Synonyms in a broader sense
- Cape country geranium
- Pelagonium sidiodes reniforme
Explanation/Definition
Umckaloabo is made from a type of geranium native to South Africa. The extract is obtained from the tuberous root. It belongs to the active group of natural medicine and is said to have a so-called immunomodulatory effect. This means that the immune system is strengthened and threatening diseases are averted or at least attenuated. It is especially used in the therapy of pre-acute or chronic infectious diseases in the throat, nose and ear area.
The plant
The chapland geranium is a species of geranium that is very closely related to the species Pelargonium sidoides and Pelargonium reniforme (family Geraniaceae). The rosette plants grow up to 50 cm high. The narrow petals are deep red in color, which stand together in umbel-like inflorescences.
History
In the south of Africa, decollets of Pelargium species are used in traditional medicine. Their healing power was discovered centuries ago by Zulu medicine men and used to treat infections. On the advice of his doctor, the lung-sick Englishman Charles Henry Stevens traveled to the south of Africa in 1897.
There he met a Zulu from Basetholand, today’s kingdom of Lesotho. From him he learned that the boiled off rootstock of the cape land – pelargonium among the South African Zulu – tribes has been used for centuries to treat respiratory tract infections. C. H. Stevens was treated with an extract (Umckaloabo) from the tuberous root by a Besotho healer.
He recovered completely and imported the alleged miracle plant to Europe. Under the name “Stevens consumption cure” the extract was used as a tuberculosis therapeutic for a while. For a while, Umckaloabo fell into oblivion again.
It was only with the development of modern medicine that Umckaloabo successfully made a breakthrough in the treatment of respiratory tract infections in European medicine. It is assumed that the name Umckaloabo is based on a misunderstanding between Stevens and his healer. The Zulu words umkhuhlane (a generic term for illness associated with fever and cough) and uhlabo (pleuritic chest pain -> pleura = pleura) probably denoted the diagnosis. Stevens, however, took “umckaloabo” as the name for the remedy administered to him. Umckaloabo contains a special extract from the root of the Cape land pelargonium.
