Herbs & Herbal Remedies @ Green Papaya

Grindelia Cemporum or G. Robuste

COMPOSITAE

gum plant, gumuieed, scaly grindelia, rosin weed

Grindelia is the most important medicinal plant of California and the Southwest discussed here. Study of the medicines of California Indians shows that this plant was not introduced into the commercial drug trade until the late nineteenth century; it was therefore unknown to early herbalists.

The drug grindelia is derived from at least three species (G. camporum, G. squarrosa, G. humilis), but all are similar perennial herbs that grow about two feet high and are terminated by heads of yellow-rayed flowers. The leaves are pale green, leathery, and rather rigid. They are coarse, sticky plants, characterized by white, gummy exudations upon the buds and flower heads. Grindelia may be found on plains and dry hillsides west of the Mississippi.

An infused or decocted extract of Grindelia acts as an expectorant and sedative, with an action resembling that of atropine. Its principal use has been in bronchial catarrh where there is a tendency to asthma. It has also been of value in whooping cough. Most references mention the possible use of Grindelia for relief from ivy poisoning. Recommendations are noted for cystitis and catarrh of the bladder.

Meyer’s Herbalist gives, as dosage, one cupful a day, a mouthful at a time, of an infusion made with 1 teaspoonful of the leaves and flowering tops cut fine. The herb is harvested and dried in July, when it is just coming into flower; the upper third of the plant which contains the sticky bud is used.

Gossypium Herbeceutn

MALVACEAE

common cotton, upland cotton, or sea-island cotton

From Virginia southward, cotton, originally a wild plant, has escaped cultivation to a great extent. A textbook of pharmacy discusses the value of the expressed cottonseed oil for culinary and medical use (in the preparation of liniments); the value of the purified cotton wool as an absorbent and protective dressing; and use of the cotton for filtering. The freshly gathered, dried, root bark, known to druggists as Gossypii radicis cortex, is also used. Grieve’s Herbal gives its preparation: “Boil 4 ounces of the inner bark of the root in 1 quart of water down to 1 pint: dose, 1 full wineglass (4 ounces) every thirty minutes” (presumably until the quart is used).

All reliable authorities agree that this is a valuable medicine as an emmenagogue, and especially good as an oxytocic or abortifacient. For the latter purpose it is recommended, “in place of ergot, being not so powerful but safer; it was used largely in this way by the slaves in the south.” Another writer says, “Used in cases of difficult or obstructed menstruation. It seems especially useful in sexual lassitude.” In another reference note is made of the fact that a preparation of cottonseed increases the milk of nursing mothers; a strong decoction of the root is said to check hemorrhages.

Gnaphalium Obtusifolium

COMPOSITAE

cudioeed, caiiooi, everlasting, silver leaf, rabbit tobacco, cotton weed

This weed is found in almost any part of the United States. It grows in dry and usually infertile fields and lawns, and produces white, cottony flowers in August. Medicinally, the entire plant is dried, and an infusion of it made at the rate of a teaspoonful of the dried plant to a cupful of boiling water.

Cudweed is a member of the Daisy family, of wide distribution, and usually rated to have healing qualities. In India and China, this and another species are regarded as antimalarial. Reputedly, it can drive away moths and other insects. In Mexico and France, several species are mentioned as valuable in bronchitis and other conditions.
In Culpeper’s Complete Herbal we read that “Pliny saith, the juice of the herb taken in wine and milk is a sovereign remedy against the mumps and quinsy … whosoever shall so take it shall never be troubled with that disease again.” And the name cudweed comes from an old statement that the plant, when fed to cattle, will restore the ruminating faculty.

A more reputable source for the value of Gnaphalium, Youngken notes that it contains a volatile oil and a bitter principle with tannin and other constituents that are used “in domestic medicine, for pulmonary and intestinal catarrh and for diarrhea and locally as a fomentation for bruises.” He also mentions that similar values may be found in pearly everlasting (Anaphalis margariiacea] which is botanically a close relative.

In some of the references the assignment vulnerary is given to these plants, for without doubt, their astringent quality aids healing externally as well as internally. Thus we see that a little and unimportant weed may have unsuspected values.

