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Published: January 17th 2022
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ENGLISH NAME : Elecampane
LATIN NAME: Inula Helenium
ITALIAN NAME : Enula
NICKNAMES : Horse-heal, Heal, Elfdock, Medicinal Elecampane, Horseman's herb
STORY BEHIND NAMES:
Inula : Comes from the Greek 'Ineo' which means 'I purge', which refers to the plant's medicinal properties
Helenium : Greek mythology tells the story of Helen of Troy who wept as she was taken away by Prince Paris. From her tears it is said that the Elfdock plant grew, and the kidnapping triggered the great Trojan wars. The name Hellena was passed on and over time became distorted to 'Helenium.'
Elecampane: In Christian beliefs, this plant became a symbol of healing of the soul after having confessed one's sins. This was because Horse-heal's medicinal powers were so effective it was said to mirror God's mercy in the forgiveness of sins. Hence the saying 'Elecampane will the spirits sustain'
IMPORTANT PARTS OF PLANT : roots
SYMPTOMS TREATED : diabetes (due to the high level of inulin/ insulin), the regulation of anaemia that is triggered by heavy menstrual flow, an antiseptic to healing respiratory tract diseases and skin conditions, nephritis (inflammation of a kidney), gout, diarrhoea, an antifungal to treat mycosis, anti-cancer drug, antispasmodic, diaphoretic, bactericide, antiviral, choleretic, an emmenagogue, de-wormer to destroy intestinal parasites
ADDITIONAL PROPERTIES AND INTERESTING INFORMATION:
■In herbalism it is often prescribed in the case of overall tiredness
■Used for culinary purposes
■The roots are sometimes candied and sold as sweetmeats
■The roots should be chopped up and candied into a sugar syrup to make them easy to digest
■It was regularly prescribed on a therapeutic basis by Hippocrates (460 to 370BC)
■In the Middle Ages, it was a standard plant in the healing herb garden of monasteries
■It is used as a diuretic
WHERE AND WHEN IT GROWS : it is native to Asia and generally grows in clusters, in forest clearings, in ditches and along cool walk ways in the temperate regions of Africa, Asia, Europe and North America
TYPE OF PLANT : Herbaceous perennial belonging to the Inula genus. It is also a biennial and an annual robust wildflower.
ITALIAN WORDS :
antisettiche - antiseptics
stomachiche - stomachic
ipocolesterole - cholesterol
usata fin dall' antichità - used since ancient times
la produzione di liquori - production of liqueurs?
GLOSSARY
■ expectorants : a medicine which reduces the thickness of mucus and make secretions in the airways thinner when a person has a cough
■ stomachich : a tonic which improves the function of the stomach, assists digestion and increases appetite
■diaphorectic: a drug which makes a person sweat more
■mycosis : A contagious disease caused by a fungus which invades the body's tissue.
■emmenagogue : a medicine which stimulates menstrual flow
■choleretic : a drug which stimulates the liver into promoting more bile
■bactericide : a substance which destroys bacteria
■antispasmodic : they treat symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, stomach pain and cramp by slowing the natural movements of the gut and by relaxing the muscles in the stomach and the intestines
■diuretic : they help kidneys to release more sodium into the urine. The sodium helps to remove water from the blood by decreasing the amount of blood flowing through the blood vessels. This therefore lowers blood pressure
■Hippocrates : An Ancient Greek physician who lived during Greek's classical period and is traditionally regarded as the father of medicine, born c.460 BC, island of Cos, and died c.375 BC in Larissa, Thessaly
■biennial plant : these plants have a life cycle of two years, so they germinate and grow one year and bloom and die the following
■annual plant : these plants germinate, bloom, set seed and die all in one year
■perennial plant : this describes any plant which lasts longer than 2 years, which usually means it grows and flowers for many years
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