Alkanet

Anchusa officinalis

Alkanet - a biennial herb with coarsely hairy stems and leaves rising from a cluster of basal leaves and growing 1- 3 feet tall. The lower leaves are stalked and up to 8 inches long; the upper ones are narrow, oblong to lance-shaped, up to 6 inches long by 1 inch wide, and stalls. Dainty purplish blue flowers of alkanet (late May-October) are tubular, 1/4 inch across, and followed by minute nutlike fruits.

According to Dr. Robert Thornton's New Family Herbal, published in England in 1810, "A decoction of the leaves and root of the alkanet is advantageous in inveterate coughs, and all disorders of the chest. ..the expressed juice is given with great success in pleurisy." Dr. Thornton also noted alkanet's "efficacy in the cure of melancholia and other hypochondriacal diseases," and added, "but then it must be steeped in strong ale and wine."

In modern folk medicine an alkanet tea is still specified for the treatment of melancholy, to ease coughing, to promote sweating and break a fever, to soften and soothe the skin, and as a diuretic, astringent, and "blood purifier" (an agent that reputedly purges toxic substances from the body).

The name alkanet comes from the Arabic alhinna, or "henna," reflecting an ancient use of this and related plants whose roots contain a red dye. The dye found in this species (which is often known by the common name bugloss) is not as strong as the commercial red dye found in its close relative Alkanna tinctoria. For gardeners, alkanet is a rewarding plant because it supplies pretty violet-blue flowers for cutting, and it also attracts bees.

Other names

• Bugloss
• Common Alkanet

Parts used

Root, leaves.

Uses

Alkanet is principally employed in herbal medicine today as an expectorant (for bringing up phlegm) and as an emollient (for soothing and softening the skin). Pharmacologists find no evidence that alkanet acts as an expectorant; they have not evaluated its use as an emollient.

Habitat & cultivation

Introduced from Europe, alkanet may be found growing wild locally from Maine south to New Jersey and west to Ohio and Michigan.

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