medicinal herbs
Pearly Everlasting
Anaphalis margaritacea

Herb: Pearly Everlasting

Latin name: Anaphalis margaritacea

Synonyms: Antennaria margaritacea, Gnaphalium margaritaceum

Family: Compositae

Medicinal use of Pearly Everlasting:

Pearly everlasting was often employed medicinally by native North American Indian tribes who used it in the treatment of a range of ailments. It is little used in modern herbalism. The whole plant is anodyne, antiseptic, astringent, expectorant and sedative. Used internally, it is a good remedy for diarrhoea, dysentery and pulmonary affections. A poultice of the flowers or the whole plant is applied to burns, sores, ulcers, bruises, swellings and rheumatic joints. An infusion of the plant is steamed and inhaled in the treatment of headaches. a cooled infusion of the roots and shots has been used as a laxative and emetic to treat "poison stomach".

Description of the plant:

Plant:

Perennial

Height:

90 cm
(2 feet)

Flowering:

August

Habitat of the herb:

Moist meadows, by rivers, on wall tops and in sandy and waste places.

Edible parts of Pearly Everlasting:

Young leaves - cooked.

Other uses of the herb:

Yellow to gold, also green and brown dyes can be obtained from the flowers, stems and leaves combined. The leaves, flowers and stems have been used as an incense, especially in baby cradles.

Propagation of Pearly Everlasting:

Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. The seed is best sown when it is ripe in the autumn. It usually germinates in 4 - 8 weeks at 15°C. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a cold frame for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Division is very easy at almost any time of the year, the divisions can be planted straight into their permanent positions if required.

Cultivation of the herb: