Common Name: Indian Tobacco
Botanical Name: Lobelia inflata
Parts Used: Aerial parts (Stem, Leaves, Flowers)
Medicinal Uses: Respiratory, Antispasmodic, Expectorant, Induce vomiting, Increase seating, Tobacco Replacement
Prepared as an infusion, Lobelia is used for treating bronchitis. The infusion can also be applied externally to help relax muscles, such as for sprains or back problems.
Prepared as an tincture, Lobelia is used for relieving asthma. The tincture can also be applied externally to help relax muscles, such as for sprains or back problems.
When smoked, Lobelia is used for respiratory issues and as a replacement for tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum).
Habitat: We find Lobelia all around our property. Near water and away from water. However, we almost always find it alone. While we have found a single clumping of Lobelia (6 plants in a 9 square foot area), we typically find them spaced very far apart – perhaps one plant every 100 feet.
Contrary to what you may believe, the general act of smoking is not what causes cancer. Instead, the hundreds of chemicals added to modern cigarettes is the problem.
Additives are placed in cigarettes for a variety of reasons, but primarily to make nicotine more easily absorbed by and potent to our bodies and to stop cigarettes from burning when they are not being buffed on.
Native Americans did not smoke what we know today as cigarettes. They smoked leaves, bark and other pieces of a wide variety of plants. While some are acclaimed to have a psychological effects, the medical benefits must be noted.
Imagine that smoking Lobelia can actually help solve breathing issues. Not the cause, but the solution. So often we associate smoking as a cause for a breathing issue, when in fact it can be a help.
I have read that the FDA either did, for a time, or perhaps merely attempted to, ban Lobelia. However, whatever the true history, Lobelia is legal and considered non-toxic.
Interestingly, Lobelia is used as a substitute for cigarettes to help people quit smoking.
That said, you might chuckle about that if you were to see the Lobelia inflata plants that grow on our property. The largest leaf I have seen is about 3.5″ long and 1″ wide. The entire plant comes across as “spindly”, with more stalk than leaves or flowers.
There just is not that much there. This leads me to believe that either it grows in more concentrated areas in other parts of the country or that the plant is only a small part of a group of herbs that are smoked as a mix.
If one were to smoke only Lobelia on our property, at the rate of 1 pipe full per day, the property would be stripped of Lobelia in about two weeks.
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