Yerba Mansa herb - Latin Name: (Anemopsis californica)

Herbal Anecdote: Yerba Mansa is also known as 'Lizard Tail' as it belongs to the Saururaceae or “Lizard’s Tail” botanical family. Yerba, is spanish for herb and mansa is from the spanish word manso meaning tame, or calm. It is thought that it received its name as the herb of the tamed Indian.

Traditional Uses: Native American tribes used Yerba Mansa root and leaf internally to alleviate colds and coughing, to treat indigestion, menstrual cramping, pain, pleurisy, stomach ulcers, chest congestion and general debility after illness. The dried powdered root was used topically as a disinfectant for wounds and sores; the fresh root was mashed and used for a poultice for swellings or as an antiseptic wash; and the leaves were steeped in water and used as a bath for muscular pains and skin rashes.