Medicinal Herb InfoA reference archive of plants and their traditions
Not medical advice. This site documents how plants have been described and used historically. It is a botanical and folklore reference, not guidance for treating illness, and it carries no dosing instructions. Talk to a doctor or pharmacist before using any plant medicinally — herbs interact with medication and some are toxic.

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Balmony

Botanical reference entry

On this page

Parts Usually Used

Leaves

Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Balmony is an herbaceous perennial plant; its simple, erect, square stem reaches 1-3 feet high. Opposite, short-petioled, shiny leaves are dark green, pointed, are serrate and oblong-lanceolate in shape. Bloom from July to September, the white flowers are often tinged with pink or magenta, grow in dense clusters, terminal or axillary spikes. The two-lipped corolla of the flower somewhat resembles a turtle’s head, upper lip arching.

The fruit is an ovoid capsule.

Where Found

Found in wet ground from Newfoundland to Florida and westward to Minnesota, Kansas, and Texas.

Medicinal Properties

Anthelmintic, antibilious, aperient, cholagogue, stimulant, tonic

Uses

Historically, herbalists employed this plant for weak stomachs, indigestion, constipation, general debility, and a sluggish liver. Traditional accounts recorded its use to stimulate the appetite, address fever, jaundice, and intestinal worms, as well as serving as a tonic during convalescence. Externally, practitioners applied it to sores, painful ulcers, inflamed breasts, and eczema.

An ointment prepared from the plant was traditionally used to address the itching and irritation associated with piles.

Bibliography

, Loma Linda, CA 92354, Original copyright 1939, revised edition 1994 Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants , by Steven Foster and James A. , Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000 Indian Herbalogy of North America , by Alma R. , Horticultural Hall, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, 1973 The Herbalist Almanac , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, copyright 1988, fifth printing, 1994 Old Ways Rediscovered , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, published from 1954, print 1988 The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine , by Dr.

David Frawley & Dr. Vasant Lad, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, Second edition, 1988. The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974.