Contents:
Common Names | Parts Usually Used | Plant(s) & Culture | Where Found | Medicinal Properties
Uses | Formulas or Dosages | Bibliography
Scientific Names
- Krameria triandra L.
- Krameriaceae
Common Names
- Peruvian rhatany
Parts Usually Used
Root
Back to Top
Description of Plant(s) and Culture
Rhatany is a shrubby, leguminous, perennial plant that you are not likely to encounter unless you are wandering in the dry, gravely hills of Peru. The long, horizontal root produces a procumbent, branching stem with alternate, hoary, oblong to obovate leaves. Red flowers grow on short stalks and bloom all year.
Back to Top
Where Found
Found in the dry, gravely hills of Peru.
Back to Top
Medicinal Properties
Astringent, diuretic, styptic
Back to Top
Uses
The root is a strong astringent used for diarrhea. Its styptic properties make it useful to stop internal and external bleeding. The root has been recommended, but to be used with care, for typhoid fever and for conditions involving inflammations of the alimentary system; enteritis, gastritis, proctitis.
Back to Top
Formulas or Dosages
Infusion: steep 1 tsp. root in 1 cup hot water. Take 1 cup per day.
Powder: run water through powdered root until a red solution is obtained.
Tincture: a dose is from 5 to 20 drops.
Back to Top
Bibliography
American Folk Medicine, by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1973
The Herb Book, by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974.
Indian Herbalogy of North America, by Alma R. Hutchens, Shambala Publications, Inc., Horticultural Hall, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, 1973
Webster’s New World Dictionary, Third College Edition, Victoria Neufeldt, Editor in Chief, New World Dictionaries: A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023