Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium
| Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 2' |
| Blooms: | Early Fall-Mid Fall |
| Native to: | |
| Medicinal Rating: | |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium (common name: white balsam)
Propagation: Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in early summer.
Cultivation: Requires a dry soil in an open sunny position[1].
Plants are sometimes grown in the wild garden[1]. The leaves have a pleasant aromatic smell and an aromatic, slightly bitter, astringent agreeable taste[2].
Range: Eastern N. America - Ontario to Georgia and Alabama.
Habitat: Pine woods and clearings[3] in dry open habitats[1].
Medicinal: The whole plant is anaphrodisiac, antiphlogistic, astringent, diaphoretic, expectorant, vermifuge[2][4]. It is used internally in the treatment of throat ulcers, chest complaints, intestinal and respiratory catarrh etc and is also applied externally as a poultice to bruises, indolent tumours etc[2][5].
A tea made from the leaves and flowers is a mild nerve sedative, diuretic and antispasmodic[6].
The fresh juice is considered to be aphrodisiac[6]. It is anaphrodisiac according to another report[2].
The aromatic dried flowers are used as a filling for pillows, having a sedative effect which is beneficial to consumptives[2].
A homeopathic remedy is made from the plant[2]. This has proved to be of benefit in the treatment of sciatica, lumbago and some forms of arthritis[2].
Usage: The plant is used as an insect repellent, it is placed in bedmats, books etc[7] and in the linen cupboard[8].
The flower heads are used as a stuffing material for mattresses[8].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: Gnaphalium obtusifolium. L. G. polycephalum. Michx.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Chevallier, Andrew. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants. Dorling Kindersley, 1996.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
- ↑ Stuart, George. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei Southern Materials Centre.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Coffey, Timothy. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File, 1993.