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Helichrysum, Yellow Everlasting

Immortelle, Eternal Flower, Sandy Everlasting
Ortus Sanitatis, Meydenbach, 1491

Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, vol. 47 (1820)

Botanical name:
Helichrysum arenarium (syn. Gnaphalium arenarium)
There are over 300 species. Those of the Mediterranean are broadly grouped into large-flowered (ie. H. stoechas) and small-flowered (ie. H. italicum) varieties. However, their effects and uses are largely synonymous. Other species used include:
  1. H. italicum
  2. H. angustifolium
  3. H. bracteatnm

Parts used:
Flower, or Whole Herb in flower

Temperature & Taste:
Cool, dry. Bitter, Pungent

Uses:
1. Clears Liver Heat and Damp:
-Jaundice
-Cholecystitis, Gall Stones (TCM)
-Psoriasis

2. Clears Wind-Damp, Promotes Urine:
-Edema; Difficult or Painful Urination
-Gout, Rheumatism, Back and Hip pain, Sciatica (medical Wine)

3. Moves the Blood:
-promotes menstruation
-"dissolves blood clots in the bladder or abdomen", taken with Wine (Dioscorides)
-Venous Stasis, Chilblains, Hemorrhoids

4. Benefits Digestion, Moves Qi:
-Indigestion, Poor Appetite
-Hernia

5. Clears Wind-Heat, Resists Poison:
-Laryngitis, Cough, Bronchitis
-Catarrh
-Snake Bite (Dioscorides)

6. Externally:
-Wounds and Burns, apply with Honey (Theophrastus)
-Sunburn and Burns (flower in olive oil)


DOSE:
Infusion: a heaped teaspoonful (3–4 grams), several times daily
In Brief Decoction: 3–9 grams

Main Combinations:
1. Chronic Gastritis, Yellow Everlasting with Nettle, Yarrow, Camomile, Chicory, Calendula, Hops
2. Cholecystitis, Yellow Everlasting with Chicory, Dandelion and Bitter Orange peel
3. Topically for pain, Yellow Everlasting, Camomile, Marjoram

Major Formulas:


Cautions:
1. Some sources (ie. Duke) have warned against using it in cases of Gall Stones. However, Gall Stones is a TCM indication. It should be combined with spasmolytic herbs when used to treat Gall Stones.

Main Preparations used: