Elecampane, Inula helenium, a relative of the sunflower and echinacea is known to have many healing properties. Current events spotlight this perennial’s long history of use as a soothing expectorant. Due to the plant’s many beneficial attributes, it is considered a natural medicine with the ability to gently stimulate a therapeutic cough that brings mucus out of the chest, while simultaneously tonifying the mucosal lining of the respiratory system.
Elecampane is a remedy with a list of names and uses that have withstood the test of time. Known as horsetail, wild sunflower, elfdock, scabwort, velvet dock, horseheal and more, one can easily reach the conclusion that this beautiful plant with a radiant yellow flower is believed to heal many ailments. It is said to have traveled with Helen to Troy, the ancient Roman, Pliny the Elder was quoted, “Let no day pass without eating some of the roots of elecampane to help digestion, to expel melancholy and to cause mirth,” Hippocrates himself noted its stimulating effects on the brain, kidneys, stomach and uterus,and there is a medieval saying “elecampane will the sprits sustain.” Still in use today as a treatment for a variety of ailments, elecampane will, without a doubt, continue to work it’s magic for a long time to come.