Yerba Santa

Scientific Names

Eriodictyon californicum L.
Eriodictyon glutinosum
Hydrophyllaceae
Water leaf family

Common Names

Bear's weed
Consumptive's weed
Gum bush
Gum plant (Grindelia robusta L.)
Mountain balm
Tarweed
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Description of Plant(s) and Culture

Yerba santa is an evergreen shrub; it is somewhat branching and grows to a height of 2-4 feet. The stems are smooth and exude a gummy substance. Leaves are 3-4 inches long, distinctively woolly on the undersides, containing a network of prominent veins, and the resinous substance appears as if the woolly fibers have been varnished; upper surface is smooth with depressed veins. The flowers are terminal, appearing in shades of dark lavender to pale shades of lavender to white; forming funnel-shaped clusters at the top of the plant. The honey is amber, with a slightly spicy flavor. Bees love this plant. The capsule fruit is oval, grayish-brown and contains small brown shriveled seeds.
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Where Found

Follow the bees and find santa yerba on dry mountain slopes and ridges in the coastal ranges and up into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada from Monterey to Tulare northward.
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Medicinal Properties

Aromatic, tonic, stimulant, expectorant
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Biochemical Information

Eriodictyol, homoeriodictyol, chrysocriol, zanthoeridol and eridonel. Also free formic and other acids, glycerides of fatty acids, a yellow volatile oil, a phytosterol, resin and glucose.
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Legends, Myths and Stories

The name yerba santa (means "Holy weed") was given by the Spanish fathers who became aware of it through Native Americans.

The Native Americans smoked or chewed the leaves for asthma. The taste is peculiar, at first, when chewed, seems rather disagreeable, resinous, and bitter. This taste soon disappears and then tastes sweet and cooling, which is especially noticed when chewing stops a minute, or by drinking a glass of water. One Native American expressed it, "It makes one taste kind of sweety inside."
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Uses

Native Americans boiled the fresh or dried leaves for colds, coughs, sore throat, catarrh, asthma, bronchitis, hayfever, congestion due to allergies, laryngitis, fever, stomach aches, vomiting, diarrhea, hemorrhoids, kidney conditions, and rheumatism. Externally, Native Americans used the fresh or dried leaves as a poultice for broken or unbroken skin, fatigued limbs, insect bites, sprains, bruises, swellings, sores, poison ivy or poison oak rashes.
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Formulas or Dosages

Infusion: 1 tsp. of crushed leaves to 1 cup of boiling water, steep 30 minutes. Take 1 cup per day.

Fluid extract: mix 10 to 20 drops in liquid daily.
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Warning

Yerba santa should be used in small amounts as too large doses will irritate the kidneys.
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Bibliography

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

Earl Mindell's Herb Bible, by Earl Mindell, R.Ph., Ph.D., Simon & Schuster/Fireside, Rockefeller Center 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020

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

An Instant Guide to Medicinal Plants, by Pamela Forey and Ruth Lindsay, Crescent Books (January 27, 1992).

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