. · Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎A good flora of the western Himalayas but poorly illustrated. Some information on plant uses.
  12. [12]Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). — Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. · Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. · 1986 · ISBN - ↩︎Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.
  13. [13]Plants and People of Nepal — Manandhar. N. P. · Timber Press. Oregon. · 2002 · ISBN 0-88192-527-6 ↩︎Excellent book, covering over 1,500 species of useful plants from Nepal together with information on the geography and peoples of Nepal. Good descriptions of the plants with terse notes on their uses.
  14. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