Łódź, Botanical Garden

Native to temperate Eurasia. Ornamental plant. Edible plant - leaves cooked. Herbal plant - roots are alterative, astringent, cholagogue, deobstruent, depurative, detergent, laxative and mildly tonic; they can cause or relieve diarrhoea; they are used internally in the treatment of piles, bleeding of the lungs, various blood complaints and also chronic skin diseases; the roots have been used with positive effect to restrain the inroads made by cancer, being used as an alterative and tonic; externally, the roots are applied to various skin diseases, ulcers, etc. Useful plant - dark green to brown and dark grey dyes can be obtained from the roots of many species in this genus, they do not need a mordant.