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Herb library · Herb · Stillingia sylvatica

Stillingia (queen's root)

The root of queen's delight, a southern spurge with an acrid milky sap. It was a leading 19th-century American "alterative" for syphilis, skin disease and coughs, and it was known to cause vomiting and purging in large doses. It has not been studied in people, or even in the lab.

Traditional use

Eclectic physicians called stillingia "an American remedy of much importance" and used the fresh root for syphilis, skin and liver complaints, chronic coughs and hoarseness, and croup. They insisted on the fresh root, because it loses its activity when dried and stored.

What studies show

No studies in people of this herb on its own yet. What is known of it comes from the traditions that use it.

  • Insufficient

    Skin, lymph and cough: no modern studies of this species were found, in people or in the lab. Diterpenoids isolated from related Stillingia species slowed viruses in lab cells.

Be careful of

Cautions

  • AmountThe 19th-century texts report that large doses cause vomiting, purging, a burning feeling in the stomach and prostration. There is no tested safe dose.
  • NoteThe plant exudes an acrid milky sap when cut, and the root oil was considered too acrid to take by mouth. Keep the sap away from the eyes and skin.
  • ConditionSyphilis and other infections it was once used for need testing and proven medicines.
  • PregnancyDo not use it in pregnancy or while breastfeeding; no safety information was found.
  • Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.

From the old books

What herbals and dispensaries of the past printed. History, in their words.

“In large doses, stillingia vomits and purges, producing in many instances a peculiar, disagreeable burning sensation in the stomach, or some portion of the alimentary canal, accompanied with more or less prostration of the system.”
Harvey Wickes Felter and John Uri Lloyd, King's American Dispensatory (1905), vol. 2, p. 1837. See the page of King's American Dispensatory, vol. 2, p. 1837 (opens in a new tab) · Read the full passage from King's American Dispensatory, vol. 2, p. 1837

Sources

  1. Antiviral activity of flexibilane and tigliane diterpenoids from Stillingia lineata (J Nat Prod, 2015) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
  2. Tri- and diterpenoids from Stillingia loranthacea as inhibitors of Zika virus replication (J Nat Prod, 2019) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026

Reviewed September 25, 2026.