Horehound for coughs.

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.herbs
Subject: Horehound
From: merlin.passport.ca (Merlin Watt)
Date: 19 Jun 1995 12:53:53 -0400

Recently, during an inspired (read 'impulsive') shopping spree at the local nursery, I picked up a small horehound plant with is now doing exceptionally well in my garden. On the wee information tag, it lists 'cough drops and candies' as uses, but I really haven't any information on this plant at all.

If anyone out there is growing horehound, or uses it, any information on its harvesting, preparation or uses would be most gratefully received. As it appears, I will have hoards of this stuff by the end of the summer and it would be sinful for it to fall to waste.

Any advice would be welcome.

From: vonbrundz.aol.com (VON BRUNDZ)

Hi I am drying my horehound as I write this. It works very well for clearing out the lungs in bronchitis as well as colds, I use it as a tea when I get sick but don't take to much as it can be a powerful stimulant. I found out the hard way by twitching for several hours one night when I made a good strong batch before I went to bed.

From: aramirez.agsm.ucla.edu (Alice Ramirez)

> It works very well for clearing out the lungs in bronchitis as well as colds

I heartily concur. Strong horehound tea, with honey, is wonderful for reducing chest congestion. If you live in a warm climate and have space in your garden, you might not want to grow it, however. In my climate (S. Cal) the one little horehound plant I stuck in the ground in my back yard grew to a small bush then somehow replicated...everywhere.

I find horehound growing all over my back yard, I see it in my next door neighbor's yard, and in the parkway out front where I never planted it. Probably ok to plant it somewhere like Michigan

From: jchamay.williams.edu (Julie Zelman)

Where we are (Vermont) horehound grows as a hardy perennial. I like its appearance, too. You can make a tea with the fresh or dried leaves. I find it especially soothing for a scratchy throat.

We have also made coughdrops. I have a few recipes, but the simplest is from Euell Gibbons' _Stalking the Wild Asparagus_. As I recall (I don't have the book with me) you make a tea, then cook it with brown sugar, using the same amount of sugar as you have of tea. You cook it until it reaches the "hard crack" stage. A candy thermometer helps here. You can also throw in some lemon balm, if you have it, to add lemon flavor.

The hard part was dividing it into little lozenges. You have to let it cool but not let it get too hard. Took me a two times to get it right. They're great cough/throat drops. My friend's husband works at a dusty construction job and loves these drops.

From: Leslie Taylor <raintree.bga.com>

Alice, You think you have a problem... I planted a whole row of horehound in my herb garden 5 years ago on my 150 acre ranch in Texas and now I have 150 acres of horehound! It is growing under and around every tree on the property and it all grows about 3-4 feet tall!!! Anyone want some horehound? Maybe I'll move to Michigan.