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Chelone glabra
| Common name: |
Balmony |
Family: |
Scrophulariaceae |
| Author: |
L. |
Botanical references: |
43, 200 |
| Synonyms: |
Chelone obliqua alba |
| Known Hazards: |
None known |
| Range: |
Eastern N. America - Newfoundland to Ontario and Minnesota, south to Georgia and Missouri. |
| Habitat: |
Margins of swamps, wet woods and rivers[4, 43]. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
0 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 3 |
| Other Possible Synonyms: | From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below. |
| C. chlorantha[B,P]
C. glabra var. chlorantha[B,P]
C. glabra var. dilatata[B,P]
C. glabra var. elatior[B,P]
C. glabra var. elongata[B,P]
C. glabra var. linifolia[B,P]
C. glabra var. ochroleuca[B,P]
C. glabra var. typica[B,P]
C. montana[B,P]
C. obliqua[B,G,H,P]
|
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Balmony [H,S], Balmony, Turtlehead [S], Bitter Herb [H], Chelone [S,H], Glatte [H], Red Turtlehead [P,B], Salt-rheum Weed [H], Shellflower [H], Snake-head [H], Snakehead [S], The Hummingbird Tree [H], Tosbagacicegi [E], Turtle-bloom [H], Turtle-head [H], Turtlehead [S,H,E], White Chelone [H], White Turtlehead [P,B], |
| Epithets: | From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets |
|
glabra = glabrous;
|
| Systematics: | From a USDA
Plants Database |
|
Order: Scrophulariales. Figwort family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
Turkey; Us; Us(Amerindian); Us(Appalachia); Us(Potawatomi)
|
Physical Characteristics
Perennial growing to 1m by 0.5m . It is hardy to zone 3. It is in flower from July to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs).
We rate it 0/5 for edibility and
3/5 for medicinal use.
The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and can grow in heavy clay soil.
The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils.
It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade.
It requires moist or wet soil.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Bog Garden, Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge.Edible Uses
None known
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Antibilious; Aperient; Appetizer; Cathartic; Cholagogue; Detergent; Tonic; Vermifuge.
Balmony is a very bitter herb with a tea-like flavour that acts mainly
as a tonic for the liver and digestive system[238]. It has long been held in
esteem in N. American folk medicine, though it has never been investigated
scientifically[268]. The herb also has anti-depressant and laxative
effects[238].
A decoction of the whole herb is antibilious, aperient, appetizer,
cathartic, cholagogue, detergent, tonic, vermifuge[4, 21, 46, 61, 165, 207,
222]. It is used internally in the treatment of consumption, debility,
diseases of the liver, gallbladder problems, gallstones etc[4, 254]. It is
also used to relieve nausea and vomiting, intestinal colic and to expel
worms[254]. Its tonic effect upon the digestive system has made it of benefit
in the treatment of anorexia nervosa[268]. Externally, it is applied as a
soothing ointment to piles, inflamed tumours, irritable ulcers, inflamed
breasts etc[4, 268]. The plant is harvested when in flower and is dried for
later use[238]. We have a more details factsheet on the history and medicinal use of this plant. Email webmaster@pfaf.org for details.
Other Uses
None known
Cultivation details
Easily grown in any ordinary soil, but it grows best in a light
loam[1]. Tolerates heavy clays and light shade[1, 200]. Prefers growing in
light shade[238]. Survives but does not thrive in dry conditions[200].
Prefers growing in a bog garden or in a soil that is unlikely to dry
out[200].
Plants are very cold-hardy, tolerating temperatures down to about
-20°c[187].
A polymorphic species, there are several named forms[43].
The plant spreads freely at the roots and so is best grown in a large
pot[4].
Propagation
Seed - sow spring in a cold frame and keep moist. The seed germinates
in 2 - 6 weeks at 20°c[164]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots
when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the cold frame.
Plant them out into their permanent positions in the spring or early summer.
Division in autumn[1].
Cuttings of soft tips in summer in a sandy soil in a frame[200].
Cultivars
- ''
- There are some named forms for this species, but these have been developed for their ornamental value and not for their other uses. Unless you particularly require the special characteristics of any of these cultivars, we would generally recommend that you grow the natural species for its useful properties. We have, therefore, not listed the cultivars in this database[K].
Suppliers
For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.
Web References
- Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
- [H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
- [E] Ethnobotany Data
(common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
- [B] Data
(Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
- [S] Image
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [S] Illustration
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [G] Data
(Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
- [S] Illustration
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
References for Chelone obliqua (a possible synonym).
References for chelone glabra (a possible synonym).
References for the family Scrophulariaceae.
See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.
Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.
[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.
[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.
[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
[164] Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan. 1990
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Yuccas, one on Sagebrush (Artemesia spp) and another on Chaerophyllum bulbosum.
[165] Mills. S. Y. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism.
An excellent small herbal.
[187] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2. Pan Books 1991 ISBN 0-330-30936-9
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.
[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[207] Coffey. T. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File. 1993 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6
A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.
[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.
[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
[268] Stuart. M. (Editor) The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism Orbis Publishing. London. 1979 ISBN 0-85613-067-2
Excellent herbal with good concise information on over 400 herbs.
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Plant information taken from the
Plants For A Future -
Species Database.
Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963 This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Chelone+glabra
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