Tootache Plant - Bullseye (Spilanthes) (Acmella oleracea) An annual flowering plant native to South America, also referred to as buzz buttons, electric daisy, paracress, jambs and eyeball plant. Flowers have a bright orange bulls eye on the tip of these otherwise tight clustered yellow flowers. Makes an excellent border plant and has many traditional health benefits such as suppressing mouth ulcers and numbing toothache pain, but it’s also used for reducing inflammation and gastrointestinal problems. All parts of the plant are utilized in these forms of herbal preparation. Toothache plant leaves are popular in salads along with other parts of the plant, also used globally in general food preparation. It is said that the strong, bitter taste adds a unique flavour to dishes. We also note a highly diverse number of pollinators that are attracted to the groovy bud-shaped flowers. Blooms well into October here in Nova Scotia. (Zone 5b) Plants can be dug in the fall and brought indoors to overwinter with moderate success.
75 seeds per packet $4.45
Growing Instructions: Start seeds 6 weeks before the last frost date. Sow 1/4" deep, and transplant outside in the spring after the last frost. Direct sowing is not as successful but can be done in late spring at 1/4" deep as soon as the soil can be worked and after the last frost. Sow about one seed at 1 inch intervals and then thin to a clump of 2-3 seedlings every 12" when seedlings are 2-3 inches tall.
Harvesting: Pick the leaves after the plant has reached several inches in height. Continue picking leaves during and after blooming. Fresh leaves will yield the best flavour.
