Herb: Cupid's Shaving Brush


Latin name: Emilia sonchifolia


Synonyms: Cacalia sonchifolia


Family: Compositae



Medicinal use of Cupid's Shaving Brush:

A tea made from the leaves is used in the treatment of dysentery. The juice of the leaves is used in treating eye inflammations, night blindness, cuts and wounds and sore ears. The plant is astringent, depurative, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge and sudorific. It is used in the treatment of infantile tympanites and bowel complaints. The juice of the root is used in the treatment of diarrhoea. The flower heads are chewed and kept in the mouth for about 10 minutes to protect teeth from decay.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Annual


Height:
60 cm
(2 feet)

Flowering:
July to
October

Habitat of the herb:

Waste ground in C. and S. Japan. Moist areas and uncultivated ground at elevations up to 1700 metres in Nepal.

Edible parts of Cupid's Shaving Brush:

Leaves and young shoots - raw or cooked. Used as a vegetable. The whole plant, including the flowers, can be eaten raw or cooked. The leaves are usually harvested and used before the plant flowers. A nutritional analysis of the leaves is available. The powdered plant is used to prepare a cake fermented with yeast (called marcha in Nepal) from which liquor is distilled.

Propagation of the herb:

Seed - sow early spring in a greenhouse and only just cover the seed. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out after the last expected frosts. The seed can also be sown outdoors in situ in the middle of spring.

Cultivation of Cupid's Shaving Brush:

Waste ground in C. and S. Japan. Moist areas and uncultivated ground at elevations up to 1700 metres in Nepal.

Known hazards of Emilia sonchifolia:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.