RAGWORT.

Description:

It is also called St. James's Wort, and Stagger-Wort, and Stammer-Wort, Segrum, and Ragweed. The greater common Ragwort has many large, long dark green leaves lying on the ground; it has very ragged leaves, from which rise sometimes one, and sometimes two or three square blackish purple stalks, three or four feet high, somtimes branched, bearing such like leaves upon them, unto the top, where it branches into many stalks bearing yellow flowers, consisting of various leaves, set as a pale or border, with a dark yellow thrum in the middle. The root is very fibrous, and the seed is downy. There is another sort that rises not so high, the leaves are not so finely jagged, nor of so dark a green colour, but rather whitish, soft and woody, and the flowers paler. Both grow wild in pastures, and unfilled grounds, and oftentimes both in one field.

Herbal Remedies and Medicinal Uses of Ragweed:

—The decoction of the herb is good to wash the mouth or throat affected with ulcers or sores, and for swellings, hardness, or imposthumes, for it thoroughly cleanses and heals them; also the quinsy, and the king's evil. It is useful in catarrhs, thin rheums, and deflections from the head into the eyes, nose, or lungs. The juice is good to heal green wounds, and to cleanse and heal old ulcers, inward wounds and ulcers, running cankers, and hollow fistulas. It gives relief to aches and pains either in the fleshy part, or in the nerves and sinews; as also the sciatica, or pain of the hips or huckle-bone, by fomenting with a decoction of the herb, or anointing them with an ointment made of the herb, bruised, and boiled in hog's lard, with some mastic and olibanum in powder added unto it after it is strained.

Important Disclaimer: The information contained on this web site is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any diseases. Any information presented is not a substitute for professional medical advice and should not take the place of any prescribed medication. Please do not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease without consultation with your physician.

This page and the rest of the encyclopedia of medicinal herbs was reproduced from old herbals written in the 1700 and 1800s. They are of historical interest to show the traditional uses of various herbs based on folk medicine and ancient wisdom. However the traditional uses for these herbs have not been confirmed by medical science and in some cases may actually be dangerous. Do not use the these herbs for any use, medicinal or otherwise, without first consulting a qualified doctor.

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