Lion’s Foot

Parts Usually Used

The entire herb

Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Lion’s foot is a perennial plant; the smooth, purple-tinged stem grows to a height of 2-4 feet and contains a milky juice. The leaves are smooth, thick, and deep green, the basal triangular in shape, the stem ones lanceolate. All are deeply and irregularly toothed. Numerous fragrant pendant flower heads grow in broad, terminal panicles or axillary clusters during August and September.

The florets are cream-colored and tinged with lilac. The seed (technically fruit) fuzz a deep rust color.

Where Found

Found in rich woods of the eastern 3rd of the United States and Canada.

Medicinal Properties

Astringent, antiseptic, bitter

Uses

Historical herbalists prepared a decoction of Lion’s Foot root for complaints such as canker sores, diarrhea, and dysentery. The milky juice of the plant was traditionally consumed in the belief that it counteracted snakebite, while poultices made from the leaves were applied externally to snake, dog, and insect bites. Native American traditions also incorporated the powdered root into food with the intention of promoting lactation after childbirth.

Bibliography

Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants , by Steven Foster and James A. , Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000 The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974. , 180 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014, first printed by the United States Government Printing Office, Washington, in 1928, this Dover edition 1974 Indian Herbalogy of North America , by Alma R.

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