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Herbs!

 

 

Below, read about Veronica and her medicinal nature.

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veronica plant in bloom

When I planted dear Veronica I had no idea she would flower more and more deeply,  in such lustrous lavender spikes.She is so well accomodated  to the garden that I have moved her three times, even to a new garden, and when I cut her back after July she reblooms, albeit in tender small spikes.Oooh la la!

Though she makes a million seeds she is not seedy, and prefers to multiply from the root base, which she does lustily. Hootchie Mama!
 
 
 
This Veronica may be a cultivar from the Speedwell family. It is closely
related to a widflower from which it derives its name,Veronica virginica L.
The wild plant is called Culvers' Root and is a popular Indian remedy,Bowmans' Root.
Its' botanical name(Veronicastrum) is derived from St. Veronica and astrum (star), after the leaf arrangement.
This is a North American native from "Massachusets to Florida and Texas" (I have seen it wild in Ontario)and will flower on varying ground from dry to rich and wet, preferably moist meadows and riverbanks.
It will propagate from the division of rhizomes in late Autumn, after flowering, or in mid-Spring.

Sidebed shows a Veronica planting

  

 

Constituents:

Gum;resin;a phytosterol,verosterol;volatile oil;citric acid;mannitol;a saponoside; a volatile alkaloid; a bitter principle;leptandrine; to which the action is largely due.

uses: Purgative;emetic;chologogue;tonic

"Small doses are valuable as a stomachic tonic, in diarrhoea, dyspepsia and atony of the gasto-intestinal system. Promotes the flow of bile from the gall bladder. Boiled in milk it acts as a laxative; larger doses are purgative or emetic.

Contra-Indications: In larger doses it acts as a drastic purgative and may cause vertigo and bleeding.


All info above is from a super book: The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism, edited by Malcolm Stuart Orbis Publishing London 1979

This book does not tell one what doses may be taken efficiently.If you are lost in the wild you may do what is wise and experiment with dew from the plants leaves or flowers, to taste what the plant will do for you safely. Other common plants useful for diarhorrea are Potentilla or Tormentilla,also Yarrow, but these will not bloom until a month after Veronica has started.Being lost in the wild in the Spring means an almost certain discomfort from too many green leaves and improperly prepared fiddleheads and leeks, but I would not fool around with that plant unless no others were available. Yarrow leaves and stems, easy to find, are a great tonic and safe to use. Take a handful of the leaves and stems, flowers if available, and cover for five minutes with hot water. Or just eat half that. When else would you need to scramble to find a wild plant for diahorrea?

That's why I just grow and enjoy my Veronica. Happy gardening!

  


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