Umckaloabo sounds like a wonderfully silly remedy you might find in a child’s apothecary, right next to the mini tea set and mud pies. It truth, umckaloabo and rose geranium are powerful home remedies modern herbalists would be wise to get to know.
Where does Umckaloabo and Rose Geranium grow?
Pelargonium sidiodes, as umckaloabo is known as in botanical and scientific circles, is a native of South Africa. Rose geranium, umckaloabo’s cousin, goes by the name Pelargonium capitatum and is also native to South Africa. They both like full sun to part shade, rich soil with medium humidity, and warmth. These two herbal allies do best indoors in cool climates through the cold season or outside in tropical to sub-tropical places. Folks living in cooler climates can grow either of these medicinal Pelargoniums as potted plants to bring indoors through winter, although the lower light levels indoors are tough for both. Most cooler climate gardeners consider both annuals and don’t bother trying to overwinter them.
I’ve grown rose geraniums indoors in my hydroponic garden rather successfully. The greatest challenge inside for me has been in getting the light right. Pelargoniums like a goodly bit of sun to produce flowers. Even with partial shade conditions, though, they’ll offer sweetly scented leaves for your tea, salads, and other extractions. Traditionally, herbalists have used the umckaloabo roots rather than the aerial parts to make their medicines. I’ve substituted rose geranium roots in some of my formulas successfully. I’ve also had good success with remedies made using both dry and fresh rose geranium tops.
Making Medicine with Umckaloabo and Rose Geranium
Rose geranium makes a wonderful salad companion. Infused into vinegar, it adds a delightfully sweet scent and flavor to salad dressings, marinades, and pickles. Rose geranium’s anti-bacterial and immune-supportive properties offer us a healthy dose of preventative medicine, perfect for the transitional season of fall and spring when flu, colds, and viruses tend to flourish. I like to make tincture using fresh rose geranium leaves early, before the plant has flowered. This I add to blends for respiratory support, especially when illness in the chest seems to be lingering or when coughing is wracking, deep, and hard on the bronchial paths.
Umckaloabo root is traditionally the part used to make Umckaloabo syrups and tinctures, both of which are quite helpful for a variety of respiratory conditions. I keep a small store of dried Umckaloabo root in my herbal cabinet. When I need to make a custom syrup for a flu, cold, or respiratory illness that’s causing particularly deep and painful coughing, I add a handful to the blend. Usually, I partner umckaloabo with elecampane or mullein to help the lungs recover and any lingering soreness or pathogens in the throat to clear.
What about Rose Geranium Essential Oil?
Rose geranium is best known as an essential oil. It’s floral, yin, and generally warming in scent and energy. It’s often included in blends for women as they enter perimenopause, but isn’t solely a women’s medicine. Rose geranium is generally calming to the nervous system without being sedating. It’s helpful for agitated children and adults alike, helping to calm the nerves and make space for a more grounded and positive perspective. Rose geranium is a common rose substitute for home aromatherapists. It’s more accessible and less expensive than rose essential oil, and shares many of the more calming, warming, nurturing qualities of rose essential oil.
What to learn more? This month, we’re learning about the Herbal Properties and Uses of Rose Geranium and Umckaloabo.
