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Solomon's Seal

Scientific Names


• Polygonatum multiflorum L.
• Polygonatum biflorum L.
• Polygonatum officinale L.
• Polygonatum commutatum
• Liliaceae
• Lily family

Common Names

Dropberry
He shou wu (Chinese name)
Mahmeda (Sanskrit name)
Meda (Sanskrit name)
Sealroot
Sealwort
Yu-zhu (Chinese name)
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Parts Usually Used

Root, rhizome
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Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Solomon's seal is a perennial plant; the thick, horizontal, scarred rootstock produces 1 or 2 erect stems, 1-3 feet high, whose lower half is naked and upper half leafy. The alternate, elliptic to ovate leaves are green with a whitish bloom underneath. 2 to 5 or more greenish-white, bell-shaped flowers hang from the leaf axils from April to August. The fruit is a blue or blue-black berry.

Another variety: Other species of Solomon's seal have similar properties. A European variety (P. odoratum) contains a substance that lowers the level of blood sugar. This variety has long been used in the Orient for diabetes and is included in many tea mixtures designed to lower blood sugar.
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Where Found

Grows in rich woods and thickets in eastern North America, Europe, and Asia. Connecticut to Florida; Texas, Nebraska to Michigan.
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Medicinal Properties

Antispasmodic, antibacterial, aphrodisiac, astringent, demulcent, emetic, expectorant, hemostatic, nutritive tonic
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Biochemical Information

Convallarin, aspargin, gum, sugar, starch, pectin
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Legends, Myths and Stories

Solomon's seal was so called probably from starlike markings on the rootstock, supposedly reminding us of the Star of David.

Another herb (Smilacina amplexicaulis) is known as Solomon's seal. Paiute name "Shapui"; Shoshone name "Roy"; The tea from roots for female trouble and internal pains.

Solomon's seal is reported to take away, in 1 or 2 nights, bruises, black eyes, burning heat of wounds, etc. Also, it will strengthen gums and fasten loosened teeth.
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Uses

Mainly for external problems. Makes a good poultice for bruises, inflammations, piles, sores, and wounds and a good wash for skin problems, acne, freckles, and blemishes. Has been used as a wash to relieve poison-ivy. Native Americans made a tea of the rootstock to take for women's complaints, indigestion, general debility, infertility, diabetes, consumption, dry cough, dehydration, malnutrition, broken bones, promote sound sleep, treat coughs, menopause, laxative, lung ailments, and general internal pains. The fresh root was poulticed, or root tea used externally as a wash, for cuts, bruises, sores, carbuncles, rheumatism, arthritis, and skin irritations.

In Western herbalism it is said to be given to promote healing of broken bones. In Ayurveda it is a kidney tonic and thought to build reproductive secretions. In modern China it is an important herb in treating cardiac diseases, and is thought to be a strong heart tonic.
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Formulas or Dosages

Tea: steep 1 oz. of the cut herb in 1 cup of hot water.
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Bibliography

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

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

The Complete Medicinal Herbal, by Penelope Ody, Dorling Kindersley, Inc, 232 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, First American Edition, copyright 1993

Culpeper's Complete Herbal & English Physician, by Nicholas Culpeper, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1990, (reprint of 1814)

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

Herbal Gardening, compiled by The Robison York State Herb Garden, Cornell Plantations, Matthaei Botanical Gardens of the University of Michigan, University of California Botanical Garden, Berkeley., Pantheon Books, Knopf Publishing Group, New York, 1994, first edition

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

How Indians Use Wild Plants for Food, Medicine & Crafts, by Frances Densmore, Dover Publications, Inc., 180 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014, first printed by the United States Government Printing Office, Washington, in 1928, this Dover edition 1974

Indian Herbalogy of North America, by Alma R. Hutchens, Shambala Publications, Inc., Horticultural Hall, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, 1973

Indian Uses of Native Plants, by Edith Van Allen Murphey, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, copyright 1958, print 1990

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

Webster's New World Dictionary, Third College Edition, Victoria Neufeldt, Editor in Chief, New World Dictionaries: A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023, 1984

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

The Rodale Herb Book, edited by William H. Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc. Emmaus, PA, 18049., 1974

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