YERBA SANTA
Eriodictyon californicum
COMMON NAMES: Mountain balm, bear’s weed, consumptive’s weed, tarweed, gum bush.
FEATURES: This evergreen shrub is a member of the water leaf family (Hydrophyllaceae), of which many
species are known. It is somewhat branching and attains a height of 2–4 feet. The stems are smooth and
exude a gummy substance. Leaves are 3–4 inches in length, distinctively woolly on the undersides,
containing a network of prominent veins, and the resinous substance causes the woolly fibers to appear
varnished; upper surface is smooth, with depressed veins. The flowers are terminal, appearing in shades
of dark lavender through pale shades of lavender to white, forming funnel-shaped clusters at the top of the
plant. Yerba santa honey is amber, with a slightly spicy flavor. If one follows bees to this plant it will be
found growing on dry California mountain slopes and ridges throughout the coastal ranges and up into the
foothills of the Sierra Nevada from Monterey and Tulare counties northward. The capsule fruit is oval,
grayish brown, and contains small brown shriveled seeds.
MEDICINAL PART: Leaves.
SOLVENTS: Boiling water, alcohol.
BODILY INFLUENCE: Aromatic, tonic, stimulant, expectorant.
USES: The name yerba santa (holy weed) was given by the Spanish fathers who became aware of this
corrective substance through the Native Americans. They boiled the fresh or dried leaves for colds,
coughs, sore throat, catarrh, stomachaches, vomiting, and diarrhea. Yerba santa is known to physicians as
a leading agent for all respiratory conditions and has a reputation for healing hemorrhoids when other
sources fail. Also used in kidney conditions and rheumatic pain. For more effective results some
physicians recommend that gum plant (Grindelia robusta) be combined with yerba santa in syrup form. It
should be used in small amounts, as too large doses of G. robusta will irritate the kidneys. Make a
mixture of three parts yerba santa to one part gum and take in fluid extract, 10–30 drops, three or four
times a day.
DOSE: Infusion of 1 teaspoonful of crushed leaves to 1 cupful of boiling water, steeped ½ hour; take 1–4
cupfuls daily. Of the solid extract, 3–6 grains. Fluid extract ½–1 teaspoonful three to four times daily.
EXTERNALLY: Native Americans used the fresh or dried leaves as a poultice for broken and unbroken skin
of both humans and animals when in pain from rheumatism, fatigued limbs, swelling, sores, etc.
HOMEOPATHIC CLINICAL: Tincture of whole plant for asthma, bronchitis, catarrh, influenza, phthisis.