Herb library · Herb · Anemopsis californica
Yerba mansa
A peppery, aromatic root of wet ground in California, the Southwest and northern Mexico, long used by the Native peoples of the region. It has not been studied in people.
Traditional use
King's American Dispensatory (1898) records that the peoples of Southern California, Arizona and Mexico used both its roots and leaves, carried the root with them and chewed it for coughs and chest complaints, and used it for fevers, diarrhea and dysentery and as a wash for saddle sores on horses. Adams and Garcia (2006) list yerba mansa among the plants the Chumash of California use for women's health.
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
Coughs, digestion and skin: no study of yerba mansa in people was found. Its research is limited to the chemistry of its oil and lab work on bacteria and cells.
Be careful of
Cautions
- NoteThere is no modern safety information for yerba mansa taken by mouth, so side effects and interactions are unknown.
- PregnancyNo safety information for pregnancy or breastfeeding was found; avoid it then.
- 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 a letter to Prof. King, he observes that the natives frequently carry the root with them, chewing it and swallowing the juice, and consider it a certain remedy for cough and pulmonary affections.”
Sources
- A comparison of the anti-Staphylococcus aureus activity of extracts from commonly used medicinal plants (2014) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Women's health among the Chumash (Evid Based Complement Alternat Med, 2006) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
Reviewed September 25, 2026.