Yerba Mansa

It is native to southwestern North America in northwest Mexico and the Southwestern United States from California to Oklahoma and Texas to Kansas to Oregon. It grows in wet, alkaline marsh and creek edges.

Yerba mansa is used as an antimicrobial, an antibacterial, and to treat vaginal candidiasis. Yerba mansa is used to treat inflammation of the mucous membranes, swollen gums and sore throat. An infusion of roots can be taken as a diuretic to treat rheumatic diseases like gout by ridding the body of excess uric acid, which causes painful inflammation of the joints. Yerba mansa prevents the buildup of uric acid crystals in the kidneys which could cause kidney stones if left untreated. A powder of dried root can be sprinkled on infected areas to alleviate athlete's foot or diaper rash. Yerba mansa is versatile. It can be taken orally as a tea, tincture, infusion or dried in capsule form. It can be used externally for soaking inflamed or infected areas. It can be ground and used as a dusting powder. Some people in Las Cruces, New Mexico use the leaves to make a poultice to relieve muscle swelling and inflammation. The leaves and roots have also been used to heal and disinfect wounds and sores. Yerba mansa is the midwife's panacea. The Good Book of Alice the Midwife enumerates the striking symmetry of benefits between this sub-tropic wetland plant in riparian ecology and microbiome diversity.

In the deserts of California, yerba mansa is being used as turf in public parks and ground cover in gardens.