Elecampane🌱🌱*Inula helenium*

Gut health, metabolism support, amazing lung support, truly a gem to have in your medicine cabinet.

After the huge aerial parts of the plants died back this fall, I harvested a good amount of root. This is definitely the king my of garden in the summers and I’ll probably move them next year to an area they’ll have a bit more room.

This is my absolute favorite lung tonic (if you can get past the taste). These beautiful bright yellow blooms on Elecampane stand around 6-10 feet tall with thin petals and large leaves, similar to sunflowers as they're both in the Asteraceae family. All parts of this plant are medicinal, though, the 2nd+ year roots are what's generally sought after. As with all roots, trasitional harvesting in the Spring and Fall after a frost, when the vital energy is concentrated is ideal.

Elecampanes energetics are sweet, bitter, pungent, warming and drying. It's incredibly aromatic. Spicy, warming and stimulating. This plant has been traditionally used as an expectorant, aiding to clear stagnant and stuck mucus, helping the body clear infection. Elecampane is well known in western herbalism, Ayurveda, and TCM in assisting with lung complaints, especially if infection is present. Its been used throughout history to support the body through asthma, pneumonia, general congestion, respiratory infections and coughs, shortness of breath, sinusitis, whooping cough, hay fever, and laryngitis. It's a quick acting herb and its actions are deeply antiseptic and antibacterial (among many others). It's considered a cleansing herb, so its ideal to cleanse and heal otherwise damaged lung tissue. Elecampane is also said to support us in our grief and sadness that we hold in the lungs. In TCM, emotions are linked with organs, and emotionally this is where we hold grief and sadness, causing stagnation and lung damage.

With its bitter and warming properties it's also incredibly healing and supportive to the gut. Bitters aid with bile secretion and weak digestion. Elecampane even supports the metabolism by enhancing digestive circulation. Its even used to combat intestinal parasites. The high inulin content (a naturally occuring polysaccharide) feeds healthy gut flora and acts as a prebiotic. Inulin is also restorative to an exhausted body.

Elecampane has no known drug contraindications, however it should not be used in pregnancy. Be advised this is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice.

I use Elecampane in my respiratory support remedies 🤍🫚 and now have a single herb elecampane glycerite 🥳