Scientific Name: Aralia racemosa, Araliaceae family
Common Names: Spikenard, American spikenard, Indian nard, life-of-man, pettymorrel, spiceberry, spignet, spikenard, Syrian nard.
Part used: Root
Active Compounds: Resin, tannin, acid, albumen, mucilage, and cellulose.
Background: Aralia racemosa shares the name spikenard with other medicinal plants; most are unrelated, as is Nardostachys grandiflora: spikenard.
Its family, Araliaceae, includes the ginsengs. Among tribes of eastern North America spikenard has been used for centuries and considered a specific in benefitting broncho-pulmonary tract conditions. It was used as preventive for general care and as a blood purifier.
Applications: Aromatic, stimulant, expectorant, relaxant, demulcent, diaphoretic and alterative.
Most used in pulmonary and bronchial conditions where there is irritating cough with expectoration. Reduces spasmodic cough while improving organ and muscle tone.
Used in cases of chronic laryngitis with excessive and abundant mucus, and in similarly conditioned pharyngitis. Is of distinct benefit in treating chronic bronchitis. Used when a cough is acute and irritable, and includes wheezing and dry mucus.
Used in cases of bronchial and pulmonary congestion, pleurisy, measles, and adrenal cortex hypofunctions. A steaming infusion of spikenard can be inhaled to affect pulmonary/bronchial relief.
Description: This native North American perennial has herbaceous, widely branched, smooth stems, 3 or 4 feet tall. Leaves are dark-green or reddish, sprout from a thick, fleshy, aromatic root. Leaves are decompound with three-part leaf-stalks, each bearing 3 or 5 large, ovate, pointed, serrate, slightly downy leaflets. The umbels are numerous, small, arranged in branching racemes from axils of leaves or branches, with small greenish-white flowers, succeeded by dark-purple berries in large clusters. Roots are harvested in autumn as ripened berries and leaves begin to fade. Plant produces berries when root is mature, often in its 5th year. A delicate plant, Aralia is subject to habitat encroachment.
Dosage: Infusion, taken 1/2 to 2 oz., 3 x daily
Safety:
There is no known negative safety information for this herb.
For educational purposes only This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
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