Pleurisy root, or butterfly weed, is a natural remedy used in the treatment of diarrhea, dysentery, and chronic rheumatism and its antispasmodic and carminative properties are thought to provide a natural treatment for colic, muscle tension and spasm.
Its diaphoretic and antispasmodic properties are thought to be beneficial in the treatment of pleurisy and pneumonia. It is used by contemporary herbalists to relieve the pain and inflammation of pleurisy. It is a bitter, nutty-flavored tonic herb that increases perspiration, acts as an expectorant, and relieves spasms and it is highly valued as a traditional herbal treatment for asthma and bronchitis. Constituents include alpha- and beta-amyrin, resins, amino acids, volatile oil, glucosidal principal (asclepiadin), kaempferol and lupeol It contains cardenolides, the flavonoids rutin, and quercetin, and is estrogenic. Pleurisy root, or butterfly weed, is antispasmodic, carminative, mildly cathartic, diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, tonic and a vasodilator. Pleurisy root was considered as a heal-all herb by early European settlers on the North American continent, who would have learned of its applications from the Native Americans. The Latin genus name for pleurisy root, “Asclepias” (sometimes spelled Aesclepias), is derived from the Greek god of healing Asclepius because of its value as a medicinal plant.
It is one of the most important of the Native American medicinal plants, having been used for over a thousand years before the herb was entered in the European pharmacopeias of the eighteenth century, or listed in the United States Pharmacopoeia in the nineteenth century (1820-1920). Pleurisy root, or butterfly weed as it is also commonly known, is edible and medicinal, with a long history of use as a valuable medicinal herb. Pleurisy Root Flower (Asclepias tuberosa) – Attribution: Sage Ross Therapeutic Uses, Benefits and Claims of Pleurisy root Plant Parts Used: The root is the medicinal part of the pleurisy root plant. These silky fibers act as wind sails for the wind-dispersed seeds. In the fall the 4-5 inch seed pods contain the ovate seeds which terminate in fine silky fibers. The flowers bloom from June through September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (having both male and female organs) and are pollinated by bees, insects, moths, and butterflies. The stem branches near the upper part with flat-topped umbels of numerous deep-yellow to dark orange or red-orange flowers. Unlike the other members of the milkweed family, Asclepias tuberosa has little or no milky sap. The leaves are hairy, smooth-edged and lance-shaped, growing alternately all the way up the stem.
The plant grows in several sturdy, erect, round and hairy stems that grow to a height of 1-3 feet. Butterfly weed is also the larval food plant of the Queen and Monarch butterflies.ĭescription: The pleurisy root is a large, fleshy, white, spindle-shaped, and branching with a knotted crown. Gardeners love this plant for its showy reddish-orange flowers which are very attractive to butterflies.
#INDIAN PAINTBRUSH PLANT FULL#
It prefers full sun, and gravelly and sandy soils of open, dry fields, along roadsides and grassy areas. It is principally found in the Southwestern and Midwestern region of the United States. Habitat: Butterfly weed or pleurisy root is native to North America and is found in Ontario, Canada and throughout the continental United States except for the Pacific Northwest. Other Common Names: Butterfly milkweed, butterfly weed, Canada root, chiggerflower, fluxroot, Indian paintbrush, Indian posy, orange milkweed, silkweed, silky swallow-wort, tuber root, yellow milkweed, white-root, windroot.
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