Glabrous herb, 0.5-1.2 m high; stems few, erect from a + woody crown, stout, usually branching above. Leaves with margins sharply to finely toothed or often entire; basal leaves oblanceolate, 4-18 cm long, 10-30 mm wide, apex obtuse to acute, petiolate; cauline leaves much reduced, ovate to lanceolate to linear-oblong, broadly stem-clasping. Heads hemispherical, 2-5 cm diam., often translucent-resinous; involucral bracts oblong-ovate, resinous. Ray florets 15-45; ligule 8-15 mm long, yellow. Achenes + 4-angled, 2-3.5 mm long; pappus of several smooth awns.

Antiasthmatic, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, expectorant and sedative (dried leaves and flowering tops).

Plants For A Future

The plant is used in the treatment for bronchial asthma and for states where phlegm in the airways impedes respiration. It desensitizes the nerve endings in the bronchial tree and slow the heart rate, thus leading to easier breathing. It is also used to treat edema, whooping cough and cystitis. Externally, the plant is used to treat burns, poison ivy rash, dermatitis, eczema and skin eruptions.

Contraindicated for patients with kidney or heart complaints.

James A Duke and Maryl Fulton. Handbook of Medicinal Herbs - 2nd Edition, P: 783, CRC Press July 2002.