Glechoma Bedereces Syn, Nepeie

LABIATAE

ground-ivy, gill-over-the-ground, ale hoof, cai’s-iooi, haymaids, robin-run-in-thehedge, creeping Charlie (or fenny), runaway-robin

Like so many wild plants, this European one was introduced by the early settlers, and spread widely. A ground-hugging perennial vine, its long, trailing stems root at intervals and bear downy, ivy-shaped leaves of dark green. In rich soil its growth is as strong as its pungency, and it can be considered a weed. Pretty, purplish blue flowers appear on short, upright branches through the summer.

The common name ale hoof, seemingly so strange, relates to the medieval use of the plant, before the discovery of the value of hops, to impart the desired bitter flavor to beer, to prevent it from turning sour, and to clear it. This use ended four hundred years ago, but the name remains.

Its properties are astringent, diuretic, and tonic, and it is considered valuable for coughs accompanied by much phlegm. Either the fresh or dried plant may be used for an infusion, made with 1 teaspoonful of leaves to 1 cup of boiling water, drunk a cupful or more per day. It is surely not harmful and possibly helpful.

The pungency of the crushed foliage quickly affects the head, and it is said that the juice of the herb, snuffed up the nose, will cure headaches when all other efforts have failed.

Grieve’s Herbal says of Glechoma in part:
The expressed juice may also be advantageously used for bruises and “black eyes.” It is also employed as an antiscorbutic, for which it has a long-standing reputation. Combined with Yarrow or Chamomile Flowers it is said to make an excellent poultice for abscesses, gatherings and tumours.

Another writer quotes a gypsy friend, “And us people, if so be as we’re hurt with a cut or a sprain, makes an ointment of ground ivy along with chickweed.”

Geranium Macula Tum

GERANIACEAE

cranesbill, alum rool, wild geranium, wild cranesbill, slorksbill, dove’s foot, chocolale flower, spotted cranesbill

This is an erect, hairy perennial about 18 inches tall, with divided leaves and rosy purple flowers. It grows in rich woods in the eastern United States from Canada to Georgia. The pointed, upright seed cases are distinctive, as are the flowers.

Medicinally, the leaves may be gathered and dried to use in an infusion as a mild astringent. The parts used in the drug trade are the knobby rhizomes, which, when dried, produce a purplish brown powder, whence comes the name chocolale flower. Having a high tannin content, this powder is a valuable astringent, given in average doses of 15 grains in cases of dysentery, diarrhea, and cholera. Infusions of the leaves are said to be useful as a gargle for sore throat and for ulcerated mouth.
The percentage of tannin in all parts of the plant is very high, and extracts of this may be used in home tanning on an experimental basis. The leaves and roots should be collected just before the plant flowers, when the tannin content is at its highest.

One note of caution. Because of the plant’s highly astringent nature, extracts or decoctions of cranesbill may cause constipation if used for an extended period.

Gaultberia Procumbens

ERICACEAE

teaberry, boxberry, partridgeberry, wintergreen, checkerberry, pigeon berry, clink; called by Canadians, tea of Canada

A shrubby, low-growing (five to six inches) evergreen, found most often in association with other members of the same family such as laurel and rhododendron, the teaberry has single, white flowers in early July followed by red berries in fall and winter. These mealy and spicy berries are one of the rewards of a Christmas-time hike through the woods of the eastern United States.

The medicinal property is in the leaves, which contain oil of wintergreen, extracted through distillation. Before the discovery of the synthetic methyl salicylate, or the substitution of a similar oil from the sweet birch Betula lenta (in some ways better than the product of Gaultheria) the demand for the plant as medicine was much greater than at present.

The methyl salicylate from Gaultheria, or whatever source, is a valuable tonic, stimulant, astringent, and aromatic, and the extracted oil is used in the treatment of rheumatism. But because of the equipment necessary to extract the oil, it could hardly be considered a home remedy. Potter suggests that an infusion of the leaves (1 ounce to 1 pint of boiling water) be employed in diarrhea and as an infant’s carminative.

