Cowslip - a herb for all ails

Cowslip - Primula veris

This cheerful little herb with its many little flowers ranging from whitish to bright yellow and even slightly orange and red (mainly in cultivated versions), used to be a common sight in the British countryside. Unfortunately, due to the ever increasing use of pesticides and artificial fertilizers on, what used to be, traditional hay meadows, woodlands and old hedgerows, cowslip has become rather rate these days; so much so, that in Germany cowslip is protected by law.

So you can imagine my joy when I spotted one growing at the yard! There it was, with its tender but fleshy leaves and the oh-so-joyful little flowers poking up as if to say ‘Be careful where you put your feet!’ - Of course I was! It stopped me straight in my tracks!

Why am I getting so excited about this little herb?

Because cowslip is rather efficient at helping with all sorts of ailments, but its strongest affinity is with the respiratory tract, in particular the lungs. Its use dates back thousands of years – yes, even the Greek loved and appreciated the healing powers of cowslip. By the way, the Latin name comes from ‘primus’ = first and veris can be translated into English as spring. Bit of a giveaway as to when you will find it in flower.

The name cowslip comes from the old English cūslyppe or cowslop and probably refers to its favourite place to grow – old meadows, preferably with its own ‘fertiliser’ in the form of a nice, big, squishy cow pad!

Cowslip, as well as its cousin oxlip and of course primrose, has many versatile uses. But before we look at all this dry phytochemistry with its definitions, actions, affinities and so on, let’s go and take a walk through history and folklore and find out what is so special about this plant.

Pliny the Elder is one of the first to mention cowslip as a ‘bringer of spring’. In his book Natural History (book 25 chapter 9) he wrote “THE DODECATHEOS: ONE REMEDY. The plant next in esteem to moly, is that called dodecatheos, it being looked upon as under the especial tutelage of all the superior gods. Taken in water, it is a cure, they say, for maladies of every kind. The leaves of it, seven in number, and very similar to those of the lettuce, spring from a yellow root.”

Culpepper wrote that “Venus lays claim to the herb as her own, and it is under the sign Aries, and our city dames know well enough the ointment or distilled water of it adds beauty, or at least restores it when it is lost. The flowers are held to be more effectual than the leaves, and the roots of little use. An ointment being made with them, taketh away spots and wrinkles of the skin, sun-burning, and freckles, and adds beauty exceedingly; they remedy all infirmities of the head coming of heat and wind, as vertigo, ephialtes, false apparitions, phrenzies, falling-sickness, palsies, convulsions, cramps, and pain in the nerves; the roots ease pains in the back and bladder, and open the passage of urine. The leaves are good in wounds, and the flowers take away trembling. If the flowers be not well dried and kept in a warm place, they will soon putrify and look green; have a special eye over them. If you let them see the sun ounce a month, it will do them no harm. Because they strengthen the brain and nerves, and remedy palsies, the Greeks gave them the name of paralysis. The flowers preserved or conserved, and the quantity of a nutmeg eaten every morning, is a sufficient dose for inward diseases; but for wounds, spots, wrinkles, and sun burning, an ointment is made of the leaves and hog's grease.”

Shakespeare mentions cowslip in ‘The Tempest’:

Where the bee sucks, there suck I:

In a cowslip’s bell I lie;

There I couch when owls do cry.

On the bat’s back I do fly

After summer merrily.

Merrily, merrily shall I live now

Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.

and in ‘A Midsomer Night’s Dream’:

And I serve the Fairy Queen

To dew her orbs upon the green.

The cowslips tall her pensioners be.

In their gold coats spots you see;

Those be rubies, fairy favours;

In those freckles live their savours.

I must go seek some dewdrops here,

And hang a pearl in every cowslip's ear.

Hildegard von Bingen too was a great lover of cowslip – she called it the ‘key of heaven’, in German ‘Schluesselblume’, and said that, when applied topically to the chest, it would chase away the melancholy and even delusions.

In her book 'Health from God's garden' Maria von Threben recommended cowslip for gout, headache, rheumatism and the roots for bladder stones.

In the Nordic and Germanic folklore cowslip was dedicated to Freya, the goddess of spring, and because the flowers look like dangling keys on a keyring, it was believed they were the keys to Freya’s gate 'Sessrumnir', hence the name 'Lady's key' or 'password'.

