COMMON NAMES : Cranesbill Geranium, Cut-leafed Cranesbill, Herb Robert, Wood Cranesbill, Sticky Geranium, Native Carrot, Meadow cranesbill, Dovesfoot, Crowfoot, Alum Root, Wild Geranium Fluxweed, Old Maid's Nightcap, American Kino-Root, Chocolate-Flower

ELEMENT : Water

RULING PLANET : Moon

GENDER : Feminine

MAGICKAL POWERS : Peace, Stability, Harmony

DESCRIPTION : There are 11 genera and 800 species of the geranium family. They are interchangeable for medicinal use. Most are in the north temperate zone. These are not the familar geranium Pelargonium, which is a tropical genus.

The following is a description of G. sanguineum, pictured above. Geranium is a perennial that grows 1-2 feet tall. The plant is erect, unbranched, and covered with hairs. The leaves are deeply parted, and 3-6 inches long. Each division of the leaf is again cleft and toothed.

Cranesbill flowers April to June. The color of the flowers range from pale to rosy purple. The petals are veined and wooly at their base. The flowers are five lobed and terminated by a long thick beak; hence the common name. The flowers also have five stigmas. At maturity the carpels separate from the base and become resolute or spiral.

The root stocks of this plant grow 2 - 4 inches long. The outside of the root stock is brown and the inside is white and fleshy. When dried, the root stock turns dark purple inside, with no odor.

CULTIVATION : Very easy plant to grow. Cranesbill does well in sun or part shade. It is not particular about soil. Hardy zones 4-8.

PART OF THE PLANT USED : The leaves and dried root of cranesbill are used. The leaves give the greatest percent of tannin if they are collected before plant goes to seed.

HARVESTING : Dig the root in September through October. Cut it into small pieces and dry completely.

PLANT ANALYSIS : Cranesbill contains tannic and gallic acid, starch, sugar, gum, pectin.

MEDICINAL ACTION : Cranesbill is used as an astringent, tonic, diuretic, hemostyptic, anti-haemorrhagic, anti-inflammatory, and vulnerary. Ingestion of this plant interferes with absorption of iron and other minerals when taken internally.

MEDICINAL USE : This plant has been used as a powerful astringent in secondary dysentery, diarrhea, and infantile cholera. Internally and externally, it may be used when an astringent is indicated. Cranesbill has been used for hemorrhages, leucorrhoea, sore mouth, ulcers, and excessive chronic mucus discharges. Nose bleeds, wounds of small blood vessels, and bleeding from tooth extractions may be stopped effectively by applying the powdered root to the bleeding orifice and covering with a compress of cotton.

Cranesbill has been called an effective, gentle, and widely applicable astringent. For bleeding with duodenal or gastric ulcers, this plant is used in combination with other healing and demulcent herbs. This herb is said to help when blood is found in the feces. Careful diagnosis vital. It is said to be a good herb to use when excessive blood loss occurs during menstruation or uterine haemorrhage. Cranesbill has also been used as a douche for leucorrhoea when combined with Geth root.

Use cranesbill in combination with meadowsweet, comfrey, marshmallow or agrimony for peptic ulcers. For gynecological problems cranesbill should be used with uterine tonics and other astringents such as periwinkle.

DOSAGE : No "safe" dosage has been established at this time. The following dosages are traditional. See your health care professional for health issues.

Cranesbill Extract: 1/4 to 1 teaspoon 3 times a day, as directed by a health care professional. Always take with plenty of juice or with water at mealtime.

Use 1 tablespoon to 1 wineglassful 3 times a day. For an infusion use 1 ounce herb to 1 pint of water.

For a decoction use 1-2 teaspoons of root in a cup of cold water, bring to boil. Let simmer 10-15 minutes. Drink 3 times a day.

In tincture form, take 2-4 ml of tincture 3 times a day.

An infusion may be used topically for ulcers and haemorrhoids

MAGICKAL USE : Use Cranesbill in rituals where peace, stability, harmony are the goals.

HISTORY : Western Native Americans; Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Creek Indians used G. maculatum for gonorrhea in the Early Nineteenth Century. It has been included in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia and the National Formulary. It has been a popular domestic remedy in various parts of United States throughout the country's history.

According to James William Herrick's 1977 thesis, cranesbill was used by the Iroquois in a poultice of powdered or chewed roots and applied to unhealed navel of babies.

LORE: None found

MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION : Geranium may be used in traps to kill Japanese beetles. The beetles die when they eat cranesbill leaves.