|
Sarsaparilla
(Aralia nudicaulis)
wild sarsaparrila, american sarsaparrila
 Description:
An herbaceous perennial with large, fleshy, horizontal,
creeping roots from which grows a large solitary compound
leaf. The leaves are twice-divided, each 3 divisions has
3-5 toothed, oval leaflets. The flower stem comes from
a naked root, 1 foot high, terminating in 3 small, many-flowered
greenish umbels. Found in eastern and central U.S. in
moist woods.
Edible,
Medicinal: The root tea is used as a pleasant tasting
beverage for a spring tonic. It is a carminative, diaphoretic,
diuretic, and tonic. The tea or tincture, is a blood purifying
tonic. It is used for fevers, coughing, indigestion, and
gas. A tea can be used externally for skin problems, ringworm.
Steep 1 teaspoon of the rootstock in 1 cup water. Take
1-2 cups a day.
|
