Medicinal Shrubs and Woody Vines: Kalmia, Laurel
Three varieties of Kalmia have documented use in Herbal Medicine: Kalmia angustifolia - Sheep Laurel Family, Kalmia latifolia - Mountain Laurel, Kalmia polifolia - Swamp Laurel
Native to my region are: Kalmia angustifolia (Sheep Laurel), Kalmia carolina (Carolina Laurel, Southern Sheepkill), Kalmia cuneata (White Wicky)
While the Kalmia’s have been used in Herbal and Folk Medicine, they are very dangerous and toxic plants.
Mrs. Grieve tells us:
A beautiful evergreen shrub from 4 to 20 feet. When in full flower it forms dense thickets, the stems are always crooked, the bark rough. It was called Kalmia by Linnaeus in honour of Peter Kalm, a Swedish professor. The hard wood is used in the manufacture of various useful articles. Leaves ovate, lanceolate, acute on each end, on petioles 2 to 3 inches long. Flowers numerous, delicately tinted a lovely shade of pink; these are very showy, clammy, interminal, viscid, pubescent, simple or compound heads, branches opposite, flowering in June and July. The flowers yield a honey said to be deleterious. The leaves, shoots and berries are dangerous to cattle, and when eaten by Canadian pheasants communicate the poison to those who feed on the birds. The fruit is a dry capsule, seeds minute and numerous.
Constituents---Leaves possess narcotic poisoning properties and contain tannic acid, gum, fatty matter, chlorophyll, a substance resembling mannite, wax extractive, albumen, an acrid principle, Aglucosidearbutin, yellow calcium iron.
Medicinal Action and Uses---Indians are said to use the expressed juice of the leaves or a strong decoction of them to commit suicide. The leaves are the official part; powdered leaves are used as a local remedy in some forms of skin diseases, and are a most efficient agent in syphilis, fevers, jaundice, neuralgia and inflammation, but great care should be exercised in their use. Whisky is the best antidote to poisoning from this plant. An ointment for skin diseases is made by stewing the leaves in pure lard in an earthenware vessel in a hot oven. Taken internally it is a sedative and astringent in active haemorrhages, diarrhoea and flux. It has a splendid effect and will be found useful in overcoming obstinate chronic irritation of the mucous surface. In the lower animals an injection produces great salivation, lachrymation, emesis, convulsions and later paralysis of the extremities and laboured respiration. It is supposed, but not proved, that the poisonous principle of this plant is Andromedotoxin.
Preparations and Dosages---A saturated tincture of the leaves taken when plant is in flower, is the best form of administration, given in doses of 10 to 20 drops every two or three hours. Decoction, 1/2 to 1 fluid ounce of powdered leaves from 10 to 30 grains. Salve made from juice of the plant is an efficient local application for rheumatism.
Other Species---
Kalmia augusfifolia (Sheep's Laurel or Lambkill, or Narrow-leaved Laurel, so called because it poisons sheep, which feed on its leaves), this species is said to be the best for medicinal use. A decoction of its leaves, 1 OZ. to 1 quart of water reduced to a pint, is used by the negroes as a wash for ulcerations between the toes. A poisonous glucoside is found in the leaves of this species called asebotoxin, and also in K. latifolia.
K. Glauca, or Swamp Laurel, has similar properties.
The Cherokee used Mountain Laurel:
An ingredient in the medicine… “For muscle soreness.” An ingredient in the medicine… “For shifting pains.” A leaf decoction including the leaves of mountain laurel, Rhododendron maximum, and Leucothoe editorum is applied to rheumatic areas for relief. Take all possible laurels and some other plants and steep. Rub this tea on for rheumatism, after scratching first with a scratcher. Peel and boil the stick; rub on this tea for rheumatism. In old times a leaf ooze was rubbed into the scratched skin of ballplayers to prevent cramps.
