Ceanothus

Sore, constricted throat with thick, tenacious discharge and pain on swallowing

Profuse, thick nasal or throat catarrh where the membrane needs clearing and drying

Boggy, congested spleen with a sense of fullness in the left upper abdomen

Overview. Ceanothus thyrsiflorus, known as California lilac or blueblossom, is a evergreen shrub native to coastal California and Oregon, valued in the mountain chaparral for its dense clusters of blue flowers. Eclectic physicians of the nineteenth century used the leaf, berry, and root bark, most often as a tincture, for congestive conditions of the throat, spleen, and lymphatic system. It stands alongside its better documented relative Ceanothus americanus in the same tradition of astringent, decongestant shrubs used for boggy mucous membranes and sluggish lymphatic drainage.

Clinical Notes. This is a plant reached for when tissue is congested, boggy, and discharging thick or tenacious mucus rather than thin catarrh. The classic picture from the old eclectic literature is a sore, constricted throat with real difficulty swallowing and a feeling of dryness underneath the discharge, seen in pharyngitis, tonsillitis, and the catarrhal states that follow a cold settling in the throat.

Therapy. Henderson has written a very interesting article which was published in the Annual. He says he has employed an infusion of the leaves in conjunctivitis, and as an application in inflamed eyes he has applied the steeped leaves themselves.