For all practical purposes, the best use of oil of wintergreen is as a flavoring agent to cover up undesirable tastes. However valuable it may be in certain conditions, the nature of the pure oil is such that, if taken in continued large doses, it can cause inflammation of the stomach, vomiting, and high pulse.

Fraxinus Americana

OLEACEAE

American white ash

The white ash is a sturdy tree common to much of the United States, and is easily identified through its compound leaves, with small flowers coming in panicles from the axils of the preceding year’s leaves. Familywise, the ash is related to the olive, the privet, and the lilac.

Medicinally, the value of the American white ash is not so great as that of the species which grows in Italy. Each year the United States receives from Italy thousands of pounds of a substance called manna, the exudation of the bark of F. ornus and about the best laxative known for children.

The active principle in manna is called mannite, or mannitol, which, in lesser proportions, is also found in the American white ash and in other species. From this we may deduce that the American white ash has similar laxative values. Some writers recommend the use of an extract of the bark, while others prefer an infusion or decoction of the leaves.

One writer, for instance, says that “the bark is tonic, cathartic, diuretic, febrifuge, diaphoretic, astringent, antiarthritic, and alterative. It is said to be mildly laxative and has been used as an adjuvant to other laxatives and to disguise their taste. It has been prescribed for vertigo, headache followed by fever…”

In the middle Atlantic states the leaves of some ash species are valued as a cure for snakebites, but one wonders if this is not the remnant of an Elizabethan tale, for we find Gerard quoting from an earlier source, “The leaves of this tree are of so great a vertue against serpents, as that the serpents dare not be so bolde as to touch the morning and evening shadows of the tree…”

The ash tree was, says Grigson, sacred in Europe and Britain, and many powers were ascribed to it, including the curing of warts and the ruptures of children. To accomplish this, a young ash was split open and the naked, ruptured baby passed through the opening. The ash was then bound up, and as the ash healed, so, supposedly, did the rupture of the child.

Fragaria Vesca

ROSACEAE

wild strawberries - the common, American, European, field, or native strawberry

There are several species and varieties of the strawberry, but for medical purposes the differences are unimportant. An infusion of the leaves or roots (1 ounce of dried material to 1 pint of boiling water) is said to be a mild astringent and diuretic, valuable especially for diarrhea in children and for disorders of the urinary organs. Contrariwise, the fruit eaten in quantity is likely to have a mildly laxative action. For some, it is poisonous to the extent that it may cause digestive disturbances or a skin rash, similar to smallpox in appearance.

Grieve’s Herbal recommends strawberries as a dentifrice and cosmetic.

The juice of the fresh fruit is retained for a few minutes on the teeth which are then cleaned with warm water containing a pinch of bicarbonate of soda. Cosmetically, a cut strawberry rubbed over the face after washing will whiten the skin and remove a slight sunburn. One assumes that the more acid the berries, the more efficacious the remedy.

Aside from the medicinal values, we agree with one ancient writer who said, “The Berries themselves are excellent food to refresh and comfort the: fainting spirits, and to quench thirst” and, we add, the wild ones most of all.

Eupatorium Purpureum

COMPOSITAE

gravel root, joepye, jopi root, queen of the meadow, trumpet weed, kidney root, purple bonesei, Indian gravel root, motherwort, niggerweed, quillwort, hemp weed, purple thorough wort

This native of all but the most southern part of the country grows in damp soils, rich but waste places, and old fields. About six feet tall, it is distinguished by its purplish-to-white head of flowers in August. The Latin name Eupatorium is said to have come from Mithridates Eupator, a king of Pontus, the first to use the plant medicinally. “Joe Pye” is said to be the name of an American Indian who cured typhus fever with extractions of the root.

The rhizome is used medicinally. Decoctions or infusions have been prescribed for dropsy, strangury, gravel, and other urinary disorders. It is mentioned also as “especially valuable as a diuretic” with astringent and alterative properties, and as a nervine or tonic.

The roots smell like old hay and have a slightly bitter, aromatic taste.

One writer gives a dose as “two to four fluid ounces of the decoction taken three or four times a day.” It may be considered an auxiliary to other tonics, emetics, and diuretics. While not poisonous, overdoses cause nausea, pains in the stomach and bowels, increased heart action, and a run-down feeling. This species of Eupatorium is closely related (as the common names indicate) to the better-known boneset, and these plants have been considered interchangeable.

