Tags
anticancer, Bugleweed, Cuscuta approximata, Cuscuta californica, Cuscuta cuspidata, Cuscuta epythymum, Cuscuta gronovii, Cuscuta indecora, Cuscuta megalocarpa, Cuscuta pentagona, Cuscuta salina, Dodder, edible Dodder, field craft, field medicine, home remedies, Lycopus americanus, Lycopus amplectens, Lycopus asper, Lycopus europaeus, Lycopus uniflorus, Lycopus virginicus, militia supply, poutice for wounds, prepper plant, teat gallbladder problems, treat bleeding, treat elevated thyroid function, treat excessive menstruation, treat hyperthyroidism, treat impotence, treat jaundice, treat liver disorders, treat lymph node swellings, treat night sweats, treat nose bleeds, treat spleen disorders, treat spleen inflammations, treat urinary complaints, treatment for gout, treatment for jaundice, treatment for lung bleeding, treatment for spleen inflammations, treatment for swollen lymph nodes, treatment of snakebites, Water Bugle, Water Horehound
Medical disclaimer: always check with a physician before consuming wild plants, and make positive identification in the field using a good source such as Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West. Michael Moore also has a glossary of medical terms in his books, and maps in later editions. )
#136
Common Name: Bugleweed, Water Bugle, Water Horehound
Latin Name: Lycopus americanus, L. asper, L. unifloris(covered by Michael Moore) L. amplectens, L. europaeus, L. virginicus
Family: Labiatae
Range: http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?sybol=LYCOP4
All States except Hawaii; all of Canada except Nunavut and Yukon Main database.
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=LYAM All states except Nevada, Alaska and Hawaii; all of Lower Canada (Lycopus americanus)
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=LYAM2 Indiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, N. and S. Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. (Lycopus amplectens)
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=LYAS All States west of the Mississippi except Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana, plus Alaska, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New York and Massachusetts; In Canada; British Columbia to Quebec. (Lycopus asper)
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=LYEU Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, North Carolina, Virginia, W. Virginia, all States north of the Ohio R., Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylavia, New York and Massachusetts; In Canada; British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia. (Lycopus europaeus)
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=LYUN All States east of the Mississippi River except Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, all States on the west bank of the Mississippi except Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Nevada, and found in Alaska; In Canada; British Columbia to Labrador/Newfoundland and Northwest Territory. (Lycopus uniflorus)
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=LYVI4 All States east of the Mississippi R. and all on the west bank, plus Nebraska to Texas; In Canada; Ontario and Quebec. (Lycopus virginicus)
Warnings: None, except on L. viginicus and L. europaeus; on both: Known to cause the enlargement of the thyroid gland. Avoid in patients with thyroid disease or given concomitantly with thryroid treatment. Avoid during pregnancy.
Photos: (Click on Latin Name after Common Name.)
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#136(a)
Common Name: American Water Horehound, Water Horehound (Lycopus americanus )
Appearance and Habitat: Tiny, white , tubular flowers clustered in dense groups around a square stem in the axils of opposite leaves. The members of this group are non-aromatic mints and are typical of wet sites. The various species are distinguished on the basis of technical details. They are sometimes called bugleweeds because of the resemblance of each flower to a bugle. Other species have less coarsely toothed leaves. The genus name is from the Greek lycos (a wolf) and pous (foot) and refers to the likeness of some species leaves to a wolfs footprint. About 10 species of Lycopus occur in eastern North America; most are very similar, making identification difficult. (1)Low moist or wet places in N. America-Newfoundland to British Columbia, south to Florida, Texas, Utah and California. A perennial growing to 0.5 m (1ft 8in). It is hardy to zone 4. It is in flower from Jul to September.(2)
Edible Uses: Root – raw or cooked. This contradicts with the report in that the plant does not form tubers on its rhizomes.(3)
Medicinal Uses :The whole plant is used as an astringent, hypoglycaemic, mild narcotic and mild sedative. It also slows and strengthens heart contractions. The plant has been shown to be of value in the treatment of hyperthyroidism, it is also used in the treatment of coughs, bleeding from the lungs and consumption, excessive menstruation etc. It should not be prescribed for pregnant women or patients with hypothyroidism. The plant is harvested as flowering begins and can be use fresh or dried, in an infusion or as a tincture.(4)
Foot Notes: (1)http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=LYAM
Foot Notes: (2, 3, 4) http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Lycopus+americanus
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#136(b)
Common Name: Clasping Water Horehound (Lycopus amplectens )
Appearance and Habitat: Damp sands, peaty soils north to N. Carolina. Usually near the coast. North America-Massachusetts to Florida aqnd Mississippi. A perennial growing to 1.2 m (4ft).
