Cowslip
Parts Usually Used
Root, leaves
Description of Plant(s) and Culture
Cowslip is a perennial plant; the succulent, hollow,furrowed, glabrous stem grows 1 or 2 feet high and bears one or more kidney-shaped, dark green, shiny, crenate leaves. Bright yellow 5-9 sepals make up for the lack of petals in the flowers which grow in cymose clusters in April and May. Also called cowslip, there are a number of herbs with this common name: Primula veris; Primula vulgaris
Where Found
Found in marshes, wet ditches, along streambanks and pond edges in the northeastern United States and in Europe.
Medicinal Properties
Anodyne, antispasmodic, diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, rubefacient
Biochemical Information
Anemonin, protoanemonin (both with marginal antitumor activity)
Uses
Historical herbalists employed this plant similarly to pasqueflower, though they regarded it as milder in action. The greens were sometimes gathered in the spring for use as cooked pot-herbs. Traditional practitioners prepared a tea from the roots to promote sweating and to serve as an emetic and expectorant, while infusions made from the leaves were used as diuretics and laxatives.
Ojibwe tradition involved combining an infusion of the plant with maple sugar to create a cough syrup, a practice that was subsequently adopted by European colonists. Additionally, a syrup prepared from the leaves was historically utilized in folk traditions as an antidote to snakebites.
Warning
All parts may irritate and blister the skin or mucous membranes. Sniffing bruised stems induces sneezing. Intoxicaiton has resulted from the use of the raw leaves in salads or using the raw flower buds as substitutes for capers. Do no confuse with American White or False Hellebore (Veratrum viride), which is toxic. Use for medicinal purposes with medical supervision only.
Bibliography
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 Culpeper’s Complete Herbal & English Physician: Updated With 117 Modern Herbs , by Nicholas Culpeper, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1990, (reprint of 1814) Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants , by Steven Foster and James A.
, 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. , 180 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014, first printed by the United States Government Printing Office, Washington, in 1928, this Dover edition 1974 Indian Herbalogy of North America , by Alma R. , Horticultural Hall, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, 1973 The Magic of Herbs , by David Conway, published by Jonathan Cape, Thirty Bedford Square, London, England.
(Out of print) The Nature Doctor: A Manual of Traditional and Complementary Medicine , by Dr. A. , 27 Pine Street (Box 876) New Canaan, CT. 06840-0876. Copyright Verlag A. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023