Blue Lupine Healing Properties
Blue lupine has been used by the Cherokee to stop bleeding and vomiting. Native Americans also used it to "fatten" horses and externally for the control of horses. The essence of the blue lupine flower is used today for its calming effects.
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Native Americans Medicinal Uses
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Antihemorrhagic The Cherokee people used blue lupine to stop bleeding and vomiting. It was used as "cold infusions taken internally" and was used to wash the affected area, according to "Cherokee Plants and Their Uses--A 400 Year History," by Paul B. Hamel and Mary U. Chiltoskey.
Native American Veterinary Uses
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Used to control horses The Menomini people used blue lupine for the care and control of horses. In the "Ethnobotany of the Menomini Indians," by Huron H. Smith, blue lupine was "used to fatten a horse and make him spirited and full of fire." Smith also describes the use of blue lupine by the Menomini to "control horses." It was rubbed on the hands and body of the Menomini.
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Modern Medicinal Uses
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Headache remedy? There are several flower essence companies that sell blue lupine to treat headaches and digestive problems, and for the management of emotions. Little research has been done as to efficacy of blue lupine for medicinal use.
Blue Lupine Flower Essence
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Flower essences Blue lupine has also been used to calm people and help with frustration and depression, according to SpiritTeaching.com, which also states that "some people are able to feel the positive effects of a flower essence within 15 to 20 minutes after taking one dose of a remedy. Some report feeling subtle changes over several days or weeks."
Toxicity
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The seeds are the most toxic part of the plant. A study published in the The Journal of Agricultural Science in 1951 reported that blue lupine is toxic to small laboratory animals and that "the seeds of blue lupine contain a higher percentage of crude alkaloid, than do the pods and leaves."
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit wild lupine flowers image by Joy Prescott from Fotolia.com blood glass image by robert mobley from Fotolia.com horses image by nutech21 from Fotolia.com headache image by forca from Fotolia.com parfume bottles image by cico from Fotolia.com lupin seed pod image by Alison Bowden from Fotolia.com
