Large-leaved avens, largeleaf avens • Geum macrophyllum ssp. macrophyllum
{macrophyllum = big-leaved}
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Photos by Kelly Fretwell (top left), Natalie Graham (bottom left), and Julie Mundy (right).
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Identification
Large-leaved avens is a perennial that grows to 1 m tall. The basal leaves, growing from the base of the plant, are on long stalks bearing small leaflets and one large heart- or kidney-shaped terminal leaflet. The stem leaves are on short stalks or attach directly to the stem; these leaves are either divided into three leaflets or are deeply lobed. The stem leaves and leaflets are pointed. The flowers are small and yellow, measuring just over 1 cm across.
This species consists of two subspecies (as described by E-Flora BC), or varieties (as described by the USDA Plants Databse); see the E-Flora species page for further information.
Habitat & Range
Large-leaved avens is found in open forests, from low to middle elevations. In British Columbia G. macrophyllum ssp. macrophyllum is found west of the Coast-Cascade mountains, while the species as a whole is found throughout much of North America as well as eastern Asia.
Human Uses
Many Indigenous Peoples used this plant throughout its range in the Pacific Northwest. The roots of the large-leaved avens were used by the Nuxalk to make a tea for stomach pains, while the leaves were made into a poultice for bils by the Nuxalk, Quileute, Snohomish and Quinault. The Quileute and Klallam also gave the leaves to pregnant women to chew during labour, because the plants begin to grow when seals give birth to their pups, while the Cowichan gave chewed leaves to pregnant women to 'straighten out her womb' and aid delivery. There are many more uses for the plant, including chewing leaves before visiting a dying person, making a tea to avoid conception (Chehalis) or for use as a diuretic (Squamish), and boiling roots to create a steambath to treat rheumatism (Haida). A further listing of ethnobotanical uses of this plant can be found here.
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/80908-Geum-macrophyllum-macrophyllum
Large-leaved avens is a perennial that grows to 1 m tall. The basal leaves, growing from the base of the plant, are on long stalks bearing small leaflets and one large heart- or kidney-shaped terminal leaflet. The stem leaves are on short stalks or attach directly to the stem; these leaves are either divided into three leaflets or are deeply lobed. The stem leaves and leaflets are pointed. The flowers are small and yellow, measuring just over 1 cm across.
This species consists of two subspecies (as described by E-Flora BC), or varieties (as described by the USDA Plants Databse); see the E-Flora species page for further information.
Habitat & Range
Large-leaved avens is found in open forests, from low to middle elevations. In British Columbia G. macrophyllum ssp. macrophyllum is found west of the Coast-Cascade mountains, while the species as a whole is found throughout much of North America as well as eastern Asia.
Human Uses
Many Indigenous Peoples used this plant throughout its range in the Pacific Northwest. The roots of the large-leaved avens were used by the Nuxalk to make a tea for stomach pains, while the leaves were made into a poultice for bils by the Nuxalk, Quileute, Snohomish and Quinault. The Quileute and Klallam also gave the leaves to pregnant women to chew during labour, because the plants begin to grow when seals give birth to their pups, while the Cowichan gave chewed leaves to pregnant women to 'straighten out her womb' and aid delivery. There are many more uses for the plant, including chewing leaves before visiting a dying person, making a tea to avoid conception (Chehalis) or for use as a diuretic (Squamish), and boiling roots to create a steambath to treat rheumatism (Haida). A further listing of ethnobotanical uses of this plant can be found here.
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/80908-Geum-macrophyllum-macrophyllum
References
Geum macrophyllum subsp. macrophyllum. large-leaved avens. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Ed.). E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Accessed on 27/04/2013.
Pojar, J. and MacKinnon, A. (2005). Plants of Coastal British Columbia, Revised. Vancouver, BC: Lone Pine Publishing. P. 185.
Authors and editors of page
Chanda Brietzke, Kelly Fretwell, and Brian Starzomski (2016).
Geum macrophyllum subsp. macrophyllum. large-leaved avens. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Ed.). E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Accessed on 27/04/2013.
Pojar, J. and MacKinnon, A. (2005). Plants of Coastal British Columbia, Revised. Vancouver, BC: Lone Pine Publishing. P. 185.
Authors and editors of page
Chanda Brietzke, Kelly Fretwell, and Brian Starzomski (2016).
