Japanese Elecampane
Japanese elecampane is a member of the Asteraceae or Compositae family. The Latin name for this plant is Inula japonica.
The Latin name for the Japanese elecampane family is Asteraceae Dumort.
Description of Japanese Elecampane
Japanese elecampane is a perennial plant that grows to a height of approximately seventy to one hundred centimeters. The stem is straight and finely ribbed longitudinally, mostly reddish in color. The upper portion of the stem is covered with numerous, fairly long, white hairs, which are located on small tubercles. The stem of this plant is simple and branched at the top. The leaves of this plant are oblong-elliptical or elliptical in shape, with the upper leaves approximately seven to eleven centimeters long and almost two centimeters wide. The lower leaves are approximately ten to thirteen centimeters long and no more than three centimeters wide. All of these leaves are sessile, with finely toothed margins and may be nearly bare or covered with scattered hairs on the upper surface. The undersides of these leaves are finely glandular and densely hairy. The bracts are approximately one to four and a half centimeters long and almost one centimeter wide. The flower heads are four centimeters in diameter and are borne on slender, nine-centimeter-long peduncles. These flower heads are typically numerous, but solitary flower heads are rare. These flower heads are found in corymbose inflorescences, measuring eight to thirteen centimeters long and approximately nine to ten centimeters wide. The involucre of this plant is almost two centimeters in diameter. The outer leaflets are linear-lanceolate and pointed, covered with hairs on the outside. The middle leaflets are linear, mostly equal in size to the outer leaflets.
The flowers of the Japanese elecampane are yellow in color, they are ligulate, and for the most part they will be smooth, or sometimes they may be scattered glandular on the outside. The tubes of such flowers are somewhat shorter than the tufts, and the reeds are linear. The length of such tongues will be about one and a half centimeters, and the width will slightly exceed one centimeter. The tongues will have four veins and three denticles. The length of the middle flowers is four millimeters. The length of the achenes of this plant will be about one and a half millimeters; such achenes are covered with small and scattered hairs, which will be pressed upward. The crests will be four millimeters in length and will be equipped with twenty-five bristles.
This plant blooms in September. Under natural conditions, Japanese elecampane can be found in the Far East: in the Ussuri and Zee-Bureya regions. As for the general distribution, this plant grows in China and Japan.
Description of the medicinal properties of Japanese elecampane
Japanese elecampane is endowed with quite valuable healing properties. It is noteworthy that most often a decoction prepared from the flowers and inflorescences of this plant is used for medicinal purposes. This remedy is recommended for use as an anti-cold, emetic, expectorant, diuretic and stomach strengthener. It is noteworthy that this remedy is also endowed with the ability to improve appetite. As for the roots of Japanese elecampane, they are recommended to be used as an effective remedy that can stop various bleeding.
