Common Name: American Columbo

General Information

Frasera caroliniensis is a monocarpic, perennial plant, remaining as a basal rosette for several years before sending up a flowering stem around 100 - 250cm tall and then dying after setting seed[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine..

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

, ,

Range

Northern, Eastern and central N. America - Wisconsin to Ontario and New York, south to Oklahoma, Mississippi and Georgia

Habitat

Dry soils[]. Deciduous, ± open woods, often ravines, calcareous soils; 100–700 metres[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Habit	Perennial
Height	1.50 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Frasera caroliniensis is hardy to at least -12°c[].
Requires a moist but well-drained position and a stony peaty soil[, ]. Requires an acidic soil[].
Studies have shown that, within any one population, after several years in which all or most plants have remained in the rosette stage, all or most of the larger plants are likely to flower in the same year, while the smaller plants remain vegetative[].
Plants can be grown in a woodland garden[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

The powdered plant is applied externally to ulcers as a poultice[].
The plant is a feeble simple bitter[].

The root is cathartic, emetic, stimulant and tonic[, , ]. When dried it is a simple bitter that can be used as a digestive tonic in a similar way to gentian root (Gentiana spp), but the fresh root is cathartic and emetic[]. The root is used in the treatment of dysentery, stomach complaints and a lack of appetite[]. It should be harvested in the autumn of its second year, or the spring of its third year[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse[]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division in late winter[].