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Herb Uses -O, P, Q Herbs
Tail (Leonotis leonurus) it just blooms earlier.
Lion's Tail (Leonotis leonurus) Many traditional uses have been recorded. The foliage is commonly made into a
medicinal tea, which is favored for the hypnotic focus it gives. The leaves or roots are widely used as a remedy for
snakebite and also to relieve other bites and stings. Decoctions of the dried leaf or root have been applied externally to
treat boils, eczema, skin diseases and itching, and muscular cramps. Extracts are also used to relieve coughs, cold
and influenza, as well as bronchitis, high blood pressure and headaches. Leaf infusions have been used to treat
asthma and viral hepatitis. The tea is also used to treat headache, bronchitis, high blood pressure and the common
cold. This species is also important in Chinese/Vietnamese medicine as an euphoric, purgative and vermifuge.
Litsea cubeba The root and stem are used in traditional Chinese medicine. It expels wind and dampness, promotes
the movement of qi and alleviates pain: for wind-damp painful obstruction and stomach aches. Most commonly used
for lower back pain. It promotes the movement of qi and blood, warms the channels and alleviates pain: for
dysmenorrhea that presents primarily with a distended and painful lower abdomen that improves with heat or
pressure. Also for blood stasis pain due to trauma, or other gynecological pain associated with blood stasis. Also
used for chills, headaches and muscle aches due to an exterior disorder. Has been reported to be useful in treating
motion sickness.
The fruits are reputed to alleviate chronic asthma, as well as being a treatment for coronary heart disease and
high blood pressure.
Little Mallow (Malva parviflora ) The bruised leaves have been rubbed on the skin to treat skin irritations. A strained
tea of the boiled leaves has been administered after childbirth to clean out the mother’s system. As a headache
remedy, the leaves or the whole plant have been mashed and placed on the forehead. Powdered leaves have been
blown into the throat to treat swollen glands. The leaves have been used to induce perspiration and menstrual flow,
reduce fever, and treat pneumonia. The whole plant can be used as a poultice on swellings, running sores and boils.
The seeds are used in the treatment of coughs and ulcers in the bladder. A decoction of the roots or leaves has been
used as a hair rinse to remove dandruff and to soften the hair.
Live Forever (Sedum purpureum ) The fresh leaves yield a juice that is used as an astringent to help heal wounds.
The plant has enjoyed a reputation as an internal remedy for ulcers, lung disorders, and dysentery and as an external
astringent for the treatment of slow-healing wounds. It is a popular remedy for diarrhea, stimulates the kidneys and
has a reputation in the treatment of cancer. A poultice of the crushed leaves has been used in the treatment of boils
and carbuncles.
Liverwort, Ker-gawl (Hepatica americana, (H. tribola); H. nobilis) While rarely found in herbal remedies today, it is
a mild astringent and a diuretic. It stimulates gall bladder production and is a mild laxative. Its astringency has also
stopped bleeding in the digestive tract and the resultant spitting of blood. Historically, liverwort has been used for
kidney problems and bronchitis. It’s active constituent, protoaneminin, has been shown to have antibiotic action. The
Russians use it in their folk medicine and also to treat cattle with “mouth sickness.”
Liverleaf (Hepatica acutiloba) The herb has astringent and tonic properties. It also has demulcent activity. The
roots and leaves are used dried or fresh in a tea or syrup. Of little use.
Lobelia (Lobelia inflata) Lobelia was a traditional Native American remedy and its use was later championed by the
American herbalist Samuel Thomson (1769-1843), who made the herb the mainstay of his therapeutic system. He
mainly used it to induce vomiting. It was promoted by Jethro Kloss and later by Dr. John Christopher. A powerful
antispasmodic and respiratory stimulant, lobelia is valuable for asthma, especially bronchial asthma, and chronic
bronchitis. It relaxes the muscles of the smaller bronchial tubes, thus opening the airways, stimulating breathing, and
promoting the coughing up of phlegm. In the Western tradition, lobelia has always been combined with cayenne, its
hot stimulant action helping to push blood into areas that lobelia has relaxed. Lobelia is often most effective when the
infusion or diluted tincture is applied externally. It relaxes muscles, particularly smooth muscle, which makes it useful
for sprains, and back problems where muscle tension is a key factor. Combined with cayenne, lobelia has been used
as a chest and sinus rub. Due to its chemical similarity to nicotine, lobelia is employed by herbalists to help patients
give up smoking. Lobeline sulphate has been part of commercial over-the-counter antismoking lozenges. It seems to
replace physical addiction to nicotine without its addictive effects. The Native Americans smoked it like tobacco for
respiratory problems and it gained the name Indian tobacco. Both drinking the tea and smoking lobelia, usually with
other herbs to modify its intense reaction, have been employed to treat asthma, bronchitis and whooping cough.
Plasters and liniments for sprains, muscle spasms, and insect bites and poultices for breast cancer sometimes contain
lobelia.
Lomatium (Lomatium dissecta) Both Lomatium and Ligusticum were used by Native Americans and early American
medical practitioners for a variety of chronic or severe infectious disease states, particularly those of viral origin.
Modern research is rather limited, but clinical trials have supported the inclusion of these botanicals for viral infections
including HIV and condyloma. Traditionally it’s demonstrated efficacy against a variety of bacterial infections including
tuberculosis.
Lomatium contains an oleoresin rich in terpenes. It acts as a stimulating expectorant, enhancing the
liquification and consequent elimination of mucus from the lungs. It also appears to exert a strong antibacterial activity,
interfering with bacterial replication and inducing increased phagocytosis. The resin also contains a number of
furanocoumarins including nodakenetin, columbianin and pyranocoumarin. These resins may be responsible for the
plant's antiviral effect. They may also be partly responsible for the phagocytic action lomatium causes .
Based on empirical evidence and discussions with clinical herbalists, lomatium can be used as an
antimicrobial, especially in the lungs and upper respiratory tract. It provides quick-acting relief in cases of viral or
bacterial infection, particularly when there is a large amount of thick or sticky mucus and infection is deep-seated and
persistent. Consider taking lomatium for pneumonia, infective bronchitis and tuberculosis .
As an immunostimulant, this herb is traditionally used to treat colds and flus. Many cases during the 1920s
U.S. influenza epidemic were successfully treated with lomatium by the professional herbalists of the time, and it has
been used for this purpose by Native Americans since the introduction of influenza to the Americas .
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