Regional Herb of the Week: Chapparal. Southwestern Herb Series

6/15/13

Chapparal: Herbs of the Southwest Series

Since I've been in New Mexico, I've heard names of herbs that I was previously unfamiliar with. This has been happening, on occasion, and since I consider msyelf to be pretty knowledgeable about herbs, it throws me for a loop when it does. I shortly discovered that the reason for this has to do with the regional plant life here. Certain herbs, that grow in this region, are well known here. And widely used in this area. But outside of the Southwest US, they just don't get the same hype. Understandable. A few such herbs are chaparral, which seemed to be a plant known to all of my peers who live in these parts, and which posed a big question mark in my head... Osha, and a few others. But I'm going to start with Chaparral. For several reasons: 1. We harvested it on our field trip to Truth Or Consequences, so I have a bag of dried chaparral from that trip. 2. They sell a salve of it (just pure chaparral) at the school store, which means, it must be a good one (and commonly known & used, as I observed), 3. When I was in the store, a man came in and said he used it in combination with pine sap & a cyst beneath his skin that had been bothering him for years on and off, just came right out of his skin and never pestered him again (testimony to its efficacy). 4. everyone knows what this herb is but me. 5. I like the name of it. Chaparral, kind of pretty, though I can never seem to remember it off of the top of my head. So here goes:
It is anti-microbial. So, good for preventing or thwarting skin infections. Useful as topical antibiotic.
Helps impaired liver metabolism, symptoms of which would be dry skin, brittle hair & nails, cracks in the feet or hands, trouble digesting oils
Counteracts liver and lung damage to the system by free radicals.
Combined with milk thistle, strenthens the liver.
Alleviates:
joint pain
allergies
autoimmune diseases
PMS
It has been claimed to fight cancer however tests have shown to be inconclusive (some even showing stimulation of cancer cells... )
*The taste of chapparal is known to be intolerable, so it is not recommended to use it in tea form. If you want to use it internally, a tincture is the recommended form.