Plant Power

From father to son, mother to daughter, from an indigenous Mexico to a mestizo American Southwest, folk remedies such as yerba buena and manzanilla teas have been dispensed over Mexican and Mexican American kitchen tables for generations.

Now, at a time when alternative medicine has burst into the mainstream in the United States, L.A. author Joie Davidow has cataloged the hundreds of plants and their remedies for an English-speaking audience.

In her new book, “Infusions of Healing: A Treasury of Mexican-American Herbal Remedies,” (Simon & Schuster, $14), Davidow travels from her local Sav-On in Hollywood to what remains of the once-sophisticated world of Aztec medicine in Mexico as she traces the origins and uses of common herbs. She also includes information about the perils of misuse.

Davidow--a founder of L.A. Weekly and the now-defunct L.A. Style and Si magazines--found much inspiration in Mexico.

“One curandera [healer] told me, ‘Every plant is for curing something if you know what it is,’ ” said Davidow.

Visiting places like Cuernavaca was useful because folk medicine is so ingrained in the culture. As part of their training, said Davidow, Mexican doctors spend months in rural areas becoming acquainted with the remedies.

She began her research much closer to home, in East L.A., where folks such as Ofelia Esparza, a former public school teacher with a passion for herbal remedies, tutored her on the fine points. Esparza was taught by a great-great aunt, who was a curandera.

There was passiflora--passion flower--taken as a tea and helpful as a sleeping aid, and yerba mansa--swamp root or “gentle herb”--steeped in boiling water, then used as a soothing wash for skin irritations.

From research at libraries to interviews with curanderos from the U.S. to the heart of Mexico, the history of the plants turned out to be more exciting than Davidow expected.

“It was like a puzzle that began to fall into place,” she said. “A lot of the medicines used in East L.A. really had a foundation in the Aztec herbs.” The Aztecs in 16th century Mexico were quite sophisticated, she said. There were dentists and surgeons who had widely inventoried plants and their cures.

“They were way ahead of medical knowledge in Europe at the time,” said Davidow.

In her book, Davidow also profiles some of the practitioners who keep the knowledge alive.

“Every time an old curandero dies in Mexico,” she said, “it’s like a library is dying.”

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Getting to the Root of Herbal Remedies and Their Uses

Spanish name: cempasuchil

English name: Aztec marigold

Botanical name: Tagetes erecta

Other names: Flor de Muerto, American marigold

Properties: anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, induces perspiration

Used to treat: fever, stomachache

The native Aztec marigold, ubiquitous in gardens on both sides of the border, has shiny dark green leaves and yellow-and-orange many-petaled flowers. It was highly esteemed in pre-Hispanic Mexico for its ability to heal many infirmities. . . . The juice of the leaves cured a variety of stomach ailments, reduced fever and relaxed the nerves. . . . The mashed leaves taken with water or wine promoted menstrual flow, urine and sweat.

Spanish name: jalapa

English name: Mexican morning glory

Botanical name: Ipomoea purga

Properties: purgative

Used to treat: intestinal parasites

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The roots of tropical morning glories have been used as a purgative since pre-Hispanic times. The seeds are hallucinogenic. Aztec priests used them to induce a trance-like state in which they believed they could contact the spirits of the dead and predict the future. Jalapa, considered a useful laxative, is an ingredient in some over-the-counter products sold in [U.S. and Mexican] pharmacies.

Spanish name: yerba mansa

English name: swamp root

Botanical name: Anemopsis californica

Properties: anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, anti-fungal, diuretic

Used to treat: urinary tract infections, wounds, bruises, skin inflammation, arthritis

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Despite the unappealing name swamp root, yerba mansa is really a lovely aromatic creeper, with spikes of fragrant white flowers and flat, oval leaves. An effective anti-inflammatory, it is used to treat the discomfort of arthritis in a variety of ways: as a tea, a liniment (alcohol in which herbs have soaked) and a bath. It’s easy to find growing wild . . . and is sold in botanicas and markets.

Spanish name: popotillo

English names: Mormon tea, desert tea

Botanical name: Ephedra torreyana, Ephedra viridis

Properties: diuretic,

astringent, tonic

Used to treat: kidney, bladder problems, stomach disorders, diarrhea

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Ephedra is one of the oldest medicinal herbs in continuous use. Asian ephedra contains a vasoconstrictor called ephedrine, used to treat asthma. Popotillo lacks this property, but it’s a useful diuretic and astringent.

Reprinted from “Infusions of Healing, a Treasury of Mexican-American Herbal Remedies,” with permission from Simon & Schuster.