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| ## california yerba santa {#california-yerba-santa .Title-Header}     |
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| *Eriodictyon californicum* (Hook. & Arn.) Torr.                       |
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| Plant Symbol = ERCA6                                                  |
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*Contributed by: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center*

##### Alternate Names

Mountain balm, Palo Santo, holy plant

#####  

##### Uses

*Ethnobotanic:* Yerba Santa was highly valued by many California tribes
including the Salinan, Ohlone, Miwok, Pomo, and Yokuts who continue to
use it for various medicinal purposes. The Spanish who came to early
California were so impressed with the plant that they gave it the name
Yerba Santa, meaning holy plant. Yerba Santa was introduced to the
Spanish Padres at Mission San Antonio de Padua by the Salinan tribe and
it became one of three major medicinal herbs used at the mission
(Heinsen 1972).

The plants can be harvested at any stage, but are best in the fall when
the leaves are sticky and aromatic (Hedges & Beresford 1986). The
Kashaya Pomo recommend gathering the leaves just before the plant begins
to produce flowers (Goodrich et al. 1980).

The leaves, stems and flowers are used (Heizer & Elsasser 1980). They
are either eaten or made into a tea, decoction, or poultice. The flowers
and the bitter, aromatic leaves may be used fresh or dried. The leaves
and flowers were made into a "bitter or sweetish-soapy" tasting tea that
was drunk to relieve headaches and other symptoms of tuberculosis.
Infusions of Yerba santa leaves and flowers were used to treat fevers,
coughs, colds, stomachaches asthma, rheumatism pleurisy, and to purify
the blood. The Kawaiisu drank Yerba Santa tea instead of water for a
month to treat gonorrhea (Zigmond 1981). The Salinan used an infusion of
the leaves as a balm for the eyes. Later, those at the San Antonio
mission made eye balm by placing the leaves in corked glass bottles and
allowing them to sweat in the sun.

![](media/image2.jpeg){width="3.196527777777778in"
height="2.1479166666666667in"}

Leaves were smoked or chewed to relieve asthma, coughs, colds,
headaches, and stomachaches. Heated leaves were placed on the forehead
to relieve headaches (Bocek 1984) and other aches and sores (Barrett &
Gifford 1933). The sticky leaves conveniently stay in place upon the
skin. Mashed leaves were applied externally to sores, cuts, wounds, and
aching muscles. Mashed leaves were also used to reduce the swelling and
relieve pain caused by bone fractures (Barrett & Gifford 1933). Yerba
Santa, used alone or combined with other herbs, was applied to infected
sores on humans and animals. The branches and leaves were burned in
steam baths to treat rheumatism. The Ohlone wove the leaves into skirts
and aprons.

*Wildlife:* Bees visit the flowers of Yerba Santa, which make a
deliciously spicy amber honey. Seedlings and young plants are relatively
nutritious and palatable but the bitter compounds in mature Yerba Santa
shrubs discourage most large herbivores. However it is an important
forage crop for black-tailed deer in the winter when other food sources
are unavailable. Birds and small mammals eat the seed capsules.

*Livestock:* Goats will sometimes eat the leaves and stems. Cattle will
avoid Yerba Santa in favor of more palatable plants, which can be a
problem in highly grazed areas where it can become the dominant plant
(Howard 1992).

*Other*: Yerba Santa can be used for rehabilitating and stabilizing
disturbed areas (Howard 1992). The seeds germinate readily in disturbed
soils. The shallow, spreading root system can help to stabilize areas
subject to erosion caused by runoff.

##### Status

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural
Resources for this plant's current status (e.g. threatened or endangered
species, state noxious status, and wetland indicator values).

##### Description

######## General: Waterleaf family (Hydrophyllaceae). Yerba Santa is a perennial evergreen shrub (5 to 22 dm) native to California and Oregon. The stems are black with shredding outer bark. The lance shaped leaves (4 to 15cm long) are thick and leathery with a glutinous upper surface. The leaves are dark green above with lighter green beneath and can have either smooth or saw-toothed edges. Older leaves often turn black due to a condition called sooty fungus. The white to purple trumpet-shaped flowers (8 to 17mm) grow in branched panicles at the stem ends. The flowers bloom from May to June or July. The small capsulate fruits (2-3mm) ripen in September and contain from 2 to 20 small black seeds. 

*Distribution*: Yerba Santa occurs from the Coast Ranges in California
from Monterey County to the Klamath range in Siskiyou County as well as
in the Sierra Nevada Range from Kern County in California to the Oregon
counties of Klamath and Jackson in the north (Howard 1992). For current
distribution, please consult the Plant Profile page for this species on
the PLANTS Web site.

*Habitat*: Yerba Santa grows below 1600-m elevation on dry rocky
hillsides and ridges. It can be found in patches on chaparral slopes,
forests, canyons, and along riverbanks. It is abundant in some annual
grasslands and oak woodlands. Yerba Santa is often found in disturbed
areas and early to mid successional communities.

##### Adaptation

Yerba Santa is adapted to the hot, dry summers and mild, wet winter's
characteristic of the Mediterranean climate of California. Yerba Santa
is a "fire-following" species (Emery 1988). Seeds stored in the soil for
decades germinate readily during the first spring after a fire (Howard
1992). Older plants can sprout from their underground stems, called
rhizomes, following disturbances such as fire.