Eupatorium Perfoliatum

COMPOSITAE

boneset, thoroughwort, [eoenoori, Indian sage, aguetoeed, vegetable antimony, sweating plant

Boneset is a plant of swamps, marshes, and low grounds, found commonly throughout the United States. It grows three to four feet high, erect, with hairy, opposite leaves which seem to be perforated by the stem, and bears large heads of white flowers. The name, which seems to refer to its value in helping bones to set, actually came from the plant’s value in treating colds and the flu, which, in early days, were called “break-bone fevers.”

Our knowledge of its benefits came from the Indians, for Dr. Barton, in 1798, reported that “this medicine is used by our Indians in intermittent fevers,” and this use is confirmed by other contemporary writers. Its present-day value is attested to by country people; one correspondent wrote the author:

A bowl of boneset tea was often taken at night to break up a cold, which it usually did; it surely is bitter enough so it should do something.

The virtues mentioned for boneset in Jacobs’ Index of Plants are:

… a tonic stimulant, promoting digestion, strengthening the viscera and restoring the tone of the system; it is a valuable sudorific, alterative, antiseptic, cathartic, emetic, febrifuge, corroborant, diuretic, astringent, deobstruent, and stimulant. The warm infusion is used as an emetic, sudorific, and diaphoretic in fevers and constipation. Also used in rheumatism, typhoid fever, pneumonia, catarrh, dropsy, influenza, excellent for colds, fevers, dyspepsia, jaundice, debility of the system, et cetera.

What more could one want than this? Boneset has been found in official listings for nearly a century and a half and could well be rated a basic medicine in the American herbal list.

For use, the upper leaves and flowering tops are dried, and infusions made at the rate of 1 ounce of the dried herb to 1 pint of boiling water, taken in doses of a wineglassful. Take hot to induce perspiration for colds, and (in stronger doses) as an emetic.

Euonymus Stropurpureus

CELASTRACEAE

wahoo, burning-bush, arrow wood, Indian arrow wood, spindle-tree, skewer wood

This ten-foot shrub grows throughout the middle and eastern United States, a native of this country and cultivated elsewhere. It has beautiful fall foliage, interesting four-sided, green branches, and purplish flowers and fruit. There are several other members of the family, including the vining bittersweet with its orange red fruit, so often gathered for decoration.

Although the family is beautiful, it is also poisonous. The leaves of the vining bittersweet are said to be poisonous to horses, and those of E. airopurpureus to sheep and other animals. But, as with so many poison plants, it is useful in small doses. The bark of the root (stem bark is sometimes used) is mentioned as a tonic, hydragogue, cathartic, diuretic, laxative, and in official medicine, as a cholagogue.

All authorities indicate the necessity for caution in the use of this drug. The recipe in Grieve’s Herbal suggests that a decoction be made of the dried roots at the rate of 1 ounce to 1 pint of water, simmered slowly and a small wineglassful taken two or three times daily. An even weaker decoction is suggested by Meyer in his Herbalist.

The related E. europaeus is called louse-berry because the small fruits were baked, powdered, and sprinkled on the hair of small children to kill head lice; the same value is known for the other American species, E. americanus.

Eriodictyon Californicum

HYDROPHYLLACEAE

Yerba Santa, mountain balm, consumptive’s weed, gum bush, bear’s weed, holy herb

The flora of the west coast of the United States is in many ways distinct from that of the major part of our country. It is (regrettably) impossible to include a great number of plants which have been used medicinally by Indians and early settlers of those areas. Yerba Santa, one of the best known of these western plants, still bears the Spanish name given to it by the padres, who learned of its value from the Indians.