Edible Uses:Root. No more details are given.
Medicinal Uses :None
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Lycopus+amplectens
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#136(c)
Common Name: Rough Bugleweed (Lycopus asper )
Appearance and Habitat: Marshes adnd wet shores, tolerating alkaline conditions in N. America – Michigan to Kansas, west to Manifotba, British Columbia, California and Arizona. A perennial growing to 0.6 m (2ft).
Edible Uses:Root – boiled or dried for later use.
Medicinal Uses :A decoction of the plant has been given to children as a laxative.
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Lycopus+asper
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#136(d)
Common Name: Gypsywort (Lycopus europaeus )
Appearance and Habitat: By rivers, streams and ditches, also in marshes and fens. Europe, including Britain, to the Mediterranean, north and central Asia. A perennial growing to 1 m (3ft 3in). It is hardy to zone 5. It is in flower from Jun to September, and the seeds ripen from Aug to October.
Edible Uses:Root – raw or cooked. A famine food, it is only used when all else fails.
Medicinal Uses :The fresh or dried flowering herb is astringent and sedative. It inhibits iodine conversion in the thyroid gland and is used in the treatment of hyperthyroidism and related disorders. The whole plant is used as an astringent, hypoglycaemic, mild narcotic and mild sedative. It also slows and strengthens heart contractions. The plant has been shown to be of value in the treatment of hyperthyroidism, it is also used in the treatment of coughs, bleeding from the lungs and consumption, excessive menstruation etc. The leaves are applied as a poultice to cleanse foul wounds. This remedy should not be prescribed for pregnant women or patients with hypothyroidism. The plant is harvested as flowering begins and can be use fresh or dried, in an infusion or as a tincture. Current uses are predominantly for increased activity of the thyroid gland and for premenstrual syndrome symptoms such as breast pain . The German Commission E Monographs, a therapeutic guide to herbal medicine, approve Lycopus for nervousness and premenstrual syndrome.
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Lycopus+europaeus
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#136(e)
Common Name: Bugleweed (Lycopus uniflorus )
Appearance and Habitat: Low, wet or boggy ground in the north of its range, wet woodland in the south. N. America- Newfoundland to British Columbia, North Carolina, Nebraska and Oregon. A perennial growing to 0.3 m (1ft). It is hardy to zone 5.
Edible Uses:Root – raw or cooked. The roots were a staple food for some native North American Indian tribes. The crisp white tubers can be eaten raw in salads or cooked in soups etc. When boiled for a short time they are said to make an agreeable vegetable, somewhat like Chinese artichokes
Medicinal Uses :The whole plant is antitussive and sedative.
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Lycopus+uniflorus
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#136(f)
Common Name: Bugleweed, Virginia Bugleweed (Lycopus virginicus )
Appearance and Habitat: Low damp shady ground in rich moist soils in Eastern N. America – New York and Wisconsin south to Georgia and Texas. A perennial growing to 0.6 m (2ft) by 0.5 m (1ft 8in). It is hardy to zone 5. It is in flower from Jul to September.
Edible Uses:Root – cooked.
