Herb: Antelope Sage


Latin name: Eriogonum jamesii


Family: Polygonaceae (Buckwheat Family)



Medicinal use of Antelope Sage:

Some native North American Indian tribes used this plant as a contraceptive. The women would drink one cup of a decoction of the root during menstruation. A decoction of the whole plant has been drunk to ease the pain of childbirth. The root has been chewed as a cardiac medicine and as a treatment for stomach aches. An infusion of the roots has been used to treat despondency. The infusion has also been used as a wash for sore eyes. The plant has been chewed to sweeten the saliva.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Perennial


Height:
25 cm
(9 3/4 inch)

Flowering:
August to
September

Habitat of the herb:

Dry and rocky slopes, and shale mesas.

Propagation of Antelope Sage:

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a sandy compost in a greenhouse. Sow stored seed in early spring in a warm greenhouse. As soon as they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant out in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Division in early spring. This has to be done with care because the plant resents root disturbance. Try to obtain divisions from around the edges of the plants without digging up the whole clump. Tease the divisions out with as much root on them as possible and pot them up. Grow them on in light shade in the greenhouse until they are rooting well and plant them out in the summer. Cuttings of greenwood with a heel in the summer.

Cultivation of the herb:

Dry and rocky slopes, and shale mesas.

Known hazards of Eriogonum jamesii:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.