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One of my favorites: Cyclamen in Medicine & Herbals
Cyclamen were put to many medicinal uses during the first few centuries A.D. according to Pedacio (or Padanius) Dioscorides, a Greek military surgeon and naturalist of the first century. He is sometimes referred to as the 'father of the materia medica' and, for more than 1500 years, was accepted as THE authority in botany and medicine. During the 16th century, a traveller in Greece came across some manuscripts of Dioscorides and took them home to Italy to his friend, one Pietro Andrea Mattioli, a prominent physician and writer who devoted many years to publishing various editions in numerous languages of his translations of the Discourses of Dioscorides. In his 1559 edition in Italian, Chapter CLI II is devoted to cyclamen.
Cyclamen has ivy like leaves, purplish, varied, with some spots on the top and white underneath. The stem is about four inches long and bare. On top are the flowers, red, rose like. The root is black, squashed, similar to a turnip.
Among the prescribed uses of cyclamen were the following:
It is said that pregnant women will abort if they walk over it.
If one wears it on herself, it speeds up delivery.
It can be drank to counteract any kind of poison, but especially the sea air.
As an ointment, it is good against serpent's bite.
Taken with wine, it makes one drunk.
It should be taken with wine or honey wine diluted with water for bile overflow in the proportion of three drams. It is necessary, however, to put the patient in a warm place with no drafts and well covered so that he will be able to sweat and the sweat will come out yellow like bile.
The juice of the root can be absorbed through the nose to purge the head.
Applied with honey to the eyes, it is good for cataracts and eye weakness.
The juice of the squeezed roots is cooked until it thickens like honey. The root purges and cleanses the skin; it cures and prevents blemishes and boils.
Taken alone or with honey, it heals wounds.
As a plaster, it dissolves the spleen; it does good to a sunburned face; and it makes hair grow again.
The decoction is good for dislocated limbs, gout, head ulcers, and chilblains. The old oil in which the root was fried makes ulcers heal. One can make a hole in the root and fill with oil and cook it on hot ashes. Sometimes they add Tirrenian wax so that it becomes similar to an oint-ment, especially effective with chilblains.
Somebody says that mashed into a paste it can be used as a love potion.
Many centuries later Gerard in his Herbal says - 'it is reported to me by men of good credit, that cyclamen or sow-bread groweth upon the mountains of Wales; on the hills of Lincolnshire and in Somerset-Shire. Being beaten and made up into trochisches, or little flat cakes, it is reputed to be a good amorous medicine to make one love, if it be inwardly taken'.
Gerard's illustration is almost certainly Cyclamen hederifolium .
Modern Herbals
In modern herbals, Cyclamen are described as a 'Self-esteem builder essence', which allows the person to get in touch with their self-esteem and confidence.
In addition to this rather vague reference, there are a number of more specific applications:
A homeopathic tincture is made from fresh tubers and is applied as a liniment externally over the bowels, causing purging.
There is a story that in the past the tubers were baked and made into little flat cakes which were considered a good amorous medicine which caused the person eating them to fall violently in love.
The fresh tubers, bruised, and made into a cataplasm, make a stimulating application to indolent ulcers.
An ointment called 'Ointment of Arthainta' was made from the fresh tubers for expelling worms, and was rubbed on the umbilicus of children and on the abdomen of adultsto cause emesis, and in the region over the bladder to increase urinary discharge.
Dermatology
There are a number of references to dermatological problems with Cyclamen, but these are rare and no growers known to the author have been effected in any way.
A species of the genus produced a positive patch test reaction in one patient, negative in nine patients (Agrup 1969).
Cyclamen persicum: A positive patch test reaction to the leaf was observed in one patient (Agrup 1969).
Cyclamen persicum hybridum: A woman showed a positive patch test reaction to this hybrid and to Streptocarpus (Agrup and Fregert 1968).
Animals
The popular name 'Sowbread' comes from the fact that the tubers were a source of food for wild boar.
There is a report that Cyclamen are poisonous to cats and fish.
White Magic
In white magic circles, Cyclamen are listed as a plant which brings happiness
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