Stillingia
Parts Usually Used
Root
Description of Plant(s) and Culture
Stillingia is a perennial plant; its stem grows 2-4 feet high, contains an acrid milky juice and bears alternate, sessile leaves that have a somewhat leathery texture. The yellow, petalless flowers grow in a terminal spike with the female flowers at the base. The fruit is a 3 lobed capsule.
Where Found
Native of the pine barrens and sandy soils of the southern states of the United States.
Medicinal Properties
Alterative, astringent, cathartic, diuretic, emetic
Biochemical Information
Stillingine, which is an alkaloid; gum, starch, both a fixed and volatile oil and coloring matter
Uses
Historical herbalists utilized a decoction of the root for persistent skin conditions and to address pain following mercurial treatments. Traditional practitioners also recommended stillingia for chronic laryngeal and bronchial inflammations, chronic coughs, rheumatism, leucorrhea, and chronic liver complaints.
Warning
Taken internally, the acrid constituents of the fresh plant can cause irritation and symptoms of poisoning.
Bibliography
American Folk Medicine , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1973 The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974. Indian Herbalogy of North America , by Alma R. , Horticultural Hall, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, 1973 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. , Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. , Copyright 1988, published 1992