Medicinal Uses :Bugleweed has sedative properties and is used in modern herbalism principally to treat an overactive thyroid gland and the racing heartbeat that often accompanies this condition. The whole plant is used as an astringent, hypoglycaemic, mild narcotic and mild sedative. It also slows and strengthens heart contractions. The plant has been shown to be of value in the treatment of hyperthyroidism, it is also used in the treatment of coughs, bleeding from the lungs and consumption, excessive menstruation etc. It should not be prescribed for pregnant women or patients with hypothyroidism. The plant is harvested as flowering begins and can be use fresh or dried, in an infusion or as a tincture. The root has been chewed, a portion swallowed and the rest applied externally in the treatment of snakebites. Current uses are predominantly for increased activity of the thyroid gland and for premenstrual syndrome symptoms such as breast pain . The German Commission E Monographs, a therapeutic guide to herbal medicine, approve Lycopus for nervousness and premenstrual syndrome.
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Lycopus+virginicus
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Now for Michael Moore
Appearance and Habitat: Of the species of Bugleweed in the west, most have hybridized and so differences are few. Bugleweed is in the mint family, which have square stems and opposite leaves. The flowers are tiny, either pink or white and grow from the leaf axis. It prefers a wet habitat, along streams and marshy areas. L. asper has rounded edges on its square stems and bluntly serrated leaves. It’s roots are semi-tuberous. L. americanus has squared stems and smooth mint type roots. It also has deeply cut, nearkly pinnate leaves. It is the most abundant Bugleweed in the west found at lower altitudes in northwest and in the middle mountain areas of Arizona and New Mexico. It is seldom found in high moutain creeks.
Medicinal Uses : Collect the leaves and stems at any time, rapping them into bundles of about a half inch. Allow them to dry in the shade or make a fresh plant tincture at 1 part fresh plant to 2 parts water and allow it a week before use. (15 – 40 drops up to 4 times a day as a tonic.) You can also make a make an infusion of the recently picked plant by boiling 32 part water to one part fresh plant, after the water boils, remove from the heat and place the plant into it. Let it sit for at least 6 hours and strain the plant out. You can take 2-3 ounces up to 4 times a day. Bugleweed is both a tonic and a nervine. As a sedative it isn’t a plant that gives you a ‘druggy’ feel. It just helps relaxation, larger doses do give a mild lethargy. Bugleweed is a good hemostat or coagulant for home use to treat nose bleeds, bleeding piles or excess menstruation. As a hemostat take 1/4 teaspoon to 1/2 teapoon of the tincture or a rounded teaspoon to a tablespoon in a cup of tea. Continue taking it after the bleeding has stopped, at least one more dose. Bugleweed is also a good treatment for elevated thyroid function brought on by stress. Women who suffer hot flashes or night sweats should take a teaspoon of tincture before bedtime.
Medical Plants of the Moutain West2nd Edition, by Michael Moore, pages 63-64; Publisher: Museum of New Mexico Press, Copyright 2003, ISBN: 978-0-89013-454-2
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#137
Common Name: Dodder, Devil’s Guts, Yerba sin Raiz
Latin Name: Cuscuta approximata, C. calfornica, C. cuspidata, C. gronovii, C. indecora, C. megalocarpa, C. pentagona, C. salina, C. suksdorfii,
Family: Convolvulaceae
Range: http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CUSCU All lower 48 States, Hawaii and all of lower Canada; Main database.