##### 

##### Establishment

Gather seeds in September and October as the fruit capsules ripen. Yerba
Santa seeds can be planted in the fall or early spring. The seeds will
store indefinitely if kept in a dry, cool location. Prior to sowing, mix
the seeds with several parts of moist sand. This helps to ensure even
distribution. Seeds can be sown directly into a prepared bed or into
flats filled with a mixture of equal amounts of soil, sand, and
leafmold. Heating the seeds in an oven for 5 minutes at 194 °F may
increase germination rates (Emery 1988). Alternatively the seed coat can
be scarified in order to allow moisture and air to enter (Mirov &
Kraebel 1939). This may be accomplished by rubbing the seeds between two
pieces of sandpaper. Adding charate (burned and ground plant stems) to
the soil may also increase germination success. When the seedlings are
large enough to handle they should be transplanted into larger pots. The
plants can be placed into the ground the following spring.

The plants are sunloving and do not tolerate shade. Plants may be grown
in any texture of soil but prefer it to be slightly acidic and
moderately fertile. The shallow roots allow them to establish in thin as
well as deep soils. The plants are tolerant of serpentine soils.

When selecting a site keep in mind that after two years Yerba Santa can
reproduce vegetablely through rhizomes. These underground stems can
spread as much as 2.5 m in one year under excellent conditions (Howard
1992) and may overrun other plants (Halse 1993). This vegetative spread
results in cloned patches with plants spaced from 20 to 25cm apart.

##### Management

The plants should only be pruned in the spring or early summer.

### Cultivars, Improved and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil
Conservation Service) office for more information. Look in the phone
book under "United States Government." The Natural Resources
Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading "Department of
Agriculture."

##### References

Barrett, S.A. & E.W. Gifford 1933. *Miwok material culture: Indian life
of the Yosemite region.* Bulletin of Milwaukee Public Museum Vol. 2, No.
4. Yosemite Association, Yosemite National Park, California. 388 pp.

Bocek, B.R. 1984. *Ethnobotany of Costanoan Indians, California, based
on collections by John P. Harrington.* Economic Botany, Vol. 38, No. 2.
Pp. 240-255.

Brousseau, Br. A. 1995. *Eriodictyon californicum* St. Mary's College of
California. Digital Library Project, University of California, Berkeley.
\[Online\]. Available: http://www.calflora.org. Accessed \[15 December
2001\].

Goodrich, J., C. Lawson & V.P. Lawson 1980. *Kashaya Pomo Plants*.
Heyday Books, Berkeley, California. 171 pp.

Halse, R.R. 1993. *Hydrophyllaceae waterleaf* family. In: Hickman, J.D.,
Editor. *The Jepson manual: Higher plants of California.* University of
California Press, Berkeley, California. Pp. 683-686.

Hedges, K. & C. Beresford 1886. *Santa Ysabel ethnobotany.* San Diego
Museum of Man Ethnic Technology Notes No. 20. San Diego, California. 58
pp.

Heinsen, V. 1972. *Mission San Antonio de Padua* *Herbs: Medicinal herbs
of early days*. Third edition. Lockwood, California. 142pp.

Heizer, R.F. & A.B. Elsasser 1980. *The natural world of the California
Indians*. University of California Press, Berkeley & Los Angeles,
California. 271 pp.

Howard, J.L. 1992. *Eriodictyon californicum*. In: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire
Sciences Laboratory 2001, May. *Fire Effects Information*

*System*, \[Online\]. Available: <http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/>.
\[20 December 2001\].

Knudtsen, P.M. 1988. *The Wintu Indians of California.* Naturegraph
Publishers, Inc. Happy Camp, California. 92 pp.

Mirov, N.T. & C.J. Kraebel 1939. *Collecting and handling seeds of wild
plants.* Civilian Conservation Corps Forestry Publication No. 5. US.
Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 42 pp.

Moerman, D.E. 1998. *Native American ethnobotany*. Timber Press,
Portland, Oregon. 927 pp.

Moerman, D.E. 1999. *Native American Ethnobotany Database: Foods, drugs,
dyes and fibers of native North American Peoples. The University of
Michigan-Dearborn.* \[Online\]. Available:

<http://www.umd.umich.edu/cgi-bin/herb>

\[6 January 2002\].

Murphey, E.V.A. 1959. *Indian uses of native plants.* Mendocino County
Historical Society, Fort Bragg, California. 81 pp.

Munz, P.A. & D.D. Keck 1963. *A California flora.* University of
California Press, Berkeley & Los Angeles, California. 1681 pp.

Parsons, M. E. 1966. *The wild flowers of California.* Dover
Publications, Inc., New York, New York. 425 pp.

Powers, S. 1976. *Tribes of California.* University of California Press,
Berkeley & Los Angeles, California. 480 pp.

Zigmond, M.L. 1981. *Kawaiisu ethnobotany.* University of Utah Press,
Salt Lake City, Utah. 102 pp.

##### Prepared By: 

######## Diana L. Immel

Formerly USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center, c/o Environmental
Horticulture Department, University of California, Davis, California

##### Species Coordinator: 

##### *M. Kat Anderson*

USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center, c/o Plant Science Department,
University of California, Davis, California

##### 

##### Edited: 15apr02 ahv; 19may03 ahv; 05jun06 jsp

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

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