ARROWROOT

Alternate Names: Obedience Plant, Bamban, Bermuda, Bermuda Arrowroot, Maranta

Parts Used: Starch from root, rhizome.

Properties: Demulcent, Laxative, Nutritive.

Internal Uses: Colic, Convalescence, Diarrhea, Indigestion, Urinary Infections

Internal Applications: Tea, Tincture, Capsules.

It is a mild laxative but also helps relieve diarrhea caused by stress. Arrowroot is an excellent source of carbohydrates and digestible calcium. It also soothes irritated mucus membranes.

Topical Uses: Heat Rash, Sunburn

Topical Applications: Used as a powder or bath herb (direct in bath) for heat rash and sunburn. Some Native Americans in both North and South America apply Arrowroot as a poultice for snakebites, insect bites, sores and arrow wounds.

Culinary uses: The thick root is dried and ground into a powder. It is then used as a thickening agent for sauces, puddings and gravies. It is also cooked into a nutritive gruel for children and the elderly. Root can be candied.

Energetics: Sweet, Cool.

Chemical Constituents: Neutral starch, gum, fiber.

Comments: Arrowroot was first discovered and identified on the island of Dominica in the West Indies. The name is probably from the plant's history of use as a treatment for arrow wounds.

The common name Arrowroot includes the species Maranta nobilis and Maranta allouya, which are used interchangeably with Maranta arundinacea.

-- Phil in KS (pemccoy@yahoo.com), March 07, 2002