This “holy herb,” an evergreen shrub with lance-shaped leaves, grows on dry hillsides in lower California. The plant has a resinous exudation of the leaves and stems. Considered in reputable reference works, it seems to be chiefly valuable as an expectorant, used for bronchial and laryngeal troubles and for chronic pulmonary conditions. Combined with Grindelia robusia, which is also described in this book, Yerba Santa is recommended for asthma and hay fever. Special note is taken of its value as an aromatic syrup used as a vehicle for bitter-tasting quinine (which, as Jesuit’s bark, was also associated with the Spanish priesthood). The part of the plant used is the leaves, and the extraction is best made with alcohol. It is said that an excellent treatment for asthma is to smoke cigarettes made from the dried leaves.

Erigeron Canadensis

COMPOSITAE

Canadian fleabane, horse-weed, hog-weed, butter-weed, pride weed, colt’s tail

Fleabane is a purely American plant which was taken to Europe around 1640 and became so well known that mention of it appears in seventeenth-century herbals. It is presently included in herbals from both France and Mexico, though it does not seem to have appeared in the official pharmacopoeias.

The name fleabane might indicate some value as an insecticide, but Culpeper’s Complete Herbal says it was given because the seeds are as small as fleas. A tall weed, it sends up unbranched stems from three to six feet high when in flower. Its small flower heads have white-to-greenish unattractive, daisylike blooms. Fleabane grows in waste places throughout the United States and over much of the temperate zone.

Medicinally, it is a pungent tonic, astringent, and diuretic, claimed to be efficient in diarrhea, gravel, diabetes, and scalding urine, and in hemorrhages of the bowels.iuterus, and of wounds. It may be taken as an infusion made of 1 teaspoonful of the dried, powdered plant in 1 cupful of boiling water, a wineglassful as a dose. The whole plant is used, to be gathered when in bloom and carefully dried.

Several writers indicate that the extracted oil is similar to oil of turpentine, but less irritating. It is recommended for pimples, and Parkinson said long ago that fleabane “bound to the forehead is a great help to cure one of the frensie.”

There are a number of other species of Erigeron, all of which are said to possess the same medicinal properties, though in lesser degree. To put the plant in perspective, it would appear that its use and recommendation over three centuries afford it a reputable place in our list of medicinally valuable plants, even though orthodox medical men have not chosen to take much notice of it.

Equisetum Arvense

EQUISETACEAE

horsetail, scouring rush, joint weed, bull pipes, shauebrush, bottlebrush, pewterwort, deoil’s-guis, field- or common horsetail

There are a number of varieties and forms of E. aroense, and possibly a dozen species of Equisetum, some taller, thicker, or otherwise diversified. According to most botanists, flowering plants began with this genus. Horsetails are generally considered primitive plants; they represent a flowering plant which is directly related to the quite different flora of the Carboniferous age. In Gray’s Manual, Equisetaceae is the first listed family.

Horsetail contains some unknown factor which is poisonous to animals, and this indicates caution in using it medicinally. Actually, there is no great evidence of the value of Equisetum in home medicine, and it is not mentioned in pharmaceutical texts. The statement made in Grieve’s Herbal may best represent the possible values:

The barren stems only are used medicinally, … used either fresh or dried… Diuretic and astringent. Horsetail has been found beneficial in dropsy, gravel, and kidney affections …. Besides … a strong decoction acts as an emmenagogue… The decoction applied externally will stop the bleeding of wounds.

Even assuming these values, the author prefers to use some of the other recommended plants for such purposes.

Yet horsetails (any of the species) do have a value in the home, for the names scouring rush and pewterwort indicate the presence of silica, which makes horsetails of value for scouring pots and pans, and Equisetum can be so used by campers. The useful part of the plant is the leafless, sporebearing flowering stalk which appears before the feathery-foliage growth.

Dryopteris Filix-mas

POLYPODIACEAE

male fern, knotty brake, male shield-fern, sweet brake, shield root, marginal shieldfern, European aspidium

This plant has definite medicinal value which has been recognized for centuries and which entitles it to its present place in the United States Pharmacopoeia. Properties found in the rhizome of this fern are definitely deadly to intestinal worms, and it is therefore valuable as an anthelmintic, teniacide, or worm medicine. Containing a poison, the drug must be used with certain cautions.

