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[Sunday's Child]

I saw a refrence to a plant named Asafoetaeda in the newsletter. I have never heard of this plant or herb and can't seem to find out anything about it. I have been to several sites and looked in several of my herb books but to no avail.. Can anyone help me? Does it have another name?

[Lavender]

Asafoetida (Ferula foetida) also known as Ferula or devil's dung.

Taken from John Lust's Herb Book - pg 194-195

"Medicinal part: Juice

Despcription: is the gummy dried juice of a large Asiatic perennial plant found in Turkestan, Afghanistan, & Iran. It's large bristly, fleshy root produces a stem from 6 to 10 feet high, with alternate, pinnately decomposed leaves on wide sheathing petioles. The pale greenish-yellow flowers grow at the top of the stem in clusters of compound, many-rayed unbels.

Properties & Uses: Antispasmodic, carminative, expectorant, laxative, sedative. Acts as a local stimulant to mucous membran, particulary that of the alimentary canal. It has been found useful for whooping coughs, asthma, & bronchitis, as well as for croup and flatulent colic in infants. It was formerly used as a sedative for hysteria, infantile convulsions & spasmodi nervous conditions.

Preparation & Dosage: In June the roots of four-year-old plants which have not flowered are cut to collect the milky juice. This dries to a brownish, gummy substance which is divided into lumps or powdered."

Please note that this book was written in 1979. Although much of his information is still current, I would be REALLY leery of giving this to infants & small children for such conditions as specified.

[Sunday's Child]

Thanks Wildchild, you always come through for me girl. You know I'll be back with more...