Origins: Rich calcareous woods and bottoms, upland swamps, and humid areas.

Uses: As the common name, "coughweed", would indicate, the herb is an expectorant and pectoral. In addition to these qualities, it is listed as an emmenagogue and vulnerary.

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This native perennial plant has rounded basal leaves that are green in the winter in Indiana when few other plants are. In the spring the plant sends up a stalk with purple buds that open to golden yellow flowers. The plant is also known as squaw weed and life root. Native Americans and settlers both used leaf tea to treat delayed menses, labor pains, complications of childbirth, and symptoms of menopause. The plant contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids that are highly toxic to the liver, and it should never be taken internally. Some herbalists today recommend its use as a douche for excessive discharge.

Part used::
Leaves

Origin:
America

1) A guide to medicinal plants of  Appalachia/ Krochmal, Arnold; Walter, Russel S.; Doughty, Richard M.: USA: U.S.D.A Forest Service:,1959

2) Hull, Kathleen; Photog. Hull, Meredith /Indiana Medical History Museum: Guide to the Medicinal Plant Garden./ USA: Indiana Medical History Museum. 2010. -- p. 58.