Abscess Root(Polemonium Reptans)
August 7th, 2007Botanical Name: Polemonium reptans
Family: N.O. Polemoniaceae
Synonyms-: American Greek Valerian. Blue Bells. False Jacob’s Ladder. Sweatroot.
Habitat: United States.
Polemonium reptans is a flowering plant in the genus Polemonium, native to eastern North America. Common names include Abscess Root, Creeping or Spreading Jacob’s Ladder, False Jacob’s Ladder, American Greek Valerian, Blue bells, and Sweatroot.
It is a perennial herbaceous plant growing to 50 cm tall, with pinnate leaves up to 20 cm long with 5-13 leaflets. The flowers are blue to violet, 1.3 cm long, with a five-lobed corolla.
The dried roots have a slightly bitter and acrid taste. They are used internally in the treatment of coughs, colds, bronchitis, laryngitis, tuberculosis, feverish and inflammatory diseases, including skin conditions and poisonous bites. The root is rarely used in modern herbalism. It is harvested in the autumn and dried for later use
Description:—This plant grows from New York to Wisconsin, in woods, damp grounds, and along shady river-banks. It has creeping roots, by which it multiplies very quickly. The stems are 9 to 10 inches high, much branched, bearing pinnate leaves with six or seven pairs of leaflets. The nodding, blue flowers are in loose, terminal bunches.
The slender rootstock, when dried and used as the drug, is 1 to 2 inches long and 1/8 inch in diameter, with the bases of numerous stems on the upper surface, and tufts of pale, slender, smooth, wiry, brittle roots on the underside. The rootstock has a slightly bitter and acrid taste.
Medicinal Action and Uses: —Astringent, alterative, diaphoretic, expectorant. The drug has been recommended for use in febrile and inflammatory eases, all scrofulous diseases, in bowel complaints requiring an astringent, for the bites of venomous snakes and insects, for bronchitis and laryngitis and whenever an alterative is required. It is reported to have cured consumption; an infusion of the root in wineglassful doses is useful in coughs, colds and all lung complaints, producing copious perspiration.
The tincture of the root is made of whiskey.
Dosage: 1 to 2 fluid ounces, two or three times a day.
Disclaimer:
The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.
Resources:
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/a/absce001.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polemonium_reptans
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