Centaurium
erythraea- Common centaury
 Common
name
Common centaury
Scots names: feverfoullie, gentian.
Gaelic names: ceud bhileach (hundred leaves), teantguidh
Uses in Scotland
Centaury had various medicinal uses in the past, including
as a tonic to cleanse the blood and kidneys, to relieve indigestion and
colic, treat jaundice and as a cure for wounds, sores and rheumatism. The
plant was called gentian in Scotland because it had the same medicinal effect
as the roots of the great yellow gentian (Gentiana lutea), which
where commonly imported to Scotland and sold as a strong tonic to treat
'general debility' and digestive problems.
In the past in Scotland, infusions were given of common
centaury for stomach and digestive problems, and it has had a specific
use in promoting the appetite in tubercular patients. In Usit, a tonic
made from a tincture of pink centaury and whisky was thought to be ‘excellent’
by those who used it. But were its excellent properties due to the whisky
or the centaury?
References
Beith, M. (1995). Healing threads. Polygon,
Edinburgh.
Darwin, T. (1996). The Scots Herbal. Mercat Press, Edinburgh.
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