CRANESBILL EXTRACT
Product No. P03448
Also known as Geranium maculatum, Alum Root, Spotted Cranesbill, Wild Cranesbill, Crowfoot, Geranium, Wild Geranium, Spotted Geranium, Dove's Foot, Tormentil, Storksbill, Alumroot, Alum Bloom, Shameface, American Kino Root, Old Maid's Nightcap and Chocolate Flower.
Cranesbill is a perennial plant that is native to North America, found in low grounds and woodlands from Canada to Georgia, and westward to Kansas. The stout, horizontal rootstock (the medicinal part) produces a hairy stem with opposite pairs of leaves and clusters of attractive rose-purple flowers that bloom from April to July. The plant's fruit bears a fanciful resemblance to a Crane's bill, hence the name, and the entire flowering plant reaches a height of approximately two feet.
Native Americans used Cranesbill as an eyewash and applied it to sores, open wounds and swollen feet. The Chippewas employed it as a remedy for sores inside the mouth, especially in children, and many tribes ate the young leaves of the plant. The early settlers learned of the many effective medicinal qualities of Cranesbill from the Native American tribes, and by the nineteenth century, a physician remarked that the root was "a very popular domestic remedy" that was widely in use as an astringent for diarrhoea, dysentery and hemorrhaging. Cranesbill was listed in the United States Pharmacopoeia from 1820 to 1916. Herbalists still recommend the underground rootstem for many of those same medicinal purposes, and it is still used both internally and externally for its astringent qualities.
Cranesbill helps to reduce inflammation of the mucous membranes and has been used to heal the gastrointestinal tract. When used internally, cranesbill acts as a hemostatic, or agent that will stop bleeding, and is an excellent treatment for hemorrhage, nosebleeds, and profuse menstruation. The root contains a high concentration of tannins that act as a powerful astringent, causing mucous membranes to constrict, and are also said to be effective against diarrhea, cholera and dysentery.
Used externally, Cranesbill is a powerful blood coagulant: The dry powder sprinkled on a wound or cut will stop bleeding immediately. (Barbers have used it as a styptic for years to stop razor cuts.) As an antiseptic mouthwash, Cranesbill is believed to aid in the relief of mouth sores, sore throat and bleeding gums. Considered a powerful antiseptic and effective antibacterial, Cranesbill has also been found helpful in fighting leukorrhea and the bacteria associated with tuberculosis.
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