Medicinal Herb InfoA reference archive of plants and their traditions
Not medical advice. This site documents how plants have been described and used historically. It is a botanical and folklore reference, not guidance for treating illness, and it carries no dosing instructions. Talk to a doctor or pharmacist before using any plant medicinally — herbs interact with medication and some are toxic.

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Water Eryngo

Botanical reference entry

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Parts Usually Used

Root

Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Water eryngo is a native perennial herb; its glaucous tuberous root sends up a simple stem, 1-5 feet in height. The long, taper-pointed leaves, 1 to 2 feet in length and 1/2 to 1 inch wide are net-veined and entire or remotely toothed. Blooming in August, the small, whitish flowers grow in spikes subtended by a whorl of bracts. The root is tuberous, aromatic and of a sweet acrid taste, resembling the parsnip.

Where Found

Grows in swamps and low wetlands from New Jersey to Georgia; west to Texas, Missouri and Minnesota.

Medicinal Properties

Diaphoretic, diuretic, emetic, expectorant, stimulant

Legends, Myths and Stories

Rattlesnake master is used as a common name for Virginia snakeroot (E. aquaticum) and for E. yuccifolium, and for False Aloe (Manfreda virginica) of the Amaryllis family. There are about 220 species in the genus, of which about 22 are found in North America.

Uses

Historically, the root was chewed to stimulate salivation and was believed to aid digestion, while also serving as an emetic. Traditional practitioners recommended it for conditions such as laryngitis, bronchitis, dropsy, urinary stones, and impotence, as well as general inflammation of the urinary tract. Native American traditions utilized the plant as an emetic and a diuretic, and administered an infusion with the intention of reducing fevers.

Additionally, herbalists regarded the plant as a substitute for Senega snakeroot (Polygala senega) and applied it both internally and externally for snakebites, insect stings, and wounds.

Bibliography

American Folk Medicine , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1973 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. Indian Herbalogy of North America , by Alma R. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023