Live-long

Sedum telephium

Evergreen Frog Plant Live-forever Live-long Orpine Stonecrop Witches'-moneybags Parts used Uses Habitat and cultivation

Live-long is a perennial that grows up to three feet tall. The rootstock is large and fleshy, with small parsnip shaped tubers and a whitish gray rind. The broad, flattened leaves are bluish green and up to three inches long. Flowers are whitish pink to reddish purple.

"This plant is very full of life," the 16th-century herbalist John Gerard remarked about live-long, noting that one could set a stalk of it in clay and the stalk would stay green and even grow if watered. This resistance to drying and dying made live-long an object of superstition over the ages: Keeping it in the house ensured a healthy household. In Scandinavia live-long was planted on the roof to ward off lightning. If it suddenly withered, superstition held that someone in the house would die.

From ancient times, the juice of live-long's leaves served as a salve to treat certain skin diseases. The first-century A.D. Roman naturalist Pliny stated that the juice was also a  good treatment for wounds and fistulas. In , more recent herbal tradition, the herb has also enjoyed a reputation as an internal remedy for ulcers, lung disorders, and dysentery, and as an external astringent for the treatment of slow-healing wounds.

PARTS USED

Whole herb.

USES

The name "live-long" derives from this plant's tenacity for life. Because of its fleshy leaves and swollen roots, live-long has a rare ability to stay fresh and alive, long after having been uprooted. The Latin name "telephium" comes from Telephus, son of Hercules, who is said to have used live-long to cure a  battle-wounded leg that had not otherwise healed. Also known as "midsummer men" this herb was once gathered on Midsummer's Eve to determine the future of a love relationship: Two leaves would be placed side-by-side; if they fell toward each other, love was true.

Live-long has been used as a popular folk remedy for diarrhea. The 16th-century German herbalist Hieronymus Tragus states that live-long was used to treat stomach, lung, liver, and bowel problems, burns, inflammation, and sore throats. Live-long has proven immunostimulant and anti-inflammatory properties due to the presence of two major polysaccharides. These polysaccharides may help inhibit tumors and increase the action of phagocytes, which effectively kill bacteria and viruses.

HABITAT AND CULTIVATION

Indigenous to temperate zones, live-long is cultivated in many countries. In the tropics, live-long grows in the mountains; in cooler regions, live-long thrives in lower locations such as hedge banks on the shady sides of woods.