Balmony
Chelone glabra
Balmony - beautiful perennial with an erect, square stem, 60cm(2ft) to 120cm( 4ft). The opposite, shiny leaves are
narrow with serrated edges and taper to a point. Short dense spikes of two-lipped, scentless, white flowers tinged with
pink appear from July to September.
Balmony takes its botanical name from the Greek for tortoise, and the flowers resemble a turtle's head. Native
Americans took the bitter-tasting leaves for their laxative properties, and the herb was a traditional remedy for
worms.
Today herbalists value balmony for its tonic action on the liver.
HABITAT AND CULTIVATION
Balmony is native to North America from Newfoundland, south to Florida and west to Texas. Found on low-lying
marshy ground, in damp thickets, and on stream and river banks.
|
