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Pelargonium
Traditional names:
Umckaloabo,
Klawerbossie, Rabassam
Plant Description:
The
plant is a perennial herb with silken silver_green leaves (crinkled
quarter size hearts), dark purple to almost black flowers and swollen
tubers below the ground.
The tuberous, fleshy root-stock, which is bright red inside is
harvested, sliced and dried.
Pelargonium
Sidoides is an indigenous South African plant and is found throughout
the Eastern Cape, Lesotho, the Orange Free State, and Southern and
South-Western Transvaal.
Traditional uses:
Pelargonium sidoides is set to become the natural African cure for
coughs, colds, bronchitis and respiratory problems, including
tuberculosis. For hundreds
of years the Zulu, Basuto, Xhosa and Mfengi cultures have used
Pelargonium sidoides as a curative for coughs, upper respiratory tract
irritations, and gastrointestinal concerns.
The Basutho people used a pelargonium root infusion for the treatment of
gastrointestinal disorders and infections of the respiratory tract
including tuberculosis. In
Zulu culture tubers have been used to treat diarrhea and dysentery. The
former Swiss missionary, Sechehaye used the herb in
Main Chemical
components:
Umckalin, Isomenthone
Contra Indications:
Unknown.
