Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Elecampane
open-in-new
<h2 id="description">Description</h2> <p>Elecampane is a rather rigid <a href="/facts/Herb/EKCltNNF">herb</a>, the <a href="/facts/Plant_stem/QlQWSzV4">stem</a> of which attains a height of about 90–150 cm (35–59 in). The <a href="/facts/Leaves/1m6wCNTg">leaves</a> are large and toothed, the lower ones stalked, the rest embracing the stem; blades egg-shaped, elliptical, or lance-shaped, as big as 30 cm (12 in) long and 12 cm (4.7 in) wide. Leaves are green on the upper side with light, scattered hairs, but whitish on the underside because of a thick layer of wool. The flower heads up to 5 cm (2 inches) broad, each head containing 50-100 yellow ray flowers and 100-250 yellow disc flowers. The root is thick, branching and mucilaginous, and has a bitter taste and a <a href="/facts/Camphoraceous/53KvP2Rw">camphoraceous</a> <a href="/facts/Odour/WnCopMmH">odour</a> with sweet floral (similar to violet) undertones.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="folklore">Folklore</h2> <p>The plant's specific name, <i>helenium</i>, derives from <a href="/facts/Helen_of_Troy/3zgevnGS">Helen of Troy</a>; elecampane is said to have sprung up from where her tears fell. It was sacred to the ancient <a href="/facts/Celts/eMCVYAFz">Celts</a>, and once had the name "elfwort".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> The plant traditionally was held to be associated with the <a href="/facts/Elves/7GB9V6qp">elves</a> and <a href="/facts/Fairy_folk/P5ca3mNx">fairy folk</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> </p><p>Corrupted variations of the name Elecampane, such as <i>alicompagne</i>, <i>hallecumb pain</i>, and <i>jollup and plain</i>, have been used as miracle cures that can revive the dead in <a href="/facts/Mummers%27_play/pgTUXttD">Mummers' play</a> in Britain and Ireland. <a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> <a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> <a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> <a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a> </p><p>The 17th-century herbalist <a href="/facts/Nicholas_Culpeper/NfPawlCW">Nicholas Culpeper</a> considered elecampane to be ruled by <a href="/facts/Mercury_(mythology)/2omXHvrY">Mercury</a> and used it to warm a cold and windy stomach, to resist poison, to strengthen sight, and to clear internal blockages.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="uses">Uses</h2> <p>The herb has been used since <a href="/facts/Ancient_Greece/PTVBrWXq">Ancient Greek</a> times. <a href="/facts/Theophrastus/YEeQeInW">Theophrastus</a> recommended using the plant in oil and wine to treat the bites of vipers, spiders and <a href="/facts/Pine_processionary/wElpVuhU">pine caterpillars</a> in his <i><a href="/facts/Historia_Plantarum_(Theophrastus_book)/yLLwg9KS">Historia Plantarum</a></i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a> </p><p>In <a href="/facts/Ancient_Rome/cGqIuxPd">Roman</a> times, <i><a href="/facts/Apicius/2ulUgHAm">Apicius</a></i>, a cookbook from the 1st century AD, describes it as a plant for testing whether <a href="/facts/Honey/jnRSlNEF">honey</a> is spoilt or not, the plant is immersed in the honey and then lit, if it burns brightly the honey is considered fine.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a> The root was mentioned by <a href="/facts/Pliny_the_Elder/grx67ghR">Pliny</a> in his <i><a href="/facts/Natural_History_(Pliny)/bMp2te1A">Natural History</a></i> both as a medicine and as a <a href="/facts/Condiment/KnnUnv0o">condiment</a>. </p><p>In <a href="/facts/Medieval_Europe/RqzEKB9v">Medieval Europe</a>, the roots were candied and eaten as confectionery.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a> </p><p>In <a href="/facts/France/CxIeIKM3">France</a> and <a href="/facts/Switzerland/LcGuxeTe">Switzerland</a> it has been used in the manufacture of <a href="/facts/Absinthe/EtpvXxtH">absinthe</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19"><sup>19</sup></a> In <a href="/facts/England/U9mE5bGL">England</a> it was formerly in great repute as an aromatic tonic and stimulant of the secretory <a href="/facts/Organ_(anatomy)/FUYsLaxz">organs</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20"><sup>20</sup></a> It is mentioned in an 1817 New-England almanack as a cure for hydrophobia when the root is bruised and used with a strong decoction of milk.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21"><sup>21</sup></a> It is used in <a href="/facts/Herbal_medicine/aFHY8zCD">herbal medicine</a> as an <a href="/facts/Expectorant/rw9veqmh">expectorant</a> and for <a href="/facts/Water_retention_(medicine)/Q6MI3KdH">water retention</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:22" href="#fn:22"><sup>22</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="chemical-constituents">Chemical constituents</h2> <p>Besides the storage <a href="/facts/Polysaccharide/lqXq2cJU">polysaccharide</a> <a href="/facts/Inulin/087d6jp2">inulin</a> (C6H12O6[C6H10O5]n), a polymer of <a href="/facts/Fructose/pEqWJC2N">fructose</a>, the <a href="/facts/Root/x2U60Gdm">root</a> contains <a href="/facts/Helenin/CEStqdD7">helenin</a> (C15H20O2), a phytochemical compound consisting of alantolactone and isoalantolactone. Helenin is a stearoptene, which may be prepared in white <a href="/facts/Acicular_crystals/PGMnp4TX">acicular crystals</a>, insoluble in water, but freely soluble in <a href="/facts/Ethanol/3lCLfBSP">alcohol</a>. When freed from the accompanying inula-camphor by repeated crystallization from alcohol, helenin melts at 110 °C.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:23" href="#fn:23"><sup>23</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> Wikimedia Commons has media related to Inula helenium. <ul><li><a href="http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Inula+helenium">Elecampane at Plants for a Future</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/e/elecam07.html">Elecampane from Maud Grieve, A Modern Herbal</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.tropicos.org/ImageFullView.aspx?imageid=89430">photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, collected in Missouri in 1933</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Oxford English Dictionary (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. September 2005. <a href="/wiki/Oxford_English_Dictionary" target="_blank">/wiki/Oxford_English_Dictionary</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>B.-E. van Wyk and M. Wink. (2004). Medicinal Plants of the World, p. 181, Singapore: Times Editions. <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Altervista Flora Italiana, Inula helenium L. includes photos and European distribution map <a href="http://luirig.altervista.org/flora/taxa/index1.php?scientific-name=inula+helenium" target="_blank">http://luirig.altervista.org/flora/taxa/index1.php?scientific-name=inula+helenium</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"Inula helenium in Flora of North America @ efloras.org". www.efloras.org. <a href="http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=200024054" target="_blank">http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=200024054</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map". <a href="http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Inula%20helenium.png" target="_blank">http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Inula%20helenium.png</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Inula helenium in Flora of China @ efloras.org". www.efloras.org. <a href="http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200024054" target="_blank">http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200024054</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"Inula helenium in Flora of North America @ efloras.org". www.efloras.org. <a href="http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=200024054" target="_blank">http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=200024054</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"Inula helenium in Flora of China @ efloras.org". www.efloras.org. <a href="http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200024054" target="_blank">http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200024054</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Howard, Michael (1987). Traditional Folk Remedies. Century. p. 135. ISBN 0-7126-1731-0. <a href="0-7126-1731-0" target="_blank">0-7126-1731-0</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Greer, John Michael (2017). The Encyclopedia of Natural Magic (First ed.). Woodbury, Minnesota: Llewellyn. p. 101. ISBN 978-0-7387-0674-0. <a href="978-0-7387-0674-0" target="_blank">978-0-7387-0674-0</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Millington, Peter (November 12, 2020). "Master Mummers - Folk Play Script: Tenby Guisers' Play - 1857 - L.P.Barnaschone (1857)". www.mastermummers.org. <a href="http://www.mastermummers.org/scripts/85sn10bl.php" target="_blank">http://www.mastermummers.org/scripts/85sn10bl.php</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Millington, Peter (November 12, 2020). "Master Mummers - Folk Play Script: Tipteerers' Duologue from Cocking, Sussex - 1903-1906 - R.J.E.Tiddy (1923) pp.200-202". www.mastermummers.org. <a href="http://www.mastermummers.org/scripts/90su81tr.php" target="_blank">http://www.mastermummers.org/scripts/90su81tr.php</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Millington, Peter (November 12, 2020). "Master Mummers - Folk Play Script: Words of the Ripon Sword-Dance - 1920 - D.Kennedy (1930) pp.23-25". www.mastermummers.org. <a href="http://www.mastermummers.org/scripts/92se37kd.php" target="_blank">http://www.mastermummers.org/scripts/92se37kd.php</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>Alford, Violet. Folklore, vol. 70, no. 4, 1959, pp. 563–65. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1258237. Accessed 3 Jan. 2023. <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/1258237" target="_blank">http://www.jstor.org/stable/1258237</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>Culpeper, Nicholas (1814). Culpeper's Complete Herbal. No. 8, White's Row, Spitalfields: Richard Evans. p. 70.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) <a href="/wiki/Template:Cite_book" target="_blank">/wiki/Template:Cite_book</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>Roques, Alain (2015). Processionary moths and climate change : an update. Dordrecht: Springer. p. 1. ISBN 978-94-017-9339-1. OCLC 893559920. <a href="978-94-017-9339-1" target="_blank">978-94-017-9339-1</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>De Re Coquinaria of Apicius. pp. Book I, 18. <a href="https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Apicius/1*.html#9note5" target="_blank">https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Apicius/1*.html#9note5</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:18"><p>Sanderson, Helen; Renfrew, Jane M. (2005). Prance, Ghillean; Nesbitt, Mark (eds.). The Cultural History of Plants. Routledge. p. 102. ISBN 0415927463. <a href="0415927463" target="_blank">0415927463</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:19"><p>One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Elecampane". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 9 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 169. <a href="/wiki/Public_domain" target="_blank">/wiki/Public_domain</a> <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:20"><p>One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Elecampane". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 9 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 169. <a href="/wiki/Public_domain" target="_blank">/wiki/Public_domain</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:21"><p>Daboll, N. (1816). The New-England almanack, for the year of our Lord Christ, 1817: Fitted to the meridian of N. London. New London: Samuel Green. <a href="#fnref:21" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:22"><p>Bartram, T. (1998). Bartram's Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine. London: Robinson Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1854875860. <a href="978-1854875860" target="_blank">978-1854875860</a> <a href="#fnref:22" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:23"><p>One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Elecampane". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 9 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 169. <a href="/wiki/Public_domain" target="_blank">/wiki/Public_domain</a> <a href="#fnref:23" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>