Medicinal Shrubs and Woody Vines: Cunila, Dittany or Stone Mint and Cytisus scoparius, Scotch Broom
Cunila
Only one variety of Cunila is known to Herbal Medicine, and it is native to my region: Cunila origanoides (Stone-mint, American-dittany, Wild-oregano)
Plants for A Future lists this herb as “Stone Mint”:
Medicinal use of Stone Mint: An essential oil, known as cunila oil, obtained from the plant is antiseptic, aromatic and stimulant. A tea made from the leaves is used to treat headaches, colds and fevers. It is believed to induce menstruation and perspiration.
Resources of The Southern Fields and Forests states:
DITTANY; MAKYLAND CUNILA, (Cunila mariana, Mx.)
Grows in the mountains of South Carolina ; Richland; I find it abundant in Spartanburg District, S. C. Bart. M. Bot. ii, 175 ; Mer. and de L. Diet, de M. Med. ii, 517 ; Lind. Nat. Syst. Bot. 276 ; Ell. Bot. Med. Notes, 127.
The infusion forms a pleasant and refreshing drink; it is diaphoretic, and is employed in fevers and colds. A gentleman in Spartanburg District, S. C, tells me that in his day "everybody cured everything with dittany." Doubtless they took less mercury and drastic purgatives in consequence.
King’s American Dispensatory of 1898 states:
Dittany is found growing in dry hills and woods, and on rocks, in nearly all parts of the United States, flowering from June to October. The herb is very fragrant, with a warm, spicy taste; its taste and odor are due to a volatile oil which may be procured by distillation. Mr. P. Milleman found the herb to contain a warm, pungent, delicately fragrant, volatile oil, tannic acid, a trace of glucose, gummy matter, considerable extractive matter, a part of which was bitter and acid, and dark-green resin; the ashes gave salts of potassium, calcium, magnesium, and iron (Amer. Jour. Pharm., 1866, p. 495).
Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage.—Stimulant, carminative, antispasmodic, and diaphoretic. Used freely in warm infusion to promote perspiration, to relieve flatulency, and as an emmenagogue. Popularly employed for colds, headaches, and fevers; also to relieve nervous headache, and hysterical disorders, colic, indigestion, and many nervous affections. The volatile oil possesses all the medicinal properties of the herb, and may be given in doses of from 5 to 10 drops.
Related Species.—Dictamnus albus, Bastard dittany, White fraxinella. A bitter, aromatic root-bark used by Baron Störck for worms, epilepsy, hysteria, amenorrhoea, and intermittent fevers. Dose, 20 to 60 grains.
Peterson Field Guides Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants tells us:
Leaf tea a folk remedy for colds, fevers, headaches, snakebites; thought to induce perspiration and menstruation.
Cytisus scoparius, Scotch Broom
Scotch Broom is naturalized in my region and generally considered to be a noxious weed. Like Kudzu, it was used by the government to help control erosion and got out of hand. It is a very interesting plant though, with some unique uses in Herbal Medicine.
Dioscorides wrote:
Cytisus is a white shrub like rhamnus which sends out branches a foot long or more, around which are leaves similar to fenugreek or lotus trifolia, but smaller, with a bigger backbone; if crushed with the fingers smelling like eruca; in taste similar to green chickpeas. The leaves are cooling, dissolving new oedemas, pounded into small pieces and smeared on with bread. A decoction of them (taken as a drink) induces urine. Some plant it near bee hives to attract the bees. It is also called teline, lotus grandis, or trifolium, and the Romans call it trifolium majus.
Gerard wrote of Broom:
A. The decoction of the roots of Knee-Hholm made in wine and drunken, provoketh urine, breaketh the stone, driveth forth gravel and sand, and easeth those that make their water with great pain.
B. Dioscorides writeth the same things of the leaves and berries, which moreover (saith he) bring down the desired sickness, help the headache and the yellow jaundice. Over and besides, the roots do serve to raise up gently tough and gross phlegm which sticketh in the lungs and chest, and do concoct the same.
Jethro Kloss wrote:
BROOM (Cytisus scoparius)
Common Names: Broom tops, common broom, broom flowers, Irish broom.
Part Used: Tops, seed.
Medicinal Properties: Tops — cathartic, diuretic. Seed — cathartic, emetic.
Description and Uses: Excellent for dropsy, toothache, ague, gout, sciatica, swelling of the spleen, jaundice, kidney and bladder troubles, especially in cases of gravel in the bladder. Makes an excellent remedy when used with uva-ursi, Cleavers, and dandelion for cleansing the kidneys and bladder, and to increase the flow of urine. Broom is of great service in dropsy caused by a weak heart. Makes a good ointment for lice or vermin. Contains forty-two parts potash. The stomach readily receives the nutritive salts found in the plant, since they are natural.
Caution: Broom contains alkaloids and hydroxytyramine, and should not be used except under proper supervision.
Botany in A Day tells us:
C. scoparius contains the alkaloid sparteine, which slows the heart and stimulates uterine contractions.
Plants for A Future states:
Medicinal use of Broom: Broom is a bitter narcotic herb that depresses the respiration and regulates heart action. It acts upon the electrical conductivity of the heart, slowing and regulating the transmission of the impulses. The young herbaceous tips of flowering shoots are cardiotonic, cathartic, diuretic, emetic and vasoconstrictor. The seeds can also be used. The plant is used internally in the treatment of heart complaints, and is especially used in conjunction with Convallaria majalis. The plant is also strongly diuretic, stimulating urine production and thus countering fluid retention. Since broom causes the muscles of the uterus to contract, it has been used to prevent blood loss after childbirth. Use this herb with caution since large doses are likely to upset the stomach. The composition of active ingredients in the plant is very changeable, this makes it rather unreliable medicinally and it is therefore rarely used. This herb should not be prescribed to pregnant women or patients with high blood pressure. Any treatment with this plant should only be carried out under expert supervision. See also the notes above on toxicity. The young herbaceous tips of flowering shoots are harvested in spring, generally in May. They can be used fresh or dried. They should not be stored for more than 12 months since the medicinally active ingredients break down.
The PDR for Herbal Medicine tells us only, “The herb is used for functional heart and circulatory disorders.”
PS. New in my Woodcraft Shop:
Cooking Spoon #2
This article is an excerpt from
Medicinal Shrubs and Woody Vines of The American Southeast An Herbalist's Guide
Read about Medicinal Shrubs and Woody Vines of The American Southeast An Herbalist's Guide: https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2022/06/medicinal-shrubs-and-woody-vines-of.html
Available for purchase on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B2T4Y5L6: by Judson Carroll
His New book is:
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Ferns and Fern Allies, an Herbalist's Guide
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The Encyclopedia of Bitter Medicinal Herbs:
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Available for purchase on Amazon:
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Also available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HMWXL25
Look Up: The Medicinal Trees of the American South, An Herbalist's Guide
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The Herbs and Weeds of Fr. Johannes Künzle:
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Author: Judson Carroll. Judson Carroll is an Herbalist from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.
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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.