Clematis
Parts Usually Used
Twigs and leaves, flowers
Description of Plant(s) and Culture
A woody climbing vine, its opposite, ternate leaves divided into 3 sharp-toothed ovate, acute, serrate leaflets. Its small, petalless flowers have 4 petal-like whitish sepals and bloom in leafy, cymose panicles during summer and autumn. The fruit is a feathery achene (a small, dry fruit with one seed which is attached to the ovary wall only at one point) which grows in prominent heads.
These feathery plumes attached to the seeds. Another variety: Native Americans used another plant (Clematis ligusticifolia) also called clematis and virgin’s bower. They used the leaves and bark as shampoo; at Fort MacDermitt, Nevada, the root was dried and powdered for use as a shampoo.
Where Found
Found along streambanks, bushes, thickets, wood edges, and fences in the eastern and central states of the United States. Nova Scotia to Georgia; Louisiana; eastern Kansas north to Canada.
Medicinal Properties
Diaphoretic (increases perspiration), diuretic, stimulant, vesicant (produces blisters).
Uses
Historical herbalists used an infusion of virgin’s bower leaves and flowers with the belief that it addressed severe headaches. In external applications, traditional practitioners sometimes combined the herb with other plants to prepare ointments or poultices intended for sores, skin ulcers, and itching skin.
Warning
Virgin’s bower contains acrid substances which can cause severe skin irritation. Sensitive people can get dermatitis from handling the plant. Virgin’s bower is toxic. Highly irritating to skin and mucous membranes. Ingestion may cause bloody vomiting, severe diarrhea, and convulsions. Use under medical supervision only.
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 Indian Uses of Native Plants , by Edith Van Allen Murphey, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, copyright 1958, print 1990 Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants , by Steven Foster and James A. , Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000 Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary , 15th Edition, F.
A. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023