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CUAP2 All States from the Rocky Mountains west, except Arizona, plus North Dakota and Nebraska; In Canada; British Columbia.(Cuscuta approximata)
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CUCA All States west of the Rocky Mountains except Montana and New Mexico.(Cuscuta californica)
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CUCU2 Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, North Dakota to Texas, Iowa to Louisiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and Connecticut (Cuscuta cuspidata)
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CUEPCalifornia, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico, N. And S. Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Michigan, Kentucky and Virginia north through Maine (except Vermont and Delaware); In Canada; British Columbia, Ontario and New Brunswick. (Cuscuta epithymum)
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CUGR All States except Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, California, Nevada and Utah; In Canada; it’s found in Alberta to Quebec, plus New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.(Cuscuta gronovii)
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CUIN All States except Washington, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts and north to Maine; In Canada; Saskatchuwan.(Cuscuta indecora)
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CUME4 Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, North Dakota to Kansas, Minnesota and New York; In Canada; Saskatchewan and Manitoba. (Cuscuta megalocarpa)
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CUPE3 Hawaii, all of the lower 48 States except Wyoming, Maine and Vermont; In Canada; all lower Provinces except Alberta. (Cuscuta pentagona)
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CUSA Washigton, Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico; In Canada; British Columbia. (Cuscuta salina)
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CUSU3 California, Oregon and Washington. (Cuscuta suksdorfii)
Warnings: None
Photos: (Cuscuta approximata – Alfalfa Dodder) (Cuscuta californica – Chaparral Dodder)
( Cuscuta cuspidata – Cusp Dodder) (Cuscuta epithymum – Clover Dodder) (Cuscuta gronovii – Scaldweed Dodder) (Cuscuta indecora – Big Seed Alfalfa Dodder) (Cuscuta megalocarpa- Big Fruit Dodder) (Cuscuta pentagona – Fiveangled Dodder) (Cuscuta salina – Saltmarsh Dodder) (Cuscuta suksdorfii – Mountain Dodder)
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#137(a)
Common Name: Lesser Dodder – Cuscuta epythymum
Appearance and Habitat: Parasitic on heather and gorse. Europe, including Britain, from Norway to Spain and east to the Caucasus and central Asia. An annual growing to 1 m (3ft 3in). It is in flower from Jun to October.
Edible Uses: None
Medicinal Uses : Lesser dodder is considered to be a valuable though little used herbal remedy that supports the liver, being used for problems affecting the liver and gallbladder. The whole plant is antibilious, appetizer, carminative, cholagogue, mildly diuretic, hepatic, laxative and antiscorbutic. A decoction of the stems is used in the treatment of urinary complaints, kidney, spleen and liver disorders, jaundice, sciatica and scorbutic complaints. It also has a reputation as an anticancer agent and as a specific for gout. The plant should not be used by anyone suffering from haemorrhoids. A homeopathic remedy is made from the plant
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Cuscuta+epythymum
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#137(b)
Common Name: Big Fruit Dodder-Cuscuta megalocarpa
Appearance and Habitat: Grows on various shrubs and herbs, also occasionally found on cultivated crops. North America – Minnesota to Montana and south to Colorado. A perennial.
Edible Uses:Seed – parched and ground into a meal.
Medicinal Uses :None
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Cuscuta+megalocarpa
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Now for MIchael Moore who covers all Dodders listed except Cuscuta epythymum
Appearance and Habitat: Dodder seeds germinate in soil, but the roots eventually die as the plant twines around a host plant and sends out suckers that penetrate its host tissues and through which it obtains all its nourishment. The stems that appear thread like attach themselves to the host by use of small sucker like appendage and begin a life as a parasite. The threads suck the juice out of the host plant and eventually kill it. In the process, Dodder blooms, has seeds and the process starts over. Most Dodder is yellow to orange and forms huge mats on its host. In the west it occupies the upper foothills eating on a variety of other plants, with the exception of trees.
Medicinal Uses : When collecting Dodder, take as much of the mat as you can; trying to keep from gathering its host plant. It can be dried on a piece of newspaper or in a short cardboard box. Once it is dried chop it up. Dodder tea is an excellent cathartic laxative. It will help treat spleen inflammations and lymph node swellings as well. Use a rounded teaspoon of the chopped plant in a cup of water; boil the water, remove the plant and drink. This can be repeated every few hours. Use the tea only for a few days at a time and it might not be safe to use while pregnant. The Chinese use the seed to treat impotence.
Medical Plants of the Moutain West2nd Edition, by Michael Moore, pages 105 -106; Publisher: Museum of New Mexico Press, Copyright 2003, ISBN: 978-0-89013-454-2