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Chelone glabra - L.

Balmony

Author	L.	Botanical references	43, 200
Family	Scrophulariaceae	Genus	Chelone
Synonyms
Known Hazards	None known
Range	Eastern N. America - Newfoundland to Ontario and Minnesota, south to Georgia and Missouri.
Habitat	Margins of swamps, wet woods and rivers[4, 43].
Edibility Rating	0 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	3 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 1m by 0.5m.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and can grow in heavy clay soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist or wet soil.

Habitats

Woodland Garden; Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade; Shady Edge; Bog Garden;

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Antibilious; Aperient; Appetizer; Cathartic; Cholagogue; Detergent; Tonic; Vermifuge.

Balmony is a very bitter herb with a tea-like flavour that acts mainly as a tonic for the liver and digestive system[238]. It has long been held in esteem in N. American folk medicine, though it has never been investigated scientifically[268]. The herb also has anti-depressant and laxative effects[238]. A decoction of the whole herb is antibilious, aperient, appetizer, cathartic, cholagogue, detergent, tonic, vermifuge[4, 21, 46, 61, 165, 207, 222]. It is used internally in the treatment of consumption, debility, diseases of the liver, gallbladder problems, gallstones etc[4, 254]. It is also used to relieve nausea and vomiting, intestinal colic and to expel worms[254]. Its tonic effect upon the digestive system has made it of benefit in the treatment of anorexia nervosa[268]. Externally, it is applied as a soothing ointment to piles, inflamed tumours, irritable ulcers, inflamed breasts etc[4, 268]. The plant is harvested when in flower and is dried for later use[238].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Easily grown in any ordinary soil, but it grows best in a light loam[1]. Tolerates heavy clays and light shade[1, 200]. Prefers growing in light shade[238]. Survives but does not thrive in dry conditions[200]. Prefers growing in a bog garden or in a soil that is unlikely to dry out[200]. Plants are very cold-hardy, tolerating temperatures down to about -20°c[187]. A polymorphic species, there are several named forms[43]. The plant spreads freely at the roots and so is best grown in a large pot[4].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a cold frame and keep moist. The seed germinates in 2 - 6 weeks at 20°c[164]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the cold frame. Plant them out into their permanent positions in the spring or early summer. Division in autumn[1]. Cuttings of soft tips in summer in a sandy soil in a frame[200].

Cultivars

There are some named forms for this species, but these have been developed for their ornamental value and not for their other uses. Unless you particularly require the special characteristics of any of these cultivars, we would generally recommend that you grow the natural species for its useful properties. We have, therefore, not listed the cultivars in this database[K].

Links

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[164] Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan. 1990
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Yuccas, one on Sagebrush (Artemesia spp) and another on Chaerophyllum bulbosum.

[165] Mills. S. Y. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism. 0
An excellent small herbal.

[187] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2. Pan Books 1991 ISBN 0-330-30936-9
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[207] Coffey. T. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File. 1993 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6
A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.

[268] Stuart. M. (Editor) The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism Orbis Publishing. London. 1979 ISBN 0-85613-067-2
Excellent herbal with good concise information on over 400 herbs.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

Chelone glabra

Sharon McIntosh Sun Sep 12 00:31:23 2004

While clearing the area around a small stream in our church's memorial garden, we discovered this plant growing in profusion under the weeds. Had never seen it before in Owsley County, Kentucky

Chelone glabra

Matt Gunnels Thu Feb 2 2006

GRRRRRRREAT Page!

holistic online good info

Chelone glabra

Manish Gupta Wed May 2 2007

DEar, This page is asset to the cultivators of Chelone. Please inform from where we can get seeds of Chelone glabra

Cultivators , Importers & Exporters of Herbs and Seeds We deal in rare herbs and seeds since 1957

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