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Ligusticum porteri

Common name:	Porter's Licorice Root	Family:	Umbelliferae
Author:	J.M.Coult.&Rose.	Botanical references:	155
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	South-western N. America.
Habitat:	Moist fertile ground, almost to the timberline, 2000 - 3500 metres in Texas[155]. Upland meadows and ravines[238].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	3

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Bear Medicine [S], Colorado Cough Root [S], Lovage, Porter's [S], Oshá [S], Oshà, Chuchupaste [S], Osha [H,S], Osha Root [E], Osha, Chuchupa, Colorado Cough Root [S], Osha, Chuchupate, Chuchupaste OR Chuchupatle [S], Porter's Licoriceroot [P], Porter's Wild Lovage [B],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	ligusticum = Ligurian, (NW Italy);
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Apiales. Renamed to Apiaceae -- Carrot family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Us(Nm)

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.9m by 0.6m . It is hardy to zone 6. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 3/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Condiment.

The leaves are used as a flavouring, a celery substitute[155].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antirheumatic; Antispasmodic; Diaphoretic; Diuretic; Expectorant; Febrifuge; Kidney; Stomachic; TB; Uterine tonic.

The roots, seed and essential oil (obtained from the roots and the seed) of this plant are a bitter, camphoraceous warming herb that stimulates the circulation, kidneys and uterus[238]. They are also antirheumatic, antispasmodic, diaphoretic, digestive, expectorant, febrifuge and stomachic[155, 172, 238]. They are used internally in the treatment of eruptive fevers, bronchial infections, digestive complaints, toothache, painful menstruation and retained placenta[238]. They have also been used to treat TB. and headaches[155, 172]. An infusion of the roots is used externally to treat body aches[257]. The root is harvested in the autumn and can be used fresh or dried[238].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Succeeds in any well-drained soil in a sunny position[200]. Succeeds in dry soils[238].
Plants are hardy to at least -15°c[238].

Propagation

The seed is best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame in the autumn. Stored seed should be sown as early in the year as possible in a greenhouse or cold frame[200]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer if they have grown large enough. Otherwise, keep them in a cold frame for the first winter and plant them out in early summer.
Division in spring.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[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] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] SW USA Dist. Maps from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Image 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.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for ligusticum porteri (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[155] Arnberger. L. P. Flowers of the Southwest Mountains. Southwestern Monuments Ass. 1968
A lovely little pocket guide to wild plants in the southern Rockies of America.

[172] Schofield. J. J. Discovering Wild Plants - Alaska, W. Canada and the Northwest.
A nice guide to some useful plants in that area.

[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.

[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.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

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Bibliography

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?Ligusticum+porteri
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Ligusticum+porteri

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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.