Bistort

Parts Usually Used

Rootstock

Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Bistort is a mountain perennial; The rootstock is thick, knobby, twisted into an S or double-S shape, up to 3 feet long, black on the outside and red on the inside, and ringed with old leaf scars. The basal leaves are bluish-green, long-petioled, and oblong-lanceolate. The few leaves on the simple, glabrous stem are lanceolate to linear, short-petioled to sessile, and have a dry leaf sheath at the base.

The red to rose-colored flowers are borne in a dense, spike-like raceme, appearing from May to August.

Where Found

Found at higher elevations west of the Rocky Mountains and in Europe, in damp soil such as wet meadows and streambanks.

Medicinal Properties

Alterative, astringent, diuretic, styptic

Biochemical Information

Up to 20% tannins

Uses

Historically, herbalists utilized bistort as a remedy for digestive complaints such as diarrhea and dysentery. Traditional preparations included a decoction used as a mouthwash for gum complaints, canker sores, and oral inflammation, or as an external wash for wounds, sores, and bruising. Practitioners also applied the powdered root or a poultice of the rootstock topically in attempts to staunch bleeding.

In older folk traditions, the plant was credited with counteracting poisons, jaundice, insect bites, and snakebites, as well as expelling intestinal worms. Additionally, nineteenth-century herbals recorded its use as a gargle for sore throats and noted claims that it could aid in the healing of internal ulcers.

Bibliography

The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974. , Loma Linda, CA 92354, Original copyright 1939, revised edition 1994 The Magic of Herbs , by David Conway, published by Jonathan Cape, Thirty Bedford Square, London, England. , Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. , Copyright 1988, published 1992 American Folk Medicine , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1973 The Complete Medicinal Herbal , by Penelope Ody, Dorling Kindersley, Inc, 232 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, First American Edition, copyright 1993 The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine , by Dr.

David Frawley & Dr. Vasant Lad, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, Second edition, 1988. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023