“(to aid digestion)…a species of herb-robert, bitter eryngo, comfrey, bogbean, scariole maidenhair, elecampane, and bugloss, of each item one and one half fistfuls, honey and sugar of each one pound; wine of pomegranate one half pound. Let a syrup be made from them.”
Cormac Mac Duinnshléibhe, An Irish Version of Gualterus de Dosibus, 1250
Cover art by Albert Marquet
Elecampane or inula helenium or campana is also called wild sunflower, wild parsnip, elfin root, elf-doc or elfwort, yellow starwort, horse elder and horseheal. It’s called ellea in Gaeilge and eallan or aillean in Scots Gaelic. The Greeks named it Inula for Helen of Troy, wife of Meneluas, who was believed to have had an armful of the plant when she was abducted by Paris. A second Greek legend claimed that the plant sprang from her tears. Elecampane, the common name is a corruption of the name Enula campana which lended to the plant growing wild in the area in Italy known as Campania. Elecampane is one of the most potent herbal medicines I’ve had the pleasure to work with and one of the first things I reach for when I have a cough. This wonderful plant is surely a favorite that I keep close throughout the entire cold season.
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Isla Skye
Isla Skye is an American Celtic scholar, teacher, author and herbalist that splits her time between the States and Ireland. She has studied the druids and related practices for over 20 years. She is a published author of children’s books as well as other folkloric literature and is currently working through an M.A. in Celtic Studies. Her hobbies are family time, camping, hiking, reading, writing and research.
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