The male fern is found growing everywhere in the United States and Europe. For medicinal purposes the useful species include not only D. Filix-mas but also the similar marginal shield-fern or evergreen woodfern, D. marginalis. The roots of the fern are dug in the autumn and carefully cleaned of all the root hairs} old leaf bases, and dirt, and then split and dried carefully at a temperature of 70 degrees F. The best extraction of the oleoresin is obtained through the use of ether. Meyer’s Herbalist says that infusions may be made and taken a little at a time. Better medical practice indicates the use of an ethereal extract given at night in capsule form at the rate of a single dose of one drachm, to be followed by a purgative other than castor oil. A cathartic should be taken some time before the dose is administered, and complete fasting should be observed for one or two days. Such a treatment should effect a cure in one dose. However, all instructions must be carefully followed to avoid poisoning. Also, the roots lose their potency after a year.

The seeds (spores) of this fern are so tiny as to be almost invisible, and the “Doctrine of Signatures” states that use of the fern will confer invisibility. Hence, in Henry IV, act 2, scene I} IIWe have the receipt of fern seed; we walk invisible.”

Diospyros Virginiana

EBENACEAE

persimmon, winter plum, date-plum, possum-wood, simmon

The common persimmon is found all over the United States except in the northern tier of states and in subtropical zones. It grows in dry fields, old woods, and clearings, and is a small tree rather than a shrub. Its spring flowers are followed by plumlike, green berries which remain very puckery to the taste until the frost or complete ripeness turns them into a yellow to reddish, delicious, soft, and luscious fruit. Those who know the delights of eating the cultivated and related Japanese persimmons will recognize this as its American counterpart.

The Latin name, Diospyros, means “fruit of Jove” or “heavenly plant.”

Those names may have come from the delightful quality of the fruit, or more probably, because a European species of Diospyros is said to have caused oblivion, thus transporting one to heaven, the land of Jove.

The medicinal values of persimmon are not too great. However, the obvious astringent properties found in the fruit are also present in the bark, which has been used by country people although not so noted in the pharmacopoeias. The bark is astringent, styptic, and, due to the tannin content, very bitter. It is used in diarrhea, dysentery, uterine hemorrhages, and as a bitter tonic. The outer bark is mentioned as corroborant, antiseptic, and as a febrifuge. The inner bark is extremely bitter and a very good astringent tonic, useful in sore throats, fevers, dysentery, and diarrhea.

The ripe fruit has been used in making a beer or brandy distillation. It is subastringent, nutrient, antiseptic, and, possibly, anthelmintic. The unripe fruit, combined with alum, may be helpful in an ulcerated sore throat and also as an internal astringent, just as is the bark.

Dioscorea Villose

DIOSCOREACEAE

yam, wild yam root, colic root, China root, devil’s bones, dioscorea, rheumatismroot

In spite of the name yam, this plant is not of the same family as our edible sweet potato or yam, which is found in the family of the morning glories. There are, to be sure, certain resemblances, such as heart-shaped leaves, a climbing habit, and underground tubers, but there is no close botanical relationship. An herbaceous plant found in thickets, open woods, and in damp soils, dioscorea grows in the United States west to Kansas. It is collected commercially in the herb-gathering sections of the southland.

For medicinal use, the branched and crooked roots are dug in autumn, dried, and powdered. A decoction is prepared by adding 1 ounce to 1 pint of water. A dose is half of the mixture, since it acts readily. Reportedly, the roots lose their potency after a year and new roots should be gathered annually.

The wild yam root is not an official medicine, but its principal reputation is as a cure for bilious colic and as. a diuretic and expectorant. In addition to these values, Jacobs’ Index of Plants says that it is also for:

… spasms, cramps, flatulence, after-pains, and affections of the liver. The roots and rhizomes are antispasmodic, diaphoretic, uterine tonic, expectorant, antirheumatic, intestinal stimulant, and emetic. It is also a remedy for intestinal irritations. It has proved to be a valuable remedy for cholera-morbus, spasm of the diaphragm, spasmodic asthma, dysmenorrhoea and kindred afflictions.

Grieve’s Herbal further says that it is especially valuable for the nausea of pregnant women and for cases of spasmodic hiccough.

