page_title: Tanacetum balsamita
section_title: Traditional medicine
hierarchical_section_title: Tanacetum balsamita / Traditional medicine
caption_attribution_description: English: Tanacetum balsamita cv.majus Butonen. Cultivar: canonic Yuri Khanon Русский: Пижма бальзамическая (культурная форма «большая») - верхушка молодого побега с бутонами
context_page_description: Tanacetum balsamita is a perennial temperate herb known as costmary, alecost, balsam herb, bible leaf, or mint geranium.
context_section_description: In medieval times, costmary was used for menstruation problems. In the 18th century, it was classified as laxative, against stomach problems, and as an astringent. It was recommended against melancholy and hysteria, as well as dysentery and against gallbladder disease.
  The plant is known from ancient herbals and was widely grown in Elizabethan knot gardens.
  The 17th century herbalist Nicholas Culpeper says of costmary:
  "It is under the dominion of Jupiter. The ordinary costmary, as well as maudlin, provokes urine abundantly, and softens the hardness of the mother; it gently purgeth choler and phlegm, extenuating that which is gross, and cutting that which is tough and glutinous, cleanseth that which is foul, and prevents putrefaction; it openeth obstructions and relieves their bad effects, and it is beneficial in all sorts of dry agues. It is astringent to the stomach, and strengtheneth the livers other viscera: and taken in whey, worketh more effectively. Taken fasting in the morning, it relieves chronic pains in the head, and to stay, dry up, and consume all their rheums or distillations from the head into the stomach, a much to digest raw humours gathered therein,   It is  profitable for those [who] are fallen into a continual evil disposition of the body, called cachexy, especially in beginning of the disease.  It is good for weak and cold livers. The seed is given to children for worms, and so is the infusion of flowers in white wine, about two ounces at a time. It maketh an excellent salve to heal old ulcers, being boiled with oil of olive, and adder's tongue with it; and after is strained, put in a little wax, rosin, and turpentine to make it as thick as required."
caption: T. balsamita 'Majus'
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "Tanacetum balsamita cv.majus - \"Pitersky kanuper\"", "Image Make": "PENTAX Corporation", "Image Model": "PENTAX Optio S5z", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "ACD Systems Digital Imaging", "Image DateTime": "2009:04:09 15:57:52", "Image Artist": "Kulturnoe rastenie - Typ zapadnoi Evropy", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image Copyright": "Canonic Yuri Khanon. 17 ag 208. Tschern. photolal.", "Image ExifOffset": "414", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "28377", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "6014", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/80", "EXIF FNumber": "7/2", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Creative", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "200", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0210", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2008:08:17 19:39:04", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2008:08:17 19:39:04", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "1415/243", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "14/5", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "51/5", "EXIF SubSecTime": "125", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "663", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "476", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "28297", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0/0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "62", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Soft", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "1"}