A perennial plant growing to 0.3m. The root of this plant sends up a number of smooth, slender, erect stems (as many as 15 or 20 or more), sometimes slightly tinged with red, from 6 inches to a foot in height, and generally unbranched. The lance-shaped, stemless leaves are thin in texture and from 1 to 2 inches long. The flowering spikes are borne in May and June on the ends of the stems and consist of rather crowded, small whitish, insignificant flowers. The lower flowers develop first and have already fruited when the upper flowers open.

Antidote, antiinflammatory, antispasmodic, cathartic, depurative, diaphoretic, diuretic, emetic, emmenagogue, expectorant, laxative, secretagogue, secretolytic, sialagogue, stimulant and tonic (root); abortifacient (bark infusion)

Plants For A Future

3,4-Dimethoxycinnamic acid, alpha-spinasterol, ferulic acid, methyl salicylate, mannose, p-coumaric acid, p-methoxy cinnamic acid, pectin, saponins, senegin, sinapic acid, stachyose, valerianic acid, xylose (root)

The root is indicated in treating a wide range of diseases which include amenorrhea, asthma, blepharosis, bronchitis, cataract, catarrh, cold, conjunctivitis, constipation, convulsions, cough, cramps, croup, cystosis, dermatosis, dropsy, dysmenorrhea, eczema, emphysema, enuresis, fever, hemorrhoids, hoarseness, laryngosis, mucososis, ophthalmia, pertussis, pharyngitis, photophobia, phthisis, pleurisy, pneumonia, pulmonosis, rheumatism, smallpox, snakebites, sore throat, swelling, syphilis, toothache, tuberculosis, typhoid, water retention and wounds.

James A Duke and Maryl Fulton. Handbook of Medicinal Herbs - 2nd Edition, P: 663, CRC Press July 2002.