Grindelia robusta
Part Used: Dried flower & leaf
Grindelia (Grindelia robusta) is a perennial or biennial herb or small shrub, with stems up to half-a-yard long, round, yellow, and smooth, with alternate, light-green, coarsely-toothed leaves having a clasping base. It is also called gum plant because of the sticky substance covering the plant. It is coveted for medicinal purposes. It has medicinal properties like anti-spasmodic, expectorant, hypotensive, blood purifier, demulcent, sedative, and stomachic. It acts to relax smooth muscles and heart muscles. It is useful in the treatment of asthmatic and bronchial conditions, especially where these are associated with a rapid heart beat and nervous response. It may be used in asthma, bronchitis, whooping cough and upper respiratory catarrh.
The leaves and flowering tops of Grindelia are antiphlogistic, antispasmodic, balsamic, demulcent, expectorant, sedative, stomachic and a vascular tonic. The plant is applied externally as a compress on inflamed or irritated areas of the skin. Used internally, it slows down the heartbeat and reduces the stimulation of the nerve endings in the air passages that causes coughing - it is therefore extremely effective as a calming agent in the treatment of asthma. It has been recommended in cystitis and catarrh of the bladder, but its principal use is in bronchial catarrh, especially when there is any asthmatic tendency. It relieves dyspnoea due to heart disease, has been successfully employed in whooping cough, and as a local application in rhus poisoning, burns, genito-urinary catarrh, etc. As its active principle is excreted from the kidneys, it sometimes produces signs of renal irritation; in chronic catarrh of the bladder it stimulates the mucous membrane.
References:
Plants for a Future. http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Grindelia+robusta
Holistic Online. http://www.holisticonline.com/Herbal-Med/_Herbs/h243.htm
Botanical.Com.
http://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/g/grinde37.html
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