Indian Physic (Gillenia trifoliata)

October 21st, 2009

Botanical Name: Gillenia trifoliata (MOENCH.)
Family: N.O. Rosaceae/Rose family
Synonyms: Bowman’s Root. American Ipecacuanha. Gillenia. Indian Hippo. Spiraea trifoliata. Spiraea stipulata.
Common name: Bowman’s Root, Indian-Physic, Ipecac
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Rosidae
Order: Rosales
Genus: Gillenia Moench
Species: Gillenia trifoliata (L.) Moench – Bowman’s root

Part Used: Root-bark. (The bark of the root.)
Habitat: Eastern United States.

Description: A perennial herb, indigenous to the United States, its irregular, brownish root gives rise to several stems 2 or 3 feet in height, and has depending from it many long, thin fibres. The leaves and leaflets are of various shapes, and the white, reddish-tinged flowers grow in a few loose, terminal panicles.
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It has irregular, brownish, somewhat tuberous root, having many long, knotted, stringy fibres. The several stems are from the same root, about two or three feet high, erect, slender, smooth, and of a reddish or brownish color. The leaves are alternate, subsessile; leaflets lanceolate, acuminate, sharply dentated; flowers are white, with a reddish tinge; and the fruit a two-valved, one-celled capsule. Seeds are oblong, brown, and bitter.

The dried root is reddish brown, the bark being easily removed and pulverized. Within, it is light, ligneous, and comparatively inert. The bitterness of the bark is extracted by alcohol, or by water at 212 degrees F., to which a red colour is given.

It grows well in the author’s garden, in slightly moist, rich soil, not in the full blaze of the mid-day sun.

Propagation: Division, seed. Division may be readily done in the spring (preferable) or fall. Seed is difficult to germinate and is best sown outside in the fall to satisfy the warm-cold stratification it requires. It will germinate the following spring.

History.: This species is found scattered over the United States from Canada to Florida, on the eastern side of the Alleghanies, occurring in open hilly woods, in light gravelly soil. The period of flowering is in May, and the fruit is matured in August. The root yields its virtues to boiling water and alcohol.

Uses: Gillenia is well utilized in the garden border, where it looks best massed although single specimens as background to perennials are quite attractive; native gardens, woodland edges; good seedheads for winter interest; suitable for cut flowers; combines well with Amsonia, Baptisia, ornamental grasses such as red-leaved or blue-leaved Panicum cultivars, perennial geranium in foreground

Constituents: The roots have been found to contain gum, starch, gallotannic acid, fatty matter, wax, resin, lignin, albumen, salts and colouring matter.

Gillenin was obtained by W. B. Stanhope by exhausting coarsely powdered bark with alcohol, evaporating the resulting red tincture to the consistency of an extract, dissolving this in cold water, filtering, evaporating, and finally drying on glass.

Half a grain caused nausea and retching.

Two glucosides were found, Gillein, from the ethereal extract, and Gilleenin, from the aqueous infusion.

Medicinal Uses: Tonic, emetic, slightly diaphoretic, cathartic, and expectorant.It resembles ipecac in action.The American Indians and early colonists knew the uses of the roots, the action of which resembles Ipecacuanha.

Recommended in dyspepsia, dropsy, rheumatism, chronic costiveness, and whenever an emetic is required. It is safe and reliable. It is useful in amenorrhoea, rheumatism, dropsy, costiveness, dyspepsia, worms, and intermittent fever. It may be used in all fevers where emetics are required.

Dosages: Of powdered root, as an emetic, 20 to 30 grains. In dyspepsia, as a tonic, 2 to 4 grains. As a sudorific, in cold water, 6 grains at intervals of two or three hours. It may be combined with opium. Frequent large doses of the infusion cause vomiting and purging.

Other Species:
Gillenia stipulata, taller and more bushy,with fewer flowers and roots more like those of Ipecac; grows as far west as Kansas.

It is, equally with G. trifoliata, the source of Gillenia.

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/i/indphy04.html

http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=GITR6

http://pss.uvm.edu/ppp/oct04per.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gillenia_trifoliata1.jpg

http://chestofbooks.com/health/herbs/O-Phelps-Brown/The-Complete-Herbalist/Gillenia-Gillenia-Trifoliata.html