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Ending the Trillium Trade in Commercial Herbal Products
United Plant Savers, a non-profit founded in 1994 dedicated to native medicinal plant conservation, lists Trillium on its At-Risk list. There are several common species that are abundant and easy to cultivate that provide accessible analogues for the traditional uses of Trillium. Mother Wort (Leonurus cardiaca) is purported to be an effective uterine tonic. Yarrow (Achillea millifolium) is often stated to be very effective as an anti-hemorrhage herb as is Shepherd’s Purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris), which is also purported to be effective as an astringent. Raspberry leaf (Rhus idaeus) is used commonly used to tonify the reproductive system. United Plant Savers supports the work of those who are dedicated to cultivating Trillium for the horticulture trade and for conservation purposes. Without any efforts to use cultivated sources of Trillium for the commercial trade in herbal products compounded by the fragility of such a slow growing woodland spring ephemeral, United Plant Savers advocates for the ending of the Trillium trade in commercial herbal products.
Illustration of Trillium erectum by Charles Millspaugh. This image is included in his 1887 volume American Medicinal Plants: An Illustrated and Descriptive Guide to the American Plants Used as Homeopathic Remedies.
