The Practical Herbalist

Chrysanthemum

Among the jars of roots and twigs in my office, there is a jar containing thousands of small dried yellow flowers. This is a jar of chrysanthemum flowers. Many people are familiar with chrysanthemum added to tea. Chrysanthemum also has some very important medicinal uses.

Chrysanthemum flowers are known to have an antibiotic type quality. While not as strong as some other herbs, Chrysanthemum has some unique qualities. It is one of many herbs that are known to be very location specific. In other words, some herbs affect a particular part of the body more than other herbs. Chrysanthemum affects the eyes and the head. As a result Chrysanthemum is added to many headache formulas, particularly headaches accompanied by fever or infection.

The other important use for Chrysanthemum is in the situation of eye infections. The most common is conjunctivitis or "pink eye". This is a very contagious and common childhood infection. Because it often hits children, there are kid friendly "instant" Chrysanthemum drinks that are convenient and good tasting. The flowers themselves work well as a topical plaster to soothe and cool the eyes and clear the infection. Chrysanthemum also tastes great in a quality tea.