Siegesbeckia orientalis

Earth Medicine Special Report: Siegesbeckia from David Bruce Leonard on Vimeo.

PLANT NAME: Siegesbeckia orientalis L.

COMMON NAMES: Xi xian cao [China]; small yellow crown beard [English]; colle colle (“stick stick”) [Creole]; hay lim cho [Canton]; kakamika [Tonga]; kirenso [Japan]; oech’umch’o [Korea]; st. paulswort [English]; trompetilla (S. cordifolia) [Colombia].

FAMILY: Asteraceae.

RANGE: Native to tropical areas of North and South America.

Uses:

  • Joint pain

  • Hypertension

  • Insomnia

  • Skin disorders

TOXICITY: Some Chinese sources list Siegesbeckia as slightly toxic.

CAUTIONS AND CONTRAINDICATIONS: Not in pregnancy.

ENERGETIC CAUTIONS: Caution in blood or yin deficiency.

NOTES ‘N QUOTES

  • The uses of xi xian cao were first recorded in China in 659 A.D.

  • The flowers are sticky, as are the seeds, which spread via animal contact.