Important: Safety Warning
This page prescribes plants as medicine according to pre-modern medical theory. Several of the plants named are toxic, correct identification is difficult, and the doses given have no scientific basis. Do not ingest or apply any preparation described here.
In addition, this page presents medical treatment from an era before modern medicine. The remedies described are ineffective against the conditions named, and some of the ingredients or doses are harmful. Do not use them to treat any illness; consult a qualified medical professional.
This information has been left in for historical purposes but should not be acted upon.
Colchicum Corm
the fresh corm of C. autumnale, or common meadow saffron, which is collected about the end of June, and stripped of its coat, sliced transversely, and dried at 150° F. Used to make extract, an acetic extract, and Vinum colchici. According to Garrod, Colchicum increases the flow of the bile, and diminishes the heart's action; it possesses the power of controlling the and inflammatory rheumatism. The seeds, Colchici semina, are used to form a tincture which has the same medicinal properties.