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 | Fumitory Other Names: Earth Smoke. Beggary. Fumus. Vapor. Nidor.
Botanical Name: Fumaria officinalis
Family: N.O. Fumariaceae |
Description: |
A small annual plant, a common weed in many parts of Europe, including Britain, and naturalized in the United States.
The Fumitories, of which Corydalis and Fumaria are the only two fully British genera, are distinguished in the Order of Fumariaceae by having one of the petals swollen or spurred at the base, and a oneseeded capsule which does not open. The name is said to be derived either from the fact that its whitish, blue-green colour gives it the appearance of smoke rising from the ground, or, according to Pliny, because the juice of the plant brings on such a flow of tears that the sight becomes dim as with smoke, and hence its reputed use in affections of the eye. According to the ancient exorcists, when the plant is burned, its smoke has the power of expelling evil spirits, it having been used for this purpose in the famous geometrical gardens of St. Gall. There is a legend that the plant was produced, not from seed, but from vapours arising out of the earth.
The herb is small and slender, with weak, straggling, or climbing stems, decompound leaves, and clusters or spikes of small flowers of a pinkish hue, topped with purple, or more rarely, white. The leaves have no odour, but taste bitter and saline. The plant flowers almost throughout the summer in fields, gardens, and on banks, and in ditches, spreading with great rapidity. At Mudgee, in New South Wales, it was reported to have smothered a wheat crop. Shakespeare makes several references to the herb. An interesting peculiarity is that it is very seldom visited by insects. It is self-fertile, and sets every seed.
The flowers are used to make a yellow dye for wool. |
Habitat: |
| Europe and America. Parts of Asia, Australia and South Africa. |
Constituents: |
| The leaves yield by expression a juice which has medicinal properties. An extract, prepared by evaporating the expressed juice, or a decoction of the leaves, throws out upon its surface a copious saline efflorescence. Fumaric acid was early identified as present, and its isomerism with maleic acid was established later. The alkaloid Fumarine has been believed to be identical with corydaline, but it differs both in formula and in its reaction to sulphuric and nitric acids. It occurs in colourless, tasteless crystals, freely soluble in chloroform, less so in benzine, still less so in alcohol and ether, sparingly soluble in water. |
Medicinal Usage: |
A weak tonic, slightly diaphoretic, diuretic, and aperient; valuable in all visceral obstructions, particularly those of the liver, in scorbutic affections, and in troublesome eruptive diseases, even those of the leprous order. A decoction makes a curative lotion for milk-crust on the scalp of an infant. Physicians and writers from Dioscorides to Chaucer, and from the fourteenth century to Cullen and to modern times value its purifying power. The Japanese make a tonic from it. Cows and sheep eat it, and the latter are said to derive great benefit from it. The leaves, in decoction or extract, may be used in almost any doses. The inspissated juice has also been employed, also a syrup, powder, cataplasm, distilled water, and several tinctures.
French and German physicians still preferit to most other medicines as a purifier of the blood; while sometimes the dried leaves are smoked in the manner of tobacco, for disorders of the head. Dr. Cullen, among its good effects in cutaneous disorders, mentions the following:
'There is a disorder of the skin, which, though not attended with any alarming symptoms of danger to the life of the patient, is thought to place the empire of beauty in great jeopardy; the complaint is frequently brought on by neglecting to use a parasol, and may be known by sandy spots, vulgarly known as freckles, scattered over the face. Now, be it known to all whom it may concern, that the infusion of the leaves of the abovedescribed plant is said to be an excellent specific for removing these freckles and clearing the skin; and ought, we think, to be chiefly employed by those who have previously removed those moral blemishes which deform the mind, or degrade the dignity of a reasonable and an immortal being.' |
Ancient Lore: |
FUMITORY FUMARIA OFFICINALIS
The juice of the Fumitory and docks mingled with vinegar, and the places gently washed or wet therewith, cures all sorts of scabs, pimples, blotches and wheals.
A tender sappy herb with a slender weak stalk and straggling branches two or three feet (60 to 90 cm) long. The many small flowers are in spikes, of a reddish-purple colour.
Where to find it: Cornfields and gardens. Flowering time: Spring.
Astrology: Saturn owns the herb and presents it to the world as a cure for his own disease, and strengthener of the parts of the body he rules.
Medicinal virtues: The juice or syrup made of it, opens obstructions of the liver and spleen. It clarifies the blood from saltish, choleric and other humours which cause leprosy, scabs, tetters and itches and other outbreaks of the skin.
It eradicates the yellow jaundice through the urine which it produces in abundance. The powdered herb cures melancholy if given for some time. The distilled water taken with treacle is good against the plague and pestilence. With Honey of Roses, it is gargled to help sores of the mouth and throat.
Dropped into the eyes, the juice takes away redness and other defects in them, although it causes pain and tears in the process.
Modern uses: The dried herb is used in infusions as a tonic, diuretic and aperient. It is indicated in eczeniatous skin conditions, stomach upsets and liver derangements. Dosage of the warm infusion is 2 fl oz (56 ml) three times a day. |
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