Ragged Cup

Parts Usually Used

Rootstock, gum, leaves, resin

Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Ragged cup is a perennial plant; the horizontal, pitted rootstock sends up a square, glabrous stem from 4-8 feet high. The large, opposite, ovate leaves, 8-14 inches long by 4-7 inches wide, are coarsely toothed, the lower ones narrowing to margined petioles, the upper clasping the stem with the bases of each pair of leaves united. The yellowish flowers grow in sunflower-like heads on long, forked, axillary peduncles.

Flowering time is from July to September. The plant contains a resinous sap. The root yields a bitterish gum, somewhat similar to frankincense.

Where Found

Grows in rich soils from Ontario to Georgia and Louisiana, and westward to South Dakota and Nebraska. Common in the western states of North America.

Medicinal Properties

Antispasmodic, diaphoretic, stimulant, tonic

Uses

Historically, herbalists utilized the plant's gum, or resinous sap, for its purported antispasmodic and stimulant properties, and it was occasionally employed to sweeten the breath. Folk traditions regarded the root as a general remedy for fevers, ulcers, physical debility, and complaints of the liver and spleen. Teas brewed from the leaves were historically administered as emetics and used in traditional medicine for coughs, asthma, and other lung ailments.

Similarly, preparations made from the root were traditionally taken for coughs and asthma.

Bibliography

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. Indian Herbalogy of North America , by Alma R. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023