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Elecampane, Inula helenium, has been used as far back as by the ancient Greeks and Romans. A perennial herb, elecampane grows in fields, pastures and roadsides from Eastern Quebec to Minnesota, and south to Missouri and North Carolina. It also grows wild throughout Europe and the temperate zones of Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern India.
Elecampen can reach heights of 4 to 6 feet, with its stout, branched stem. The flowers are a bright yellow, blooming from July through September, and the flowerheads resemble sunflowers, hence its nickname, the Wild Sunflower.
Elecampen, also called Horseheal, and Scabwort, because it was effective for skin diseases in horses and sheep, and European settlers of North America valued it for its veterinary uses.
It is the root of elecampen that has been used for healing. Herbalists believe that the root has to be 2 years old before it can be used effectively. Ancient Greeks and Romans used it as a cold remedy, because it was thought to promote sweating and was also believed to be an expectorant. The Romans served it regularly as a digestive aid, and believed it was good at expelling melancholy and sorrow. The physician Galen wrote that elecampen root is “good for the passions of the hucklebone.”
The native species of elecampen in China is known as Hsuan-Fu-Hua, and Chinese herbalists have used the root to treat lung and throat complaints. European herbalists used it in the form of syrups, lozenges, and candy.
In traditional medicine, elecampen has been used for asthma, chest colds, and stomach ulcers, and research indicates that the root is antispasmodic and expectorant. Research is also being done on the plant’s antiseptic and antibiotic properties.
Elecampen is not only a beautiful garden plant, but a valuable healing herb as well.
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