Cherokee Indians in the South employed the cardinal flower's root as a cure for syphilis, while Iroquois Indians in the North swore by great blue lobelia's root as a remedy for the same disease.
* Please Note: This information is based partly on Traditional Medicine which uses natural materials to support health. This information has not been evaluated or approved by the FDA. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These products are intended to support general well being and are not intended to treat, diagnose, mitigate, prevent, or cure any condition or disease. If conditions persist, please seek advice from your medical doctor.
Description
Medicinal Usage
Cherokee Indians in the South employed the cardinal flower's root as a cure for syphilis, while Iroquois Indians in the North swore by great blue lobelia's root as a remedy for the same disease.
Sir William Johnson, superintendent of Indian affairs in North America from 1756 to 1774 and a friend of the Iroquois, sent samples of the blue flower to England, hoping to provide Europeans with a long-sought cure for the fatal disease. But the English trials of the plant had negative results, and European physicians had to discount it as a cure for syphilis. Nevertheless, the Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus labeled the plant Lobelia siphiitica.
Although Indians and settlers used the cardinal flower as an emetic (to induce vomiting) and an expectorant, as well as a treatment for venereal disease, herbalists never valued it as much as they did its potent (and poisonous) cousin Lobelia inflata, or Indian tobacco.
North American Indians used both plants to treat venereal disease. Great blue lobelia's effectiveness against the disease was tested but not substantiated when the plant was introduced into traditional Westem medicine around 1800.
General Herb Information
In late summer, all across the country, one may see two members of the lobelia family blooming along muddy streams, lakeshores, and marshy riverbanks. The cardinal flower flaunts crimson red blossoms in showy spikes. The other member, often called great blue lobelia, sports purplish-blue flowers.
Both plants are now esteemed more for their beauty as wildflowers than for their medicinal properties, but in the early days of America this was not true.
Habitat: Moist pasture lands, lakeshores, marshy and muddy banks of streams and rivers.
Range: Native to North America, both plants are found from southern Canada to Texas. Cardinal flower is a protected species in some states.
Identification: Both plants are perennials, and grow 2-4 feet tall with stiff, erect stems. The leaves are lance-shaped and toothed. The flowers of both plants grow in long spiky clusters. Cardinal flower (July-September) is intense crimson red, and great blue lobelia (August-September) is deep blue to purple.
Preparation and Dosage: A dose of 0.2 - 0.6 g the herb is taken as an infusion or decoction three times per day. Liquid extracts or tinctures (1:1 in 50% ethanol) are taken in 0.2 - 0.6 mL quantities, three times daily.
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Directions
Hot tea brewing method: Bring freshly drawn cold water to a rolling boil. Place 1 tea bag for each cup into the teapot. Pour the boiling water into the pot, cover and let steep for 2-4 minutes. Pour into your cup; add milk and sugar to taste.
Iced tea brewing method: (to make 1 liter/quart): Place 5 tea bags into a teapot or heat resistant pitcher. Pour 1 1/4 cups of freshly boiled water over the tea itself. Steep for 5 minutes. Quarter fill a serving pitcher with cold water. Pour the tea into the serving pitcher straining the tea bags. Add ice and top-up with cold water. Garnish and sweeten to taste.
Cautions
Do not use during pregnancy.
Additional Information
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These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Products are intended to support general well being and are not intended to treat, diagnose, mitigate, prevent, or cure any condition or disease. If conditions persist, please seek advice from your medical doctor. The essence of the current American rule on Traditional Uses is, as stated by FTC, "Claims based on historical or traditional use should be substantiated by confirming scientific evidence, or should be presented in such a way that consumers understand that the sole basis for the claim is a history of use of the product for a particular purpose."
