Cat’s Foot

Scientific Names

• Antennaria dioica L.
• Compositae
• Composite family

Common Names

• Mountain everlasting

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Parts Usually Used

Flowering herb
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Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Cat’s foot is a small perennial plant; its woolly stem grows 3-8 inches above the ground and bears linear-oblanceolate leaves, whereas the basal leaves are spatulate. The flowers grow in cymose clusters, the white male flowers having a filiform corolla, the rose-colored female flowers a tubular, 5-toothed corolla. Blooms May to August.
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Where Found

Grows in large patches in the mountains of the Pacific coast states and in both mountains and flatlands of Europe.
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Medicinal Properties

Cholagogue
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Legends, Myths and Stories

Ground Ivy (Glecoma hederacea) is often called Cat’s Foot.
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Uses

Useful for chronic biliary passage problems; stimulates digestion, and raises blood pressure. Sometimes recommended for dysentery, but better remedies are available.
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Formulas or Dosages

Infusion: use 1 tsp. fresh or dried flowering herb with 1/2 cup boiling water; steep for 10 minutes. Take 1/2 to 1 cup a day.
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Bibliography

Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants, by Steven Foster and James A. Duke., Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000

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

The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book), edited by William H. Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc. Emmaus, PA, 18049., 1974

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