Dog’s Mercury
Parts Usually Used
The entire plant
Description of Plant(s) and Culture
Dog’s mercury is a perennial plant; the round, furrowed, glabrous, branched stem bears opposite, dark green, ovate, serrate, hairy leaves. The flowers are light green and axillary, the male in spikes, the female solitary or in 2’s and 3’s. Flowering time is April and May. Another variety: Mercury herb (M. annua) is an annual species of mercury with a square stem and light green leaves.
It is used like dog’s mercury and is similarly poisonous.
Where Found
Grows in waste places in the eastern United States; naturalized from Europe, where it grows especially in shady mountain woods.
Medicinal Properties
Emetic, purgative
Uses
Herbalists historically employed the fresh plant as a laxative. In homeopathic traditions, a tincture prepared from the plant was utilized for complaints such as rheumatism and stomach ailments.
Warning
The fresh plant is poisonous, and the poison is believed to be cumulative in effect. Thorough drying or boiling seems to destroy the poisonous activity. Do not use without medical supervision.
Bibliography
The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974. Culpeper’s Complete Herbal & English Physician: Updated With 117 Modern Herbs , by Nicholas Culpeper, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1990, (reprint of 1814)