ID for this medical plant from Albania!

Discussion in 'Plants: Identification' started by ariani, Sep 13, 2021.

  1. ariani

    ariani Active Member 10 Years

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    This plant is used for skin medical treatment in remote villages in Albania. Can you help me with ID please?
     

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  2. ariani

    ariani Active Member 10 Years

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    More photos
     

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  3. Sulev

    Sulev Contributor

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    Your IMG-20210913-WA0007.jpg looks totally different from IMG-20210913-WA0012.jpg
    Are you sure, that it's the same plant?

    Wild guess: IMG-20210913-WA0007.jpg could be a dried Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus). Or maybe a Helichrysum italicum microphyllum
     
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2021
  4. Silver surfer

    Silver surfer Generous Contributor 10 Years

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  5. Eric La Fountaine

    Eric La Fountaine Contributor Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    This is certainly a tough one. I'm not very good with dried material. Ariani, does it have a smell?

    The flowers look distinctive, but one would have to know their dried flowers. The first two guesses that come to me are caryopteris and ageratum.
     
  6. ariani

    ariani Active Member 10 Years

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    Thank you for your help. I found it. It is Chrozophora tinctoria
     
  7. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Thanks for posting that, @ariani, and for telling us what it is. Those little fruits seem quite distinctive. According to Litmus (Chrozophora tinctoria) Alternative Medicine (mtplantas.com), the common name is dyer's litmus! Wikipedia doesn't mention the word litmus on the entry for the botanical name, except in one of the references: Chrozophora tinctoria (Dyer's Litmus) : MaltaWildPlants.com - the online Flora of the Maltese Islands. I see that it's lichens that are used for the substance used in the "litmus test" for PH testing.
    I'm also surprised that this is a Euphorbiaceae. It's a good thing you figured this out yourself.
     
  8. Sulev

    Sulev Contributor

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    What conditions were treated with this herb?
     
  9. ariani

    ariani Active Member 10 Years

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    warts and skin infections
     
  10. Sulev

    Sulev Contributor

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    Thanks!
     

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