Elecampane (Inula helenium)
Flowers: July to September. Height: 30 – 45cm (12 – 18in).
There is a legend that says Helen of Troy had this plant in her hand when she was kidnapped by Paris who had fallen in love with her. As she left her homeland, the plant is said to have sprouted wherever her tears fell. From this legend, the plant gets its Latin name Helenium. Also known as Horse-heal and Scabwort, it was said to cure skin diseases of horses and sheep affected with sheep scab.
Medicinal: The herb is of ancient medicinal repute as a lung tonic. It is frequently mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon writings on medicine prior to the Norman Conquest and was a favourite domestic remedy to treat all chronic diseases of the lungs such as asthma and bronchitis. The ancient Greeks and Romans used preparations made from this plant to treat upper respiratory infections as it contained Inulin which soothes the bronchial passages. Also used to aid digestion, Pliny’s The Naturalis Historie (77 AD) said “Let no day pass without eating some of the roots of Enula, considered to help digestion and cause mirth”. Culpeper’s Complete Herbal (1653) suggests it be used to warm a ‘cold and windy’ stomach, to resist poison, strengthen sight, treat wounds and plague and to clear internal blockages.
Culinary: Eaten as a sweetmeat, used for seasoning, and the root was candied. The monks liked it as a cordial. In the Middle Ages, wine was made from this plant and it was called Potio Paulino which means Paul’s drink, a reference to St. Paul’s advice (in 1 Timothy Ch. 5 v 23) to “drink a little wine for the stomach’s sake”. In France and Switzerland it is still used in the manufacture of absinthe.
Magic & Myth: Also known as Elfwort, it was sacred to the ancient Celts and was associated with the elves and fairy folk.
