Description
This annual or occasional biennial grows tall and upright. At maturity it can reach upwards of 5-6 feet. From spring through early summer, the plant appears as an up-turned feather duster. Its leaves, which are several inches long, are clustered along the main stems and spread outward. As time passes, nutrient dynamics are shifted to the small inconspicuous whitish flower heads that form in staggered masses at the plant’s top. At this point, the leaves on the lower central stem lose their vitality and often yellow. The achenes are scattered by wind and many will surely sprout the following year.
Distribution
Look for this advantageous weed in disturbed places such as roadsides, irrigation ditches, and other moist areas where water tends to collect and linger. Unlike looking for some annuals, Canadian fleabane is predictable in where it will be found. If you know where to find it, chances are it will be found there year after year provided ground moisture is the same. Originally indigenous to the eastern part of the country, Canadian fleabane is now found throughout the west. Since the early eighteenth century, Canadian fleabane has even crossed the Atlantic Ocean and is now ubiquitous in parts of Europe.
Chemistry
Sesquiterpenes: trans-a-bergamotene, delta-cadenol, a-curcumene, a-farnesene, and farnesol; monoterpenes: carvone and a-thujene; lipids: enoic and diynoic acids; miscellaneous lactone: furanone; flavonoid: syringic acid
Medicinal Uses
An infusion of Canadian fleabane is highly useful in chronic inflammatory states of the intestines where there is diarrhea, attending mucus, and tissue disruption. This preparation is well used in ulcerative colitis. Canadian fleabane’s overall astringency and tightening effect on mucus membranes is not derived wholly from the plant’s tannins, but from its volatile oil content, which is locally, and in the case of the essential oil, systemically hemostatic. The plant’s tonic effect on intestinal walls has use in "leaky gut syndrome", where immune responses and inflammatory mediators are wreaking havoc in the area, resulting in malabsorption, digestive discomfort and food allergies.
The essential oil of Canadian fleabane or oil of Erigeron as it is commonly called is a systemic hemostatic. In times when modern coagulate pharmaceuticals were non-existent, various herbal preparations did (and still do) work to quell mild to moderate hemorrhaging. Today, the use of oil of Erigeron to staunch internal bleeding is considered antiquidated, but there is merit to the principle. Use oil of Erigeron internally to quell mild hemorrhaging from the lungs, particularly if severe coughing is a contributing factor. Likewise, if there is mild uterine bleeding after childbirth or blood in the urine from acute injury to the kidneys, the essential oil will prove useful. Mild bleeding from the stomach and intestines, most likely from ulcerative conditions, acute physical injury, or the aftermath of viral or microbial espousers can be stopped or at least lessened.
Indications
Chronic intestinal inflammation
Diarrhea with mucus and blood
Malabsorptive syndromes with intestinal debility
Passive hemorrhaging from the lungs, kidneys, uterus, stomach, and intestines (essential oil)
Collection and Preparations
Collect the upper half of the plant before it flowers. After drying the entire portion, garble the leaves from the stems. Discard the woody stem portions since the majority of volatile oils are held within the leaf. The leaf infusion is the superior preparation.
Dosage
Leaf infusion: 4-6 ounces 3-4 times daily
Essential oil: 3-10 drops 3 times daily
Cautions
The main problem with Canadian fleabane use is developing an over-confidence of its sphere of influence. If there is injury resulting in serious blood loss the emergency room is the best place to start. Avoid during pregnancy; the plant may exert an unwanted vasoconstricting effect on uterine lining.