Abscess Root

September 1st, 2008

BotanicalName: Polemonium reptans
Family: N.O. Polemoniaceae
Common names: Abscess Root, Creeping or Spreading Jacob’s Ladder, False Jacob’s Ladder, American Greek Valerian, Blue bells, and Sweatroot.
Synonyms: American Greek Valerian. Blue Bells. False Jacob’s Ladder. Sweatroot.
Habitat: United States. Polemonium caeruleum, or Greek valerian, is a native of England. It has been found in swamps in New York, Vermont, and New Jersey.
History.:—This is a handsome plant, growing in woods, damp grounds, and along shady river banks, from New York to Wisconsin, bearing blue flowers in May. The root is the part used, and yields its virtues to water; it has not been analyzed.

Description:.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.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. Features light blue, bell-shaped flowers (to 3/4″ long) in loose, terminal clusters appearing on sprawling, weak stems in mid to late spring. Pinnately compound leaves with oval leaflets are arranged like the rungs of a ladder (hence the common name). Sometimes also commonly called Greek valerian.Bloom Time: April - June

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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.

Best grown in moist, humusy, well-drained soil in part shade. Tolerates full sun in cool summer climates. Although technically rhizomatous, plants do not creep as the common name somewhat erroneously suggests. Freely self-seeds in optimum growing conditions.

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.

Medicinal Action and Uses: Alterative, diaphoretic, astringent and expectorant.. A warm infusion of the root will, it is said, produce copious perspiration, and has been found serviceable in pleurisy, febrile and inflammatory diseases. The tincture, made of whiskey, in doses of from 1 to 2 fluid ounces, 2 or 3 times a day, has been found valuable in scrofulous diseases, and other chronic diseases where an alterative is indicated. The infusion is recommended in the bites of venomous snakes and insects, and in bowel complaints requiring the use of astringents. Reported to have cured consumption, but these cases were probably of severe bronchorrhoea. Useful in bronchial and laryngeal affections. The plant deserves investigation.

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 whisky.

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

Sources:
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/a/absce001.html
http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/plant.asp?code=L810#lbl_culture
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abcess_Root
http://www.henriettesherbal.com/eclectic/kings/polemonium.html