Bergenia ciliata

Botanical Description

Bergenia ciliata is a perennial, low-growing plant forming a rosette of leaves 20 - 35cm long from a thick, rhizomatous rootstock. The plant spreads slowly at the roots to form a colony. In mild winter area the leaves are often evergreen, but they die back where winters are colder[ 200 Title The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. Publication Author Huxley. A. Publisher MacMillan Press Year 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5 Description Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed. ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for use as a medicine and sometimes also for food. The roots are a popular medicine in Nepal, where they are commonly gathered from the wild and sold in local markets[ 2020 Title Trade in Indian Medicinal Plants Publication Ethnobotany of India Vol 5., 321-345, 2018 Author D.K.Ved, S.Noorunnisa Begum, & K.Ravi Kumar Publisher Apple Academic Press; Oakville, Canada Year 2018 ISBN 978-1-77188-600-0 Description ]. The plant is also grown as an ornamental, where it can be used as a ground cover. The roots of this plant are commonly collected from the wild for medicinal purposes. The plant has not yet been evaluated in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, but overcollection in many areas of its range are a cause for conservation concern[ 272 Title Plants and People of Nepal Publication Author Manandhar. N. P. Publisher Timber Press. Oregon. Year 2002 ISBN 0-88192-527-6 Description 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. ].The plant is classified as 'Vulnerable' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013)[ 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. ].