The Lumbee used Lambkill:
A decoction of the top part of the plant and rhizomes was made from three to four pieces no more than two inches long. “Wicky” was boiled in two pints of water for a few hours. This decoction was poured into a tub of bath water to treat the “mad itch” or scabies.
Towards and American Materia Medica tells us:
Kalmia Latifolia. I have now employed the powder of the leaves of this plant, exhibited internally, in some cases of tinea capitis. In this very troublesome disease, the Kalmia is, certainly, a medicine entitled to attention. I have also employed the powder of the leaves, made into an ointment with lard, and externally applied to a disagreeable herpetic affection of the skin. In this case, also, I have found it extremely useful. Even in confirmed siphylis, it has seemed to do good. In South- Carolina, this species of Kalmia is called Callico-tree.
The powdered leaves of this vegetable have been used, with much success, in some cases of intermittents. A saturated tincture, prepared from the leaves with a proof spirit, is an active medicine, and perhaps worthy of a place in the shops. For some interesting information concerning the powers of this species of Kalmia, and also those of Kalmia angustifolia, or Narrow-leaved Kalmia, commonly called Lambkill, &c, I beg leave to refer the reader to Dr. George G. Thomas's Inaugural Dissertation concerning these plants, published at Philadelphia, in 1802.
Resources of The Southern Fields and Forests tells us:
CALICO BUSH ; IVY BUSH, {Kalmia latifolia, L.) Grows along rivers in upper districts; S. and N. C. ; Richland, Gibbes; at Sister's Ferry; Savannah River; Aiken, S.C. Fl. July,
Drayton's View of South Carolina, 69 ; Ell. Bot. i, 481 ; U. S. Disp. 1269 ; Big. Am. Med. Bot. i, 133 ; Kalm's Travels, i, 335; Barton's Coll. i, 18, 48; and ii, 26; Tbacher's Disp. 247; Thomas' Inaug. Diss., Raf. ii, 16; Griffith, Med. Bot. 528.
The leaves are poisonous and narcotic, and animals have been poisoned by eating them. It is said that death has been occasioned by eating the t!esh of partridges and pheasants that had fed on them. Dr. Shoemaker publishes two cases, (see N. Am. Med. and Surg. Journal, see U. S. Disp.,) which resulted from eating a pheasant, in the craw of which laurel leaves were found. The symptoms are nausea, temporary blindness, pain in the head, dyspnoea, cold extremities and a very feeble pulse, which in one case was for some time absent at the wrist; in the other, beat only forty strokes in the minute. In both cases relief was afforded by vomiting produced by a tablespoonful of flour of mustard mixed with warm water. A case of similar poisoning is related in the Edinburgh Med. J., May, 1856, in which epigastric tension and uneasiness, glowing heat of the bead, loss of sight, coldness of the extremities, general prostration and twitchings of the muscles were the prominent symptoms, followed by nausea and full vomiting, which afforded some relief but feelings of formication and weakness of the limbs, with great prostration of the circulation, remained for several hours requiring the use of stimulants. See U. S. Disp., 12th Ed. 'Thomas, in Inaug. Diss. Phil. 1802, reports cases of obstinate diarrhea cured by a decoction, thirty drops being taken four times a day. The leaves have been advantageously used in syphilis, and extensively api)lied in tinea, psora and cutaneous affections. Dr. Barton states that nervous symptoms have resulted from the external use of the strong decoction, thirty drops taken internally six times a day producing vertigo. Dr. Bigelow detected in the leaves taimin, a resinous matter and gum. Besides these, Dr. Stabler finds a volatile oil of a narcotic odor and nauseous smell, supposed to be the active principle: see Am. Journal of Pharm. x, 241 ; Griffith, Med. Bot. 428. From these experiments of Dr. S. he determines it to be a direct arterial sedative, without any acrid or narcotic property; hence he supposes it suitable to cases of hypertrophy of heart and other diseases, When it is necessary to decrease the action of that organ; and from the tannin present that it is peculiarly fitted for cases of hemorrhage, dysentery, etc. He proposes that two ounces of the leaves be macerated in a pint of alcohol for a week and then strained, the dose of which for an adult is thirty drops every two or three hours. If these observations are confirmed it will give the plant a high reputation as a scda tive, and attention is invited to it. The wood is much used for mechanical purposes, being hard and dense.
