Elecampane

Elecampane is a striking and handsome plant crowned with deep yellow-orange open flowers “like a cross between a dandelion and a sunflower”.It has an ancient medicinal reputation and was described by Dioscorides and Pliny in the first and second centuries. Pliny said “let no day pass without eating some of the roots of Enula, considered to help digestion and cause mirth (cheer).” One explanation for the specific epithet helenium comes from the legend of Helen of Troy (she of the face that launched a thousand ships) who was said to be wearing an elecampane flower in her hair when she was abducted from her homeland by the Trojan prince Paris which started the Trojan wars. The legend says that she was so heartbroken to be taken from Sparta that one of these plants emerged wherever her tears fell.

Elecampane is a general warming and stimulating remedy that gets things moving. It has a long history of use as a tonic herb for the respiratory system and is specific to bronchial infections. It is warming and clearing to the lower respiratory system and along with moving stuck mucous, and restoring healthy mucous, it is strongly antimicrobial. While most commonly used for congestion in the lungs it can also be used for stuck mucous in the sinuses or to correct postnasal drip. In addition to being an excellent expectorant it also soothes the tissue irritation and inflammation that results from coughing. Herbalist extraordinaire, the late Dorothy Hall, says “as a ‘chest’ herb, for respiratory improvement, it relieves symptoms as well as treating cause factors. Invaluable.”

In addition to its well-known respiratory properties elecampane supports digestive function and traditionally it was used for all sorts of digestive woes from intestinal parasites to stagnant digestion to imbalanced intestinal flora. World authority on herbal medicine, Simon Mills, mentions that elecampane can be considered like angelica (Angelica archangelica), “as a useful warming digestive tonic, this further supporting its role as a remedy for the infirm and convalescent.” 

References

Hall D. Dorothy Hall’s Herbal Medicine. Sydney:Lothian. 1988. p. 155

Grieve M. A Modern Herbal. Penguin:London; 1980. p. 279

Elecampane. Herbarium [Internet] Herbal Academy. [Accessed Sep 28 2022] Available from https://herbarium.theherbalacademy.com/monographs/#/monograph/3039

Hall D. Dorothy Hall’s Herbal Medicine. Sydney:Lothian. 1988. p. 155

Mills S. The Essential Book of Herbal Medicine. Penguin:London. 1991. p.478