Getting down to the golden roots
HYDRASTIS CANADENSIS (RANUNCULACEAE)
Goldenseal is a perennial herb that grows a new stem each year between 11 to 18 inches tall. The large serrate leaves grow in pairs up to 11 inches wide with five to seven lobes. A single white flower blooms from late April to May. The flower is a mass of stamens with no petals. A single bright red berry with 10 to 30 seeds comes in July. The most sought after part of the plant is the yellow rhizome. The bright yellow root is thick and knotted, and has long thin root hairs. The roots are gathered in mid summer and early fall.
WHERE DOES IT GROW
Goldenseal can be cultivated by using seeds or transplanting seedlings. It is found mostly in shady deep woods and damp meadows. It grows best in moist, well-drained soil, but can grow well in a variety of conditions including wet, sandy, or clay soils.
CULTURES THAT USE GOLDENSEAL
The woodland tribes that used Goldenseal as an important medicinal herb were: Cherokee, Catawba, Iroquois, and Kickapoo.
The Cherokee used the roots as a wash for local inflammations, a decoction for general aches, dyspepsia, and as an appetite stimulant. The Iroquois made a decoction from the root for whooping cough, diarrhea, liver disease, fever, sour stomach, flatulence, pneumonia, and for heart trouble. They would combine Goldenseal with other plant roots to make an earache remedy and an eye wash. Many of these same herbal remedies were adopted into the practice of eclectic medicine in the late 20th century. Not only was Goldenseal used medicinally by the tribes, but it was also used as a dye. The roots would be ground up to make a paint or bright yellow dye. This would be applied to their faces, horses, and weapons during ceremonial dances and before going to battle. It would also act as an insect repellent.
WHAT'S IN IT?
The yellow rhizome would be ground up and used as a dye, an insect repellant, an antiseptic or antibiotic wash for treating wounds, mouth sores, and eye inflammations. It would also boiling this bitter root to be drank and used internally for stomach and liver ailments.
Goldenseal is one of the top six best-selling medicinal herbs. Previously available only in specialty health and natural food stores, it and other medicinal herbs became part of the general market place during the 1990's. The demand increased significantly. Due to increased popularity, too many wild Goldenseal plants were harvested. It has been declared an endangered species in the United States.
Levetin, E. And McMahon, E. 2012. Plants and Society, 6th Ed. McGraw Hill Publ., pg 324
Sinclair, A. And Catling, P. M., USDA NRCS. Retrieved from
Goldenseal. Wisegeekhealth.com. Retrieved from
Photo credit references
http://www.alvita.com/herbal-teas/hydrastis-canadensis.html#. VloXVXo76rU (Photo #1)
Map picture. Retrieved from: http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=HYCA (Photo #2)
Root picture. Retrieved from: http://www.nutralegacy.com/blog/general-healthcare/top-10-goldenseal-root-healing-benefits/ (Photo #3)
Thomas G. Barnes, hosted by the USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Barnes, T.G., and S.W. Francis. 2004. Wildflowers and ferns of Kentucky. University Press of Kentucky.(Photo #4)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. 3 vols. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. Vol. 2: 85. (Photo #5)