The herald., 1897-04-25
MEDICINAL PLANTS OF 3
! SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA;
written for The Herald.)
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IT does such an immense extent VI 'ei
ritory. embracing therein varieties OF
soil and climate at varying attitudes.
and under conditions Of climate such as
no other country can boast, should nave
given so few edible products to man
kind. With the exception OF the Jerusa-
lem Artichoke, which Is native OF IN
diana. America has produced no plant,
seed. or bulb, that may be considered
among the food supplies of the world.
IT appears somewhat singular that
though the native food products OF tniS
immense territory are so few and unlm-
portant, the medicinal plants. on the
other hand, take rank among the most
valuable we possess. The meolcinai
plants Of the eastern states nave peen
well known for centuries now, but those
of the west, though among the most I'M
portant, have been Of comparatively re-
cent discovery by us. The native In
dian, and subsequently the Mexican De-
ing almost wholly dependent on nauve
resources for their therapeutic remeoles.
have been familiar for many years with
the valuable medicinal plants OF this
territory, and from them we acquired
the knowledge of their uses.
While the natives in all cases useo
these drugs somewhat empirically, med
ical men have, by the advance OF SCI
ence and chemical research, attained
to a more intelligent appreciation OF
their uses, and have been enabled 10
separate the active principles. thereby
purifying them from the deleterious and
innocuous compounds that are so fre-
ouently associated with drugs of value
As 1 intend only discussing In this
article the medicinal plants native to
Southern California I am regretfully
compelled to omit speaking at length on
the most valuable drug California pro-
duces, viz, Cascara sagrada, the sacred
bark of the Spaniard and the close ally
of the Buckthorn of England Rham-
nus Purshiana, from which the Cascara
bark is taken, is shrub indigenous
to the foothill regions of Northern Cali
fornia. There it grows abundantly, it's
annual harvest of bark being shipped
to the commercial drug centerS in the
east. This shrub resembles quite closely
the so-called coffee-berry of our foothills
in Southern California, the bark or
which is sometimes substituted for the
genuine Cascara, but is apparently de-
void of any medicinal value.
The most valuable of Southern Cali
fornia plants is Grindela robusta. which
is tolerably common on the moist slopes
in Elysian park and the districts around
Los Angeles. 1t belongs to the compo-
site family, and its sunflowerlike head,
bedewed by milky secretion on its GEN.
tral florets and at it's base, render 1t
readily recognizable. This is, of all
vegetable drugs, recognized as the most
valuable remedy in asthmatic affec-
tions, and as such is extensively used
over all the civilized world.
Yerba santa (Eriodictyon glutin osum)
IS favorably known in the west by va
riety of names, of which Saint herb,
consumptive weed, and mountain balm,
are the most familiar. The latter name
indicates the locality where it is nat
urally and most abundantly found.
Here and there patches of this may be
discovered in loamy meadows along the
Sierra San Gabriel foothills, but its fa-
vorite site is higher up, about 1000 feet
altitude. Here its sticky, resinous-
coated leaves, glistening in the sun and
surmounted by a struggling raceme of
white flowers, produce a conspicuous
floral picture. incidentally. it is one of
the most useful expectorants known.
and in the form of a syrup enters largely
into most of the cough mixtures in daily
use. One of the peculiar properties Of this
drug is its power of destroying the Bit
ter taste of quinine without affecting
the therapeutic value of the latter
drug. On this account medical men fire.
quently administer quinine to children
dissolved in syrup of yerba santa.
Yerba rheuma (Frankenia grandi-
folia) which translated into English
means f1ux herb, is an humble. weedy
looking annual found chiefly in alkaline
soils around Los Angeles, and on the
seashore. Its small pink flowers and
slender leaves, often frosted with waXy
are easily recognizable. 1t
is used by the Spaniards in all catarr-
hal and inf1ammatory affections of mu-
cous membranes, the astringent prin-
ciples contained in the herb being the
active ingredients in the production of
the cure.
Yerba mansa (Anemopsis Californica)
is a white-fowered plant, with plan
tain-like leaf and fleshy root, found
growing abundantly in marshy places
between Los Angeles and the sea. The
medicinal properties are contained in
the root, and are valuable as an anti
dote to malaria fever and as curative
agent in chronic malaria, and in intesti-
nal and gastric troubles dependent on
that infection
Yerba buena (Micromeria dougla ssh.
as its name would indicate was priced
herb among the early settlers, who used
the dried leaves in decocting tea which
they used literally in all affections of
the digestive system and in fevers from
cold or otherwise. Its popularity, 1
fear, was dependent as much on
the sweetness OF its fragrance
as on its medicinal properties,
This herb, though common enough
in the northern counties, is some
what rare near here, being found
but sparingly in the hills of the Santa
Monica and Newhall ranges
Manzanita (Arctostaphyloe glauca).
This special variety of Manzanita.
Though found here on mountain tops,
is not the most common form of the dis
trict, but they so closely resemble each
other In the reddish bark and Lily of the
Valley like flowers that only botanists
can distinguish them. In the early
days of California history the leaves of
the Mazanita was largely used in kidney
and general urinary troubles. but of late
It's use has been supplanted in this coun-
try by the European IVA ursi, a species
of the came family. though the man
zanita is considered by many people
quite as valuable and certainly much
less expensive.
California Fever-bush (Garrya FIRE.