Digitalis Purpurea

SCROPHULARIACEAE

foxglove, fairy thimbles, thimbles, folk’s glove

Without exception, references to foxglove state that Digitalis should be used as medication only under the direction of a physician. Not a true native wilding, and not yet widely found on roadsides, foxglove is popular in gardens everywhere for its delightful flowers. It is also known as an important medicine; therefore mention is made of its properties to satisfy curiosity and to provide adequate cautions.

It seems curious that the true properties of this plant should not have been discovered until well into the eighteenth century. Early herbalists suggested only external use, and not until 1775 did an English doctor learn of its value from a countrywoman who used it. From then on its benefits were scientifically explored.

Digitalis is used in neuralgia, insanity, febrile diseases, acute inflammatory complaints, palpitations of the heart, and asthma and as a cardiac stimulant and diuretic.

For medical use, the leaves are picked from the second-year growth, just before the plant comes into flower. In some places in the United States the leaves are grown commercially on herb farms. What is not always realized is that the action of Digitalis is slow at first, and the effects are cumulative. Grieve’s Herbal summarizes:

[Digitalis] is liable to accumulate in the system and to manifest its presence all at once by its poisonous action, indicated by the pulse becoming irregular, the blood pressure low and gastro-intestinal irritation setting in. The constant use of Digitalis, also, by increasing the activity of the heart, leads to hypertrophy of that organ.

Datura Stramonium

SOLANACEAE

jimsonweed, Jamestown weed, datura, stramonium, apple of Peru, thorn-apple, stinkweed, deoil’s trumpet, angel’s trumpet

Datura, although poisonous, is often mentioned as a valuable medicine. There is some disagreement about its origin, but it is now found everywhere. The wild plant usually grows around barnyards and in waste but fertile places. It has long been an official drug; it was used in ancient India, whence, presumably, came its name datura. Used as a poison, it stupefied or killed prisoners.

Every part of the plant seems to be dangerous, especially the green seeds which, having harmed children attracted by them, gave the plant such a bad name.

The leaves (the parts used medicinally) are collected just as the plant is in flower, and dried.

An anodyne, narcotic, and antispasmodic, jimsonweed is sometimes substituted for belladonna (Atropa belladonna). Its greatest value seems to be in treatment of the spasmodic coughing of asthma, for which its smoke may be inhaled. But even this, if overdone, may cause violent reactions. Jacobs says, in his Index of Plants, that it has been used as a “sedative, debilitant, hypnotic, mydriatic, and is reputed to be useful in nervous affections … the leaves are applied to boils and ulcers.”

Meyer adds, “Although it may have valuable uses in the hands of a skilled herbalist, it is unsuited to domestic use and should not be employed in home medication.”

Cytisus scoparius (formerly Geniste scoparius)

LEGUMINOSAE

broom, scotch broom, broom tops, link, banal, hay-weed

Although it is usually found in sandy} coastal areas} it may at times be found elsewhere} escaped from cultivation or planted in gardens.

Broom is a three-foot shrub composed of narrow} leafless} green branches which} in June} bear yellow} pealike flowers. The common name suggests how easily one might make a hearth-broom from the gathered stems} and it has been used in this way for centuries.

There are many references to its use in the oldest of herbals} and always for its properties as a purgative and diuretic. The fresh} green tops are picked just before flowering} when they contain the maximum of active principles. As an official medicinal herb} the tops are dried and powdered} but they may be given as a simple infusion of 1 ounce of dried tops to 1 pint of boiling water} taken frequently} a wine glassful at a time.

One of the active principles which is separated into crystals is a drug, Sparteine sulphate} which “is used as a cardiac depressant to quiet an overactive heart} in functional palpitation} et cetera.” Such a drug is not, however, a home remedy.

There are a number of references to an infusion of broom with dandelion roots as a beneficial medicine in bladder and kidney infections and in chronic dropsy. A recipe in Grieve’s Herbal is:

One ounce Broomtops and % ounce Dandelion roots are boiled in one pint of water down to half a pint, adding toward the last, % ounce bruised Juniper berries. When cold, the decoction is strained and a small quantity of cayenne added. A wineglassful is taken three or four times a day.

It should be noted that in large doses this plant is emetic and poisonous, and that it seems to be especially poisonous to animals.