Ground fumitory grows primarily along roadsides and is native to Europe, the Mediterranean regions, and as far east as the Middle East. In North and South America, the plant has been naturalized as a weed. The drug import comes from wild collections in Eastern Europe.
Herbal medicine uses the dried, above-ground parts of the plant collected during the flowering season (Fumariae herba).
Earth fumitory: typical characteristics
Earth fumitory is an annual, climbing or creeping herb that grows up to 30 centimeters tall. The leaves are gray-green, slightly pruinose, and deeply slit.
The genus name of the plant is derived from the Latin fumus (=smoke), as the gray-green coloring of the leaves makes them appear as if smoked.
The typical pink flowers with dark red tips are arranged in clusters. Furthermore, the plant bears small spherical fruits with only one seed. In the past, the fumitory plants were considered a separate family, but today they are part of the poppy family (Papaveraceae).
What does the medicine consist of?
The overall blue-green to gray-green drug consists of a large number of fragments and hollow, angular stem pieces. Furthermore, it contains characteristic light to dark purple shriveled flowers with a dark spot at the tip and spherical fruits with a small brown seed.
Smell and taste of earth fumitory
The plant does not emit a particularly characteristic odor. In terms of taste, earth smoke is slightly bitter and faintly salty.
