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 | Spikenard Other Names: Spignet. Life of Man. Pettymorell. Old Man's Root. Indian Spikenard
Botanical Name: Aralia racemosa
Family: N.O. Araliaceae |
Description: |
| The much-branched stem grows from 3 to 6 feet high. Very large leaves, consisting of thin oval heart-shaped, double saw-toothed leaflets. Small greenish flowers in many clusters - blooming later than Aralia medicaulis (for which it is often substituted), July to August. Has roundish red-brown berries going dark purple. Root-stock thick and large, spicy and aromatic. Fracture of cortex short, of the wood also short and fibrous. Odour aromatic, taste mucilaginous, pungent and slightly acrid. Transverse section of root shows thick bark, several zones containing oil. The plant grows freely in the author's garden. |
Habitat: |
| North America, New Zealand, Japan. |
Constituents: |
| Volatile oil, resin, tannin, etc. |
Medicinal Usage: |
Stimulant, diaphoretic, alterative for syphilitic, cutaneous and rheumatic cases, and used in same manner and dosage as genuine Sarsaparilla. Much used also for pulmonary affections, and enters into the compound syrup of Spikenard. Fluid extract, 1/2 to 1 drachm. Infusion of 1/2 OZ. to a pint of water in wineglassful doses.
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Ancient Lore: |
SPIKENARD ARALIA RACEMOSA
It helps loathings, swellings or gnawings in the stomach.
Grows from three to six feet (0.9 to 1.8 m) high, with large leaves and small greenish flowers produced in clusters.
Where to find it: It is a native of India, but is also common in North Arnerica, Japan and New Zealand.
Flowering time: Mid to late summer.
Astrology: Not assigned to any planet.
Medicinal virtues. The powdered root is used. It is good to provoke urine and ease pains caused by stone in the reins and kidneys. The powder is drunk in cold water. It helps the jaundice and those who are liver-grown. It makes a good ingredient in mithridate and other antidotes against poison.
Pregnant women are forbidden to take it inwardly. The oil is good to warm cold places and to digest crude and raw humours. It works powerfully on old cold griefs of the head and brain, stomach, liver, spleen, reins and bladder.It purges the brain of rheum, being snuffed up the nostrils. It comforts the brains and helps cold pains in the head and the shaking palsy. Two or three spoonfuls help passions of the heart, swoonings and the colic.
Modern uses: The root is dried and powdered for use. The plant also contains an oil and a resin. It is used in much the same way as Sarsaparilla, previously described. An infusion is taken as a blood purifier in syphilitic, rheumatic and skin diseases. It is often combined in equal parts with Dandelion, Burdock and Yellow Dock. In making the infusion, use only 1/2 oz (14 g) of powder to 1 Pt
(568 ml) of boiling water.
A useful remedy for pectoral complaints, it can be made into a syrup and flavoured with Peppermint. It is particularly recommended for coughs and colds. Herbalists use a specially prepared fluid extract, of which the dose is 3o-6o drops. |
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