In the old days in Britain and Ireland people believed that the fairies were sleeping in the flowers of cowslip and it was therefore used for Beltane rites, to protect the cow’s milk from being stolen by the fairies (or witches) and it was strewn onto the floor in the home to protect it from all sorts of evils.

Today, especially in Germany, cowslip is an inherent part of every cough and cold medicine, be it tea, syrup or a tonic. It alleviates stubborn cough (think of farmers’ lung) especially in elderly people who have a history of heart problems. It is also used for bronchitis, asthma, whooping cough, sinusitis, headache and migraine, arthritis, gout, fluid retention, pain, insomnia, hysteria, neuralgia (nerve pain), spasms, cramps, and tremors.

But apart from all this medicinal use, cowslip used to be used in salads and if you get down on your knees to smell the flowers you will find that they have a really lovely, mildly-sweet, honey like smell – which made them perfect for being candied and used as sweets! The leaves were also used as vegetables and cooked like spinach.

So, from a medicinal point and summarising the traditional usage, we have a huge range of actions: Cowslip is:

• Astringent, meaning it tonifies tissues such as the skin (think of the tonic for the city dames)

• Expectorant, meaning it helps expel thick and sticky mucous from the lungs and the nose

• Analgesic, meaning it is pain relieving

• Diuretic, meaning it makes you pee

• Anti-arthritic/anti-rheumatic, meaning it helps with arthritis and rheumatic pains

• Antispasmodic, meaning it helps with spasms and cramps

• Sedative, meaning it is calming

That’s a lot of stuff this beautiful little plant does! But I’m not just saying this – no, I can actually back this up with a bit of phytochemistry. And here comes the chemical bit …

Cowslip contains triterpene saponins, flavonoids, essential oils, tannins, phenolic acids, phenolic glycosides, rosmarinic acid and methyl salicylates. All of these phytochemicals are very interesting because they do support the suggestions for the traditional uses.

Triterpene saponins are irritating to the mucousal membranes in the gastro-intestinal tract and through a wonderful connection of those membranes with the vagus nerve, the mucousal membranes in the lungs are also activated. Saponins also 'liquify' thick mucous, making it more viscous and therefore easier to get rid off. This makes it easier to cough up thick and sticky mucous. Saponins are surfactants, which means they interact with cell membranes (basically the 'skin' of the cells). When combined with water they literally act and foam like soap (this is where the name soap comes from – saponins). This means saponins break down cell membranes and it is believed that this makes them very anti-microbial, anti-viral, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial. Wonderful stuff – just don't feed saponin rich plants to your fishes – it will burst the red blood cells and kill them. Saponins are also bitter in taste, which is probably the reason for the stimulation of the gastric juices as well as the irritation of the membranes.

Flavonoids are mainly antioxidative and show a protective mechanism against UV – just what you want for your skin! Rosmarinic acid is a super anti-oxidant as well.

Tannins are another wonderful compound of cowslip – tannins are what makes a plant (or bark) astringent, meaning, it tones the tissues. Astringent plants are often used in herbalism when the tissues have become a bit too relaxed and liquids, nutrients and waste products start to leak out of the cells into the surrounding tissues. Think of fluid retention, varicose veins and that pesty runny nose! They literally tone those tissues and pull them back together nice and firm and chuck all unnecessary fluids out of your body mainly through the urinary tract. Because of this action, tannins (astringent herbs) are used as diuretics.

Methyl salicylate is the stuff that Aspirin is made off. Well. Aspirin is the chemical, laboratory made version of this! So, methyl salicylates reduce pain, fever and inflammation.

The diuretic and astringent properties of cowslip also make it perfect for rheumatism and gout and together with the methyl salicylates it is very helpful for problems with arthritis.

The only thing I cannot confirm, neither through scientific trials nor through the phytochemicals in cowslip, is the old folk use as a sedative and anti-spasmodic, whereby the latter might be helped through the pain relieving properties.

You can see now what a wonderful and marvelous healing plant cowslip is and maybe you can see now, why I am so very excited to have one growing at the yard.

One last thing though on cowslip: saponins are, as explained above, irritating to the mucous membranes. Plants containing saponins are therefore to be used with care and in order to avoid side effects you should always consult a professional herbalist before using cowslip.

Best wishes and happy spring flower days

Michaela