Elecampane
Elecampane is an elegant and weedy plant.
A green ally or plant ally is a plant that you intentionally try to become close with and learn from/with. In 2019, I chose elecampane and I wasn’t sure why. I was growing it, and was intrigued by how tall and weedy the plant grew, while also admiring the majestic elegance of the closed flower buds about to open.
You can see in the photo above, the bud underneath the yellow flowers… and how magical it looks. Imagine it even a few days before that, when it’s fully closed.
What can this teach us? The beauty before the opening. Appreciate the process, and try not to rush towards the outcome/ the flowering. Elecampane is most beautiful (to me) before the ‘outcome’ of flowering.
The root of elecampane is used in herbal medicine. I made a syrup for my friend who was struggling with a stuck, damp cough. With damp coughs, the liquid needs to gain enough substance to be coughed up, so that it’s not stuck in the lungs. When I brewed the root into a syrup for my friend (I followed the recipe for herbal syrups in Richo Cech’s book, Making Plant Medicine), my whole home smelled hopeful, like this medicine could help her. It is surely an aromatic plant. Aromatic plants are specifically helpful for damp cough conditions. jim mcdonald says, “Aromatic herbs contain volatile oils responsible for their decongestant virtues” and elaborates here.
My friend described how her congestion felt so stuck that she was pounding her chest throughout the night to try to dislodge it. She woke up with a bruised chest from pounding it. I instantly, intuitively knew why I was called to elecampane a few years ago, it was because my friend specifically needed this plant now and I was meant to know about it for her. I gifted her the syrup and dried root for tea, and she reported back that it dislodged the stuck congestion.
Elecampane also has a history of being made into candies…look around online for recipes. Enjoy getting to know this plant!
If you plan to grow it, beware that it does get tall (around 6’ or so). Maybe plant it towards the back of your garden, but somewhere where you can still get to, to admire it!
with love,
fieryhealer