Twin Leaf

Parts Usually Used

The whole plant, root especially

Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Twin leaf is a perennial plant; the horizontal, fleshy rootstock with matted fibrous roots produces a simple, naked scape, 12-18 inches tall. Emanating also from the rootstock, the large, smooth basal leaves, 3-6 inches long and 2-5 inches wide, are divided into 2 half-ovate leaflets. Blooming from April to May, a large, solitary, white, 8 petaled flower terminates the scape. The fruit is an obovate capsule.

The plant is only 6-9 inches tall in flower, but is double that height in fruit.

Where Found

Grows in limestone soils and in woods near rivers from Ontario westward to Wisconsin and southward to Virginia and Tennessee. Too rare to harvest.

Medicinal Properties

Antirheumatic, alterative, antispasmodic, antisyphilitic, diaphoretic, diuretic, emetic, expectorant, tonic

Biochemical Information

Bitter substance, an acrid and nauseating constituent, pectin, fatty resin, tannic acid, gum starch, sugar and mineral matters

Uses

Historically, herbalists utilized twin leaf for chronic rheumatism, spasms, neuralgia, cramps, and headaches, particularly those accompanied by dizziness and tension. Traditional practitioners also administered the plant for diarrhea, kidney gravel, and dropsy, and valued it as an expectorant, a tonic, or an emetic. Externally, folk traditions applied it as a poultice or fomentation with the intention of easing generalized pain, ulcers, sores, and localized inflammations.

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 The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974. , Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. , Copyright 1988, published 1992