Contents:
Common Names | Parts Usually Used | Plant(s) & Culture | Where Found | Medicinal Properties
Uses | Warning | Bibliography
Scientific Names
- Mercurialis perennis L.
Common Names
- Dog’s cole
- Perennial mercury
Parts Usually Used
The entire plant
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Description of Plant(s) and Culture
Dog’s mercury is a perennial plant; the round, furrowed, glabrous, branched stem bears opposite, dark green, ovate, serrate, hairy leaves. The flowers are light green and axillary, the male in spikes, the female solitary or in 2’s and 3’s. Flowering time is April and May.
Another variety: Mercury herb (M. annua) is an annual species of mercury with a square stem and light green leaves. It is used like dog’s mercury and is similarly poisonous.
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Where Found
Grows in waste places in the eastern United States; naturalized from Europe, where it grows especially in shady mountain woods.
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Medicinal Properties
Emetic, purgative
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Uses
The fresh plant is sometimes used as a laxative. A homeopathic tincture is used for rheumatism and stomach problems.
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Warning
The fresh plant is poisonous, and the poison is believed to be cumulative in effect. Thorough drying or boiling seems to destroy the poisonous activity.
Do not use without medical supervision.
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Bibliography
The Herb Book
Culpeper’s Complete Herbal & English Physician: Updated With 117 Modern Herbs