Kalmia hirsuta, Walt. Grows in wet pine barrens; vicinity of Charleston. Fl. July.
Ell. Bot. Med. Notes, i, 48..
The leaves are used by negroes, and the poor white people, as a cure for itch, and lor the mange in dogs. A strong decoction is applied warm to the eruptions, which occasions much smarting; and it seldom requires more than one application to effect a cure.
Sheep Kill Laurel, (Kalmia angustifolia, L.) Barren hills; upper districts N. and S.C. Chapman.
The leaves of the Kalmia (angustifolia) exude a sweet, honey-like juice, which is said when swallowed to bring on a mental intoxication both formidable in its symptoms and long in its duration, (Torrey.) In this it appears closely to resemble the Armenian azalea, (Johnston's Chemistry of Common Life, vol. ii, p. 157.) About Long Island the K. angustifolia is believed to kill sheep, and is known by the name of sheep poison. Tho Azalea pontica, a kindred shrub, is said to be the source of the narcotic quality for which the Trebizond honey is famous.
King’s Medical Dispensatory of 1898 states:
Sheep laurel, or more properly Mountain laurel, inhabits most parts of the United States, on rocky bills and elevated grounds, and in damp soil, sometimes forming a dense thicket, with a profusion of beautiful rose-colored flowers which appear in June and July, forming a contrast with its dark, glossy, green leaves. The leaves are reputed to be poisonous to sheep and several other animals, killing them; while others again, as deer, goats, and partridges, feed upon them without any unpleasant consequences. When partridges, which have eaten the laurel leaves, have themselves been cooked and eaten, they are said to have occasioned sickness at stomach, headache, impaired vision, difficult breathing, coldness of the surface and extremities, and other symptoms similar to those caused when putrid meats are eaten. An emetic of mustard with warm water has relieved some of the above symptoms by removing the poison from the stomach. It is very doubtful, however, whether these symptoms were caused by the poisoned flesh of the birds, as numerous persons eat partridges that have fed on these leaves, without the least inconvenience. The Indians are said to have used the expressed juice of the leaves, or a strong decoction, for the purpose of committing suicide. They also made spoons of the wood, hence the name spoonwood. The leaves, which are astringent and bitter (described above), are the medicinal parts, and yield their virtues to alcohol or water.
Chemical Composition.—The leaves contain, according to Mr. C. Bullock, fatty matter, resin, tannic acid, gum, a body somewhat like mannit, chlorophyll, wax, albumen, an acrid substance, extractive, yellow coloring matter, and various salts (Amer. Jour. Pharm., Vol. XX, p. 264). Mr. G. W. Kennedy (1875) isolated arbutin in small quantity. The poisonous principle is andromedotoxin (C31H51O10), a neutral body, found by Prof. Plugge in several poisonous, ericaceous plants (see also investigation by A. J. M. Lasché, Pharm. Rundschau, 1889, p. 208). It is soluble in water (1 in 35), chloroform (1 in 400), alcohol (1 in 9), and almost insoluble in ether (1 in 1400). The diluted mineral acids, when warm, impart to it a beautiful red color. Miss De Graffe (Amer. Jour. Pharm., 1896, p. 321), found tannin resembling oak-tannin in the stems and leaves of mountain laurel. Mr. Harry Matusow (Amer. Jour. Pharm., 1897, p. 341) analyzed the root of Kalmia latifolia, which contained 11.4 per cent of starch, 1.24 per cent of ash, tannin resembling oak-tannin, etc. The ether extract contained a substance which gave reactions for andromedotoxin.
Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage.—In immoderate doses, sheep laurel is a poisonous narcotic, producing the symptoms above named, with diminished circulation. In medicinal doses, it is antisyphilitic, sedative to the heart, and somewhat astringent. Internally, either in powder, decoction, or tincture, it is an efficient remedy in primary or secondary syphilis, and will likewise be found invaluable in febrile and inflammatory diseases and hypertrophy of the heart, allaying all febrile and inflammatory action, and lessening the action of the heart. In active hemorrhages, diarrhoea, and flux, it has been employed with excellent effect, and will be found useful in overcoming obstinate chronic irritation of mucous surfaces. I have extensively used this agent, and regard it as one of our most efficient agents in syphilis; and have likewise found it very valuable in inflammatory fevers, jaundice, and ophthalmic neuralgia and inflammation. The remedy must always be used with prudence; and should any of the above mentioned symptoms appear, the dose must be diminished, or its use suspended for a few days. In cases of poisoning by this article, stimulants, as brandy, whiskey, etc., must be given, with counter-irritation to the spine and extremities. Sheep poisoned by eating the leaves, have been saved by administering 1 or 2 gills of whiskey to them (King). Scudder (Spec. Med.), states that he has employed it with marked advantage in secondary syphilis and atonic chronic inflammations. For the treatment of aching pains in the muscles of the face, muscular rheumatism with shifting pains, and in the early stage of rheumatism of the heart, success has been claimed for this drug, the specific medicine being used in from 1 to 5-drop doses. Bright's disease (?) is asserted to have been benefited by its use. Pain in the back during the menstrual period, and pain upon moving the eyes are said to be relieved by kalmia. Externally, the fresh leaves stewed in lard, or the dried leaves in powder mixed with lard to form an ointment, are said to be beneficial in tinea capitis, psora, and other cutaneous affections. "Some time since I treated a case of syphilis of five weeks' standing, which had not received any kind of treatment during that period. The patient, at the time I first saw him, had several chancres, the surface of the body and head was covered with small red pimples, elevated above a jaundiced skin, and he was in a very debilitated condition. I administered a saturated tincture of the leaves of kalmia, and touched the chancres with a tincture of chloride of iron, and effected a cure in 4 weeks, removing the jaundice at the same time" (King). The saturated tincture of the leaves or specific kalmia, are the best forms of administration; they may be given in doses of from 10 to 20 drops every 2 or 3 hours; the decoction may be given in doses of from ½ to 1 fluid ounce; and of the powdered leaves, from 10 to 30 grains. For acute disorders, particularly affections of the heart, from 5 to 20 drops of specific kalmia may be added to 4 fluid ounces of water, and the dilution administered in teaspoonful doses every hour. A salve made of the juice of the plant, forms an efficient local application for rheumatism. This remedy was a great favorite with Prof. King, especially for troubles depending primarily upon syphilitic infection.
Specific Indications and Uses.—Syphilis with excitation of the heart and circulation; rheumatism with shifting pains; cardiac excitation; cardiac palpitation excited reflexly from gastro-intestinal irritation; pain upon movement of the eyes.
Photo: Kalmia angustifolia 2.Related Species and Derivative.—There are other species of Kalmia, as Kalmia glauca, Aiton, or Swamp or Pale laurel, and Kalmia angustifolia, Linné, or Narrow-leaved laurel, which possess similar properties. The K. angustifolia is supposed by some to be the best of the species for medicinal use. Lasché, in 1889, found andromedotoxin in the leaves and twigs of the latter plant, as well as the berries of Kalmia latifolia. This plant is used by the Cree Indians as a tonic and remedy for intestinal irregularities.
LAUROTETANINE.—M. Greshoff has found in a number of Laurel species a crystalline, toxic alkaloid (laurotetanine), soluble in an excess of alkali. It closely resembles strychnine in its action upon the spinal cord (Pharm. Jour. Trans., 1891, Vol. XXI, p. 662).
