Parts Most Frequently Used: Root, Sometimes Leaves and the Whole Plant (Young Shoots, Flower Buds and Stems are all edible)

Flavors/Temps: Bitter, Cool, Dry

Caution: Do not use during pregnancy (it can over stimulate the uterus), during lactation or with infants, due to small amounts of cardiac glycosides that can be toxic.

History/Folklore: Pleurisy has been used by Native Americans as an expectorant for wet coughs and other pulmonary ailments. It was considered to be one of the “finds” of early medical botanists in the U.S. around the turn of the 19th century, even while Native Americans had been using it for over thousands of years.

Pleurisy is considered one of the best herbal expectorants available while also being cool and relaxing. While the young shoots are edible, some alkaloids in older more mature plants can be toxic and are not recommended for pregnant or breast-feeding woman. These older plants can make children and livestock sick as well.

A cupful of warm infusion (1 teaspoon of powder in a cup of boiling water) taken every hour will quickly and effectively promote perspiration and release stuck phlegm.

Pleurisy is not native to China, but has in modern times been combined with the popular Chinese herb, skullcap, to help treat pneumonia.

The family of milkweed plants (Asclepias) were named for Aesculapius, an ancient Greek healer, who is said to have learned his knowledge of healing from Chiron the centaur whose herbal and medical skills came directly from the god Apollo.

Good quality roots will be externally a pale orange-brown color, that can become grayish-brown if kept for long and internally a whitish color. They are tough brittle roots with very little odor and an unpleasant bitter, almost acid taste.