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Colombo

Scientific Names

• Cocculus palmatus L.

Common Names

American colombo
Calumbo
Colomba
Colomba root
Foreign colombo
Kalumb
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Parts Usually Used

Roots
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Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Colombo is a climbing perennial plant; the thick, brown rootstock sends up 1 or 2 round and hairy stems which are simple in the male plant and branched in the female. The leaves are alternate, cordate, and 3-9 lobed.
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Where Found

Found in the forests of southeastern Africa .
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Medicinal Properties

Antiemetic, febrifuge, tonic
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Uses

Colombo used to relieve vomiting, and nausea, especially during pregnancy. Useful for fevers, chronic diarrhea, dysentery, cholera, rheumatism, pulmonary consumption, and colon problems. A bitter tonic, it improves appetite, and helpful for dyspepsia.
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Formulas or Dosages

Keep the rootstock in slices until ready to use, then pulverize it.

Infusion: use 1 level tsp. rootstock with 1 cup boiling water; steep for 30 minutes and strain. Take 1 tsp., 3 to 6 times a day.

Tincture: take 5-10 drops at a time.
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Bibliography

American Folk Medicine, by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1973

Back to Eden, by Jethro Kloss; Back to Eden Publishing Co., Loma Linda, CA 92354, Original copyright 1939, revised edition 1994

Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants, by Steven Foster and James A. Duke., Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000

The Herbalist Almanac, by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, copyright 1988, fifth printing, 1994

The Herb Book, by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974.

Old Ways Rediscovered, by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, published from 1954, print 1988

Planetary Herbology, by Michael Tierra, C.A., N.D., O.M.D., Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. WI 53181., Copyright 1988, published 1992

The Yoga of Herbs, by Dr. David Frawley & Dr. Vasant Lad, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, Second edition, 1988.

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