Herb latin name: Carpesium abrotanoides


Synonyms: Carpesium thunbergianum


Family: Compositae



Medicinal use of Carpesium abrotanoides:

The whole plant is alterative, antiscorbutic, astringent, depurative discutient, emetic, expectorant, febrifuge, laxative and vulnerary. A decoction is used in the treatment of bronchitis, tonsillitis, boils and ulcers and snakebites. The stem juice is used to treat insect bites. This juice is also a very effective remedy for sore throat. A decoction of the fruit is vermifuge. The seed is antiphlogistic, diuretic, laxative, pectoral and vermifuge. The seeds are used to expel round worms, tapeworms and pin worms. A 20% concentrate of seed decoction cured 69% of children with worms and effected an improvement in another 19%. The root is diuretic and vermifuge.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Perennial


Height:
100 cm
(3 1/4 foot)

Flowering:
September
to November

Habitat of the herb:

Woods all over Japan. Waste places and grassy fields in lowlands, also along forest edges.

Edible parts of Carpesium abrotanoides:

Leaves - cooked. A sweet flavour, though they smell of foxes.

Other uses of the herb:

The seed has insecticidal properties. Another report says that the plant might have insecticidal properties.

Propagation of Carpesium abrotanoides:

Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. Only just cover the seed and do not allow the compost to dry out. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a cold frame for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Division in spring.

Cultivation of the herb:

Woods all over Japan. Waste places and grassy fields in lowlands, also along forest edges.

Known hazards of Carpesium abrotanoides:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.