GRINDELIA — A Colorado herb for Ayurvedic use

by Terra Rafael, Ayurvedic Practitioner, COLORAMA member

Grindelia spp., 
Asteraceae/Compositeae family​ ​

Common names:  Gumweed, Tarweed, Rosinweed, Gumplant, Yerba del Buey
Appearance:  “Leaves are green to blue green, somewhat spade shaped, and clasp the stem without a leafstalk.  They are slightly toothed.  When it is in bloom the plant is about 3 feet high and the many sticky yellow flowers are surrounded by pincushion-like bracts.  The young flowers and buds are covered in a thick, milky exudates that smells balsamic, a device that insures pollination if insects fail, and which gives rise to its name of Gumweed, for it can be chewed like chicle.” - Michael Moore   (see drawing)

Part used:  Aerial parts. Gather the stickiest flowers for the most medicinal action.
 
Habitat:  Grows wild in disturbed, gravelly areas, along roads & around buildings & vacant lots.  At elevations from 3,000  to 8,000 feet.  Western United States.
 
Rasa (Taste):          
Yoga of Herbs:  pungent; 
Peter Holmes:  bitter, a bit pungent;
Michael Moore:   “its unpleasant bitterness makes it useful as a mild stomach tonic”
Fresh Leaf:  Bitter,  a little pungent
Fresh Flower bud:  stronger taste—a little sweet, menthol-like cool/burn feeling, astringent in back of throat, bitter, a little pungent
Alcohol tincture:  Pungent and bitter

Subdoshas: Prana, Udana, Vyana, Apana vayu

​Srotansi:  Pranavaha srotas(Whooping cough; dyspnea due to heart disease; bronchial catarrh, especially with asthmatic tendency);
Mutravaha srotas (Cystitis and catarrh of bladder- stimulates the mucous membrane)

Karmas / Prabhav: 

• expectorant, diaphoretic, antispasmodic, bronchodilator    
• Circulatory stimulant & respiratory relaxant in one
• Stimulate heart & circulation;
• dredge kidneys; promote urination; relieves fluid congestion
• Relaxes heart & bronchi; opens the chest , levels asthma, & relieves cough; liquefies & expels viscous phlegm (sometimes combined with licorice for this usage)
• Promotes tissue repair; reduces inflammation; benefits skin (ie. chronic skin conditions due to deficiency, eczema, skin ulcers, poison oak inflammations)

Organs:                 

• Bladder — Cystitis; promotes urination
• Lungs — Expectorant for dry hacking cough, relaxant, moistening (due to very high resin content, according to Peter Holmes)
• Heart — Relaxant (not always reliable – Michael Moore)
• Skin — Chronic skin conditions in deficient conditions; Malignant, indolent skin ulcers, running sores, eczema, dermatitis ; Burns, blister, poison ivy/oak; Insect bites & stings (Peter Holmes)

 
Common uses:  

• Specific for clearing excess kapha — in lungs, urinary system
• Expectorant — #1 usage;  liquefies mucous & carries it out; Slight irritant to cilia to carry mucous out
• Contact dermatitis — like poison ivy, oak – resins help bind the toxins & excrete; Use tincture internally & external wash with mixture ( ½  grindelia tincture & ½ apple cider vinegar, peppermint essential oil 5 – 10 drops/oz;  spritz it on to rash or use swab)
• Urinary infections
• Lungs – promotes repair of damaged lungs  ie. Chronic smoker
• Some sources say calms palpitations and stress- related changes in blood pressure.

Dosage: 

• Internal — 1-3 droppers full, up to 5x/day
• Topical — 3x/day to as needed

Forms of medicine to use:                
​Tea: (leaves &/or flowers) — bronchitis, expectorant, antispasmodic for dry hacking coughs, alone or with Yerba Santa, a tablespoon in tea as needed. (Michael Moore)  6-15 g per pint of water
 
Tincture: (flowers preferable) — for bladder & urethra infections, one-fourth teaspoon in water every four hours. (Michael Moore)    ½-3 mil, or 12-75 drops (Peter Holmes)
 
Topical use of tincture or poultice of crushed flowers:  poison oak inflammations (Michael Moore)
 
Flower essence:  Rocky Mountain Flower Essences (Grindelia sqauamasa), by Alakananda Ma —  “[The] Gumweed pattern is illness as a turning away from life.  The Gumweed person is weak, neurasthenic, frequently ill or suffering frequent relapses, may have chronic fatigue syndrome, [and] turns to invalidity as a refuge.  Those Gumweed types who have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome characteristically drive themselves so hard that disabling illness is indeed their only refuge.  The quality of Gumweed is the understanding of illness as a gift, the ability to learn the lesson & move on, whether to health & strength, or if the disease is a continuing karmic necessity, to transform through illness.”
               
Cautions:  

• Maybe be irritable to the kidney, according to Mrs. M. Grieve.
• Watch for allergic reactions.
• Toxic in high doses.

Contraindications:

• Pregnancy. 
• Avoid with hypotensive medications.
• Avoid in kidney disease.

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References:
Dr. David Frawley & Dr. Vasant Lad, The Yoga of Herbs, p. 203.
Mrs. M Grieve, A Modern Herbal,  pp. 376 & 377.
Peter Holmes, The Energetics of Western Herbs,  pp. 202 & 203.
Michael Moore,  Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West, pp. 80-82.
Alakananda, Earthkeeper Flower Essences, 1991 Handbook, p.14.
Anne McIntyre , Michelle Boudin , Dispensing with Tradition p. 70