Botany in A Day gives us very good advice:
Swamp Laurel contains a substance called andromedotoxin, used in small doses as a sedative for neuralgia. Native Americans drank a tea of the leaves to commit suicide. In other words, don’t mess with it!
Plants for A Future states:
Medicinal use of Sheep Laurel: Sheep laurel is a very poisonous narcotic plant the leaves of which were at one time used by some native North American Indian tribes in order to commit suicide. It is little, if at all, used in modern herbalism. The leaves are usually used externally as a poultice and wash in herbal medicine and are a good remedy for many skin diseases, sprains and inflammation. They can also be applied as a poultice to the head to treat headaches. The singed, crushed leaves can be used as a snuff in the treatment of colds. Used internally, the leaves are analgesic, astringent and sedative and have a splendid effect in the treatment of active haemorrhages, headaches, diarrhoea and flux. This species is said to be the best for medicinal use in the genus. The plant should be used with great caution however.
Medicinal use of Mountain Laurel: Mountain laurel is a very poisonous narcotic plant the leaves of which were at one time used by some native North American Indian tribes in order to commit suicide. Because of its toxicity, it is a remedy that is seldom used in modern herbalism, but the leaves have been used externally in herbal medicine and are a good remedy for many skin diseases and inflammation. The leaves are analgesic, astringent, disinfectant, narcotic, salve and sedative. An infusion of the leaves is used as a disinfectant wash and liniment to treat pain, scratches, rheumatism, inflammations and to get rid of body parasites. Used internally, the leaves have a splendid effect in the treatment of active haemorrhages, diarrhoea and flux. They are also used in the treatment of syphilis, inflammatory fevers, neuralgia, paralytic conditions, tinnitus and angina. The leaves should be used with great caution however, and only under the guidance of a qualified practitioner. Excess doses cause vertigo, headache, loss of sight, salivation, thirst, nausea, palpitations, slow pulse and difficulty in breathing.
Medicinal use of Swamp Laurel: Swamp laurel is a very poisonous narcotic plant the leaves of which were at one time used by some native North American Indian tribes in order to commit suicide. It is little, it at all, used in modern herbalism though the leaves are a good external treatment for many skin diseases and inflammation. The leaves are astringent and sedative. They are used externally to make a poultice or a wash in the treatment of many skin diseases, open sores, wounds that will not heal and inflammation. Used internally, the leaves have a splendid effect in the treatment of active haemorrhages, diarrhoea and flux. They should be used with great caution however, and only under the supervision of a qualified practitioner.
Peterson Field Guides Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants tells us:
Sheep Laurel: American Indians used minute amounts of flower, leaf and twig tea for bowel ailments. Tiny amounts of leaf tea used for colds, backaches, stomach ailments, externally, for swelling, pain and sprains. Warning: Highly toxic. Do not ingest.
Mountain Laurel: American Indians used leaf tea as an external wash for pain, rheumatism, in liniments for vermin. Historically, herbalists used minute doses to treat syphilis, fever, jaundice, heart conditions, neuralgia, and inflammation. Warning: Plant is highly toxic; even honey from the flowers is reportedly toxic. Avoid use.
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Disclaimer
The information on this site is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease or condition. Nothing on this site has been evaluated or approved by the FDA. I am not a doctor. The US government does not recognize the practice of herbal medicine and their is no governing body regulating herbalists. Therefore, I'm just a guy who studies herbs. I am not offering any advice. I won't even claim that anything I write is accurate or true! I can tell you what herbs have "traditionally been used for." I can tell you my own experience and if I believe an herb helped me. I cannot, nor would I tell you to do the same. If you use any herb I, or anyone else, mentions you are treating yourself. You take full responsibility for your health. Humans are individuals and no two are identical. What works for me may not work for you. You may have an allergy, sensitivity or underlying condition that no one else shares and you don't even know about. Be careful with your health. By continuing to read my blog you agree to be responsible for yourself, do your own research, make your own choices and not to blame me for anything, ever.