Lobelia inflata aka Pukeweed aka Indian tobacco.
Lobelia is native to north america west to the Mississippi river valley. It grows wild here, especially beside gravel roads. There are actually several species here, 5 or 6. I have L. inflata growing here also. It’s the species used most often as medicine. The others are medicinal, just not as potent.
Making a tincture is different than most plants. 1st – A tincture only lasts 2 years. Lobelia tincture has a very short shelf life. 2nd - Even then it must be stabilized with glycerin. It’s added to the alcohol when making a standard volume tincture.
Side Note - several drops from a medicine dropper will cause most folks to blow chunks! They call it pukeweed for a reason. It’s a very powerful emitic. Any more than very small amount will make you glad the porcelain feels cool on your forehead. Even briefly touching a torn leaf edge to my tongue was something I remember well. There was a delay of about 4 seconds and then… the most gawd awful thing I’ve ever tasted! I really don’t have the words to describe it. Emitic - handy if someone ingests something toxic.
All that said… It’s a very good medicine to have around, especially for injuries to muscles or bone that cause painful muscle spasms. It’s remotely similar to Flexeril in that it might be called a muscle relaxant. But does so much more than relax muscle spasms.
There are a few words from a book by a great herbalist, Matthew Wood.
"It possesses alkaloids, bitter glycosides, resins, gums, and volatile oils. The active ingredient is lobeline an alkaloid. It is a nicotine mimic. Lobelia has an effect much like tobacco but also very different. It’s not toxic when taken internally but has marked symptoms – usually vomiting.
This is the remedy that won Samuel Thompson such fame and infamy and to him that credit for its use in medicine must be given. Lobelia is an almost pure relaxant, and thus able to open obstructions in the skin, circulation, nervous system, muscles and all internal organs that depend to any extent on nerve impulses."
The best writings on lobelia are from physicians of eclectic medicine in the mid 1800's. They used it often and had a great deal to say about it. I find them difficult to read. Back then they used a very large vocabulary even in everyday speech. Common illnesses had different names than now, more importantly they are described in very different terms. Their understanding of medicine was so very different than ours. In short, a translator would be nice...
I keep lobelia tincture around, have only used it for back injuries. But it is wonderful for that. Meds like flexeril put me to sleep, not so with lobelia. It stops the muscle spasms which stops the pain.
I know of others who have used it to stop smoking. Sounds simple but it's very complex medicine. I’m comfortable with a few basic uses and know how to make the tincture. But I’m not comfortable explaining the complex side of this plant to anyone. So, there’s some good herb books in the library if you wish to know more.
Maybe @Grizzleyette___Adams has used it...
a selection of random lobelia's that grow here. 3 parallel petals make it distinctive...
Some are short and fat..
Some lay flat
I find one species in small streams...
This one is 5, sometimes 6ft tall..
This one is rarely taller than a foot.
Red Cardinal flower, yes, it too is a Lobelia. Many have this in their flower gardens... Lobelia cardinalis
Lobelia is native to north america west to the Mississippi river valley. It grows wild here, especially beside gravel roads. There are actually several species here, 5 or 6. I have L. inflata growing here also. It’s the species used most often as medicine. The others are medicinal, just not as potent.
Making a tincture is different than most plants. 1st – A tincture only lasts 2 years. Lobelia tincture has a very short shelf life. 2nd - Even then it must be stabilized with glycerin. It’s added to the alcohol when making a standard volume tincture.
Side Note - several drops from a medicine dropper will cause most folks to blow chunks! They call it pukeweed for a reason. It’s a very powerful emitic. Any more than very small amount will make you glad the porcelain feels cool on your forehead. Even briefly touching a torn leaf edge to my tongue was something I remember well. There was a delay of about 4 seconds and then… the most gawd awful thing I’ve ever tasted! I really don’t have the words to describe it. Emitic - handy if someone ingests something toxic.
All that said… It’s a very good medicine to have around, especially for injuries to muscles or bone that cause painful muscle spasms. It’s remotely similar to Flexeril in that it might be called a muscle relaxant. But does so much more than relax muscle spasms.
There are a few words from a book by a great herbalist, Matthew Wood.
"It possesses alkaloids, bitter glycosides, resins, gums, and volatile oils. The active ingredient is lobeline an alkaloid. It is a nicotine mimic. Lobelia has an effect much like tobacco but also very different. It’s not toxic when taken internally but has marked symptoms – usually vomiting.
This is the remedy that won Samuel Thompson such fame and infamy and to him that credit for its use in medicine must be given. Lobelia is an almost pure relaxant, and thus able to open obstructions in the skin, circulation, nervous system, muscles and all internal organs that depend to any extent on nerve impulses."
The best writings on lobelia are from physicians of eclectic medicine in the mid 1800's. They used it often and had a great deal to say about it. I find them difficult to read. Back then they used a very large vocabulary even in everyday speech. Common illnesses had different names than now, more importantly they are described in very different terms. Their understanding of medicine was so very different than ours. In short, a translator would be nice...
I keep lobelia tincture around, have only used it for back injuries. But it is wonderful for that. Meds like flexeril put me to sleep, not so with lobelia. It stops the muscle spasms which stops the pain.
I know of others who have used it to stop smoking. Sounds simple but it's very complex medicine. I’m comfortable with a few basic uses and know how to make the tincture. But I’m not comfortable explaining the complex side of this plant to anyone. So, there’s some good herb books in the library if you wish to know more.
Maybe @Grizzleyette___Adams has used it...
a selection of random lobelia's that grow here. 3 parallel petals make it distinctive...
Some are short and fat..
Some lay flat
I find one species in small streams...
This one is 5, sometimes 6ft tall..
This one is rarely taller than a foot.
Red Cardinal flower, yes, it too is a Lobelia. Many have this in their flower gardens... Lobelia cardinalis
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