Page 214 - Lost Book Remedies

The Lost Book of Herbal Remedies

Yerba Santa,
Eriodictyon californi-

cum

Yerba Santa is my number one plant to dry up mucous.

Yerba Santa, also known as Mountain Balm, Consump-
tive Weed, or Bear Weed, is an evergreen shrub native
to the coastal chaparral and Redwood forests of the Pa-
cific Northwest. It is in the Hydrophyllaceae (Water-
leaf) Family.

Yerba Santa, by Levi Clancy, Own work, CC-BY-SA-4.0
water
to the top and let steep overnight. Strain and store the
extract. Use the extract to mask objectionable flavors
in teas or extracts.

Medicinal Use: The leaves are used for medicine.
Mucous, Asthma, Fevers, Allergies, Sinus,
and Respiratory Infections: Yerba Santa con-
tains chemical components that alleviate and loosen
mucus in the chest and sinus due to infection, colds,
allergies, etc. I use a very effective leaf tincture to dry
Yerba Santa, Wikipedia Commons up mucous but you can also apply the plant as a poul-
tice by crushing the steeped leaves and rubbing it on
Identification: Yerba Santa grows in small colonies the chest.
along dry, rocky slopes, ridges, and hillsides. It is espe-
cially common on eastern and southern facing sur-
faces. It grows from 3 to 8 feet (0.9m to 2.4m) in
height, with many straight, protruding branches. Its
long, lance-shaped leaves are dark green, growing
from a short stem. The more mature leaves often feel
sticky to the touch and may even appear sooty or black.
This is the result of a common fungal growth that
forms on mature Yerba Santa shrubs.

The pink and purple flowers of Yerba Santa bloom in
the spring. The gray fruit surrounds a small seed cap-
sule containing small hard black seeds. The shrub it-
self is an occasional source of nutrition for some ani-
mals, especially deer in the winter, but the leaves have
a pungent and unpleasant odor and a bitter taste.

Edible Use: Surprisingly, because of the bitter
leaves, Yerba Santa extract can be used as a taste en-
hancer, especially effective in masking unpleasant fla-
vors. To make the extract, take about an ounce of the
leaves and place them in a mason jar. Pour boiling

213