Scurvy Grass

Parts Usually Used

Leaves

Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Scurvy grass is a biennial or perennial plant; the main root has many fibrous branch-roots and produces angular, furrowed stems as well as fleshy basal leaves. The basal leaves are oblong, reniform, or cordate; the scattered stem leaves are obovate to oblong and sessile or nearly so. Small which flowers grow in racemes from April to August. The fruit is a small, almost globose pod containing small, reddish-brown seeds.

Where Found

Found wild in moist places in northern Europe and the northern parts of North America and Asia; also found cultivated.

Medicinal Properties

Diuretic, stomachic, tonic

Uses

Historically, scurvy grass was utilized as a source of vitamin C to address scurvy. Herbalists regarded the plant as a blood purifier and recommended it for conditions such as rheumatism and dropsy. Folk traditions also involved mixing the plant's juice with orange juice to prepare a spring tonic.

Bibliography

American Folk Medicine , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1973 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) The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974.

Indian Herbalogy of North America , by Alma R. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023