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Goat’s Rue
Tephrosia virginiana
Other Names: American Garden Rue, Catgut, Devil's
Shoestring, Rabbit-pea, Horey turkey peas, Virginia Pea, Virginia Tephrosia
Photo
Copyright Karen Bergeron |
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Habitat
Perennial herb native to Eastern N. America from
New Hampshire to Florida, west to Texas and Manitoba. Found growing in dry sandy woods,
openings, fields, and roadsides.
Cultivation
Goat’s Rue is fairly easy to grow, it
is a deep rooted plant, requiring a moist, deep, light or medium very well-drained soil in
a sunny position. Goat’s Rue has a symbiotic relationship with soil bacteria, these
bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen can be used by
other plants growing nearby.
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Description
Goat's Rue is 1 to 2 ft. tall, covered with silky silver
hairs. Root is long and tough, stems erect and branched. Leaves are alternate, compound
(pinnately) and divided into 8-14 pairs of narrow oblong leaflets and one leaflet at the
tip. Flower clusters are terminal racemes atop the plant. Each of the large flowers is pea
like, 1/2 to 3/4 in. long, yellowish at the top, and purplish-pink below. When cultivated
there may be 20 to 30 flowers per raceme and up to 200 flowers per plant. The flowers have
a faint but definite pleasant aroma and bees visit them often for nectar. Flowers blooms
from May through August. The root is a source of the natural insecticide 'rotenone',
especially effective against flying insects but relatively harmless to animals. Cattle do
graze on it but the plant is said to be toxic in large or strong doses. Gather after
flowers bloom, dry for later herb use. Plant is not edible.
Properties
Goat’s Rue was much used by Native
Americans who considered it to be an aphrodisiac and most useful in restoring manhood to
those with impotency and as a female herb to restore a woman’s beauty and health. The
root is used in alternative medicine as
an antirheumatic, anthelmintic, diaphoretic, diuretic, emmenagogue, febrifuge,
galactagogue, pectoral, restorative and tonic. A medicinal herb tea is used to treat
rheumatism, bladder problems, fever, hard coughs, impotency, to expel intestinal worms,
irregular menstruation and to increase the flow of breast milk. Goat’s Rue is used
cosmetically in hand and foot bathes. Experimentally, the root has shown both anticancer
and cancer-causing activity. research on this herb and its chemical constituents is
ongoing and early results are proving to show it may be useful in Diabetes, Alzheimer's
and many other disorders. The root is a source of the insecticide 'rotenone' found to be
especially effective against flying insects but appears to be relatively harmless to
animals.
Folklore
Used by Indians to poison fish. A medicinal tea
made from the roots is said to make children muscular and strong. A cold herb tea was used
for male potency. Goat’s Rue earned the names Devil's Shoestring and Catgut from its
tough rootstocks. A decoction of the roots has been used as a hair shampoo to prevent hair
loss.
Article by Deb Jackson & Karen
Bergeron
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