These class notes were written by Howie Brounstein @1993. You are welcome to reprint them as long as this paragraph is included. Feel free to send comments to Columbines and Wizardry Herbs, Inc.
PO Box 50532, Eugene, OR 97759, USA. All the color medicinal plant photos are linked from Southwest School of Botanical Medicine's enormous archive of North American medicinal plants. Sometime these links will lead to a plant that is a different species but similar to what you might find with Ligusticum grayi. Last update December, 1996.
Oshala, Ligusticum grayi, can be found growing in large
healthy stands in sub-alpine ecosystems. Most of the sub-alpine
systems are protected as wilderness and are off limits to harvesting.
Should you come across the rare, unprotected patch of sub-alpine
plants, please do not harvest them! Sub-alpine systems are fragile
and recover slowly from damage. Most of our "protected" sub-alpine
systems are in danger from overuse by campers.
In mid-elevation meadows, large stands of this plant can be found
and harvested with minimal impact on the ecosystem. When you find one
of these stands, look around. Nearby you will almost always come upon
a burned, clear-cut, or recovering forest. Oshala, Ligusticum grayi,
and Valerian, Valeriana sitchensis, return within a few years after a
disturbance. The grasses, sedges, and other meadow plants like the
poisonous Monkshood, Aconitum sp., take a bit longer to re-establish
themselves. In these areas there will be fewer competing plants in
the soil, and harvesting will be easier. You can harvest Valerian,
Valeriana sitchensis, at the same time, often in the same clump.
Harvest the root with a shovel in the fall, when the plants are
identifiable. The size of the roots are not necessarily related to
the size of the above-ground portions. Trust your intuition. Dig a
clump of sod that includes the plant. Its long taproot will be
sticking out the bottom of the clump. With care, it may be possible
to gently loosen the root and pull the plant down through the sod. If
not, you can break the clump into a few pieces to remove the root.
The clump can then be replaced in the ground the way it came out, and
the remaining plants in the clump will continue to grow.
Keep only roots that have identifiable seeds attached. During
washing, you can double check each root. Do not use smell alone for
identification. Although this root's smell is unique, other roots in
the clump can pick it up.
Harvest leaves when identifiable, and seeds when green and
aromatic.
Wash roots thoroughly but quickly in cold water. While
washing these roots on the banks of a river in the sunlight, we've
often seen the volatile oils (and the potency) floating away from the
roots on the surface of the water. I consider the fresh root almost
edible as a food, and the fresh tincture is highly prized. The roots
can also be dried for later use. As some of the constituents are only
partially water soluble, it is best chewed, encapsulated, or
tinctured. Native Americans peel their roots, but this is not
mandatory.
The leaves are best eaten fresh, but they can be dried for later use. The seeds can be used fresh or dry.
Oshala Root, Ligusticum grayi, is the finest remedy in our area (that the Pacific Northwest of the United States)
for sore throats from colds, coughing, dusty country fairs, and too
much singing or howling at the moon, I believe it rivals Echinacea
Root, Echinacea sp., for this purpose. Take a few droppers of tincture
followed by some water, or chew a small piece of the root as often as
necessary. The root is a very warming herb that increases circulation
and promotes sweating. This makes it a diaphoretic, useful in the
beginning stages of colds and flus. Upper respiratory congestion can
also be helped by this plant. Add these uses together with
anti-bacterial and possibly anti-viral properties, and this herb
becomes an excellent treatment for general infections. Take the basic
dosage (3 droppers of tincture 3x a day) and adjust as necessary for
the "creeping crud" or flu.
The aromatic and bitter qualities of this root make it useful for
mild indigestion, flatulence, or the stomach irritability
occasionally associated with colds and flus. Oshala, Ligusticum
grayi, and true Osha, Ligusticum porteri, are emmenagogues, and will
bring on menstruation, This herb is not for pregnant women. I
recently met a young woman who had been introduced to true Osha,
Ligusticum porteri, as a beneficial and sacred herb. She had been
chewing large amounts of the dried root every day. I cautioned that
it could bring on periods. She said, "Maybe that's why I've been
bleeding for the last fourteen days!" Remember, the difference
between medicine and poison is dosage.
Native American cultures in the Northwest and the Rockies each use
their own Ligusticums in similar ways. They peel their roots and chew
them medicinally. These roots are also burned as incense for
purification (smudging), ground and smoked with other herbs for a
menthol-like flavor, and carried around in medicine bags. Ligusticums
are considered powerful, sacred herbs.
The leaves of Oshala, Ligusticum grayi are edible and taste like
mild Parsley. The seeds make a pleasant spice or a pleasure tea. Like
the root, these aromatic seeds can be useful medicinally in the form
of tea or tincture for stomach irritability.
Related Plants
A larger plant, Ligusticum apiifolium, grows in the
valleys at low elevations. Be careful of Poison Hemlock, Conium
maculatum, when harvesting this plant. The Indians of northern
Washington use Ligusticum canbyi. True Osha, Ligusticum porteri,
grows in New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. It is much larger and more potent than the other related Ligusticums. All these Ligusticums
have winged fruits. All should be useful medicinally, although
differing in strength. True Lovage, Levisticum officinale was
originally named Ligusticum levisticum. The Chinese plant Ligusticum
wallachii is used for lowering blood pressure, inducing uterine
contractions, and slowing postpartal bleeding, according to Michael
Moore.
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