Fumitory

Fumaria officinalis
Fumitory – an annual herb growing up to 30 inches tall with slender stems and many limp branches. The gray-green leaves are divided into triangular toothed leaflets. At the ends of the branches bloom elongated clusters of small, tubular, pink-purple, crimson-tipped flowers (May-September).

Like curls of smoke rising from the ground, fumitory’s gray-green leaves have a ghostly appearance when seen from afar. The plant is a weed that has accompanied cultivation in Europe since at least Neolithic times. In the Greco- Roman world fumitory’s name was kapnos, the Greek for smoke. According to the first -century A.D. naturalist Pliny, an ointment made from fumitory improved eyesight and prevented eyelashes that had been pulled out from growing again. Pliny’s contemporary Dioscorides added that fumitory when taken internally worked as a diuretic. According to both authorities, the plant got the name smoke from its sharp-tasting juice, which causes the eyes to tear as they
would from smoke.

 

In Shakespeare’s day fumitory was sold in apothecary shops under the Latin name fumus terrae (“earth-smoke”), and according to an herb book published at that time, an extract of the plant or a syrup made from its juice served to stimulate liver function, rid the body of impurities, and clear up certain skin infections. Some recent research suggests that fumitory contains substances that act on the heart and on blood pressure, but this remains unconfirmed. Folk belief credits fumitory with a special power to confer long life.

 

Fumitory has a long history of use in the treatment of skin problems such as eczema and acne. Its action is probably due to a general cleansing mediated via the kidneys and liver. Fumitory may also be used as an eyewash to ease conjunctivitis.
Native to Europe and North Africa, fumitory also grows in Asia, North America, and Australia.

 

Infusion: pour a cup of boiling water onto 1 – 2 teaspoonfuls of the dried herb and let infuse for 10-15 minutes. This may be drunk freely, but for skin problems it should be drunk at least three times a day.

Tincture: take 1- 2 ml of the tincture three times a day.
COLLECTION AND HARVESTING
Fumitory should be collected when in flower, which is throughout the summer.
COMBINATIONS
Fumitory may usefully be combined with burdock, cleavers or figwort.