- Region
- North America
- Origin
- Forests of eastern North America
North America · Herb · № 634
Gaultheria procumbens
Herb · North America
Wintergreen
Gaultheria procumbens
Traditionally attributed effects: expels wind and dampness and cools heat in hot, swollen joints and muscle pain, drains damp heat in the urinary tract and moves stagnant qi and blood in pain.
Safety notes
Wintergreen oil consists almost entirely of methyl salicylate and can be fatal even in small amounts, especially for children: never take it and keep it out of reach of children. The leaf also contains salicylates: caution with hypersensitivity to aspirin and with blood thinners, NSAIDs, anti-epileptics, diuretics, drugs for gout or nausea and cytostatics. Externally not on large skin areas or under heat. Traditional use is no proof of effectiveness; if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication or have a medical condition, consult a doctor or pharmacist.
Cautions by tradition (3)
- Western herbs in Chinese medicine: Never take the oil internally; salicylates: caution with medicines.
- Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) medicine: The essential oil is poisonous; not with aspirin sensitivity.
- Cherokee (Tsalagi) medicine: Contains methyl salicylate: not with an aspirin allergy or blood thinners; never take the oil.
Preparation
Leaf as a hot or cold infusion or as a tincture; the essential oil only externally in liniments, pastes and oils.
Use in traditions
A low ground cover from the eastern North American forests. The oil is in many muscle and joint liniments, including Chinese ones.
Applications
Use by tradition
How different herbal traditions describe this herb. Amounts are traditional guidelines checked for obvious errors; they are not medical advice. For poisonous plants no dosage is given on purpose.
Western herbs in Chinese medicine
- Nature and taste
- pungent, bitter, cool, aromatic
- Meridians
- liver, kidney, bladder, stomach
Attributed effects
Expels wind and dampness and cools heat when wind-cold-damp in the joints has turned into heat: hot, swollen, painful joints that get worse with wind, damp or oppressive heat, and acute muscle pain and stiffness. Drains damp heat in the lower body in painful or blocked urination, blood in the urine, pain from an enlarged prostate and inflamed kidneys; can also cool heat from kidney yin deficiency. Moves qi and blood in pain with heat: menstrual pain, absent menstruation, cramps, abdominal or stomach pain and toothache.
Preparation and amount
2–6 g leaf as an infusion (hot or cold; for damp heat in the urinary tract preferably cold) or 0.5–3 ml tincture. Well-dried leaf is green and fragrant, without stems.
Combinations
- With cleavers and usnea for scanty, dark yellow urine with or without pain and blood
- Externally with yerba mansa and cayenne pepper as a paste for joint pain (the essential oil mixed into the paste), or with St John's wort, arnica and cayenne pepper in liniments and oils
- With sassafras, yerba mansa and Brewer's angelica for wind-damp-cold
Caution: Never take the oil internally; salicylates: caution with medicines.
Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) medicine
Attributed effects
As an everyday tea; with pipsissewa and trailing arbutus for kidney complaints.
Preparation and amount
Steep the leaves in hot water.
Caution: The essential oil is poisonous; not with aspirin sensitivity.
Cherokee (Tsalagi) medicine
Attributed effects
The leaves chewed for tender gums and dysentery, a tea for colds, and the root with trailing arbutus for chronic indigestion; the dried leaves as a substitute for chewing tobacco.
Preparation and amount
Chew the leaves; a tea of leaf or root.
Caution: Contains methyl salicylate: not with an aspirin allergy or blood thinners; never take the oil.
- Ways to prepare herbs
- Tea (infusion)TinctureSalve and balmCompress, poultice and paste