Scotch broom

Cytisus scoparius

Other Names : Cytisus scoparius, common broom, Sarothamnus scoparius, Spartium scoparium, Bealaidh, Bealuidh, Bhealaidh, Scots or Scotch Broom, Brem, Brume, Brom, Beesom, Besenginster, Genêt à balais, Giolach sleibhe, Sguab (a brush made from broom), Jänönvihma, planta genista
The young herbaceous tips of flowering shoots are harvested in spring, generally in May. They can be used fresh or dried. They should not be stored for more than 12 months since the medicinally active ingredients break down.

Special Precautions of Scotch broom

• Toxic : contains toxic alkaloids that can depress the hearing and nervous systems and affect the function of the heart
• Use this herb with caution since large doses are likely to upset the stomach.
• The composition of active ingredients in the plant is very changeable, this makes it rather unreliable medicinally and it is therefore rarely used.
• This herb should not be prescribed to pregnant women or patients with high blood pressure.
• Any treatment with this plant should only be carried out under expert supervision.
• Should not be confused with Spartium juneceum, Spanish broom, and commonly also named Broom.

Health Benefits and Uses of Scotch broom

Cardiotonic, Cathartic, Diuretic, Emetic, Insecticide, Vasoconstrictor, Vermifuge.

• Broom is a bitter narcotic herb that depresses the respiration and regulates heart action. It acts upon the electrical conductivity of the heart, slowing and regulating the transmission of the impulses. The young herbaceous tips of flowering shoots are cardiotonic, cathartic, diuretic, emetic and vasoconstrictor. The seeds can also be used. The plant is used internally in the treatment of heart complaints, and is especially used in conjunction with Convallaria majalis (Lily of the Valley).
• The plant is also strongly diuretic, stimulating urine production and thus countering fluid retention.
• Since broom causes the muscles of the uterus to contract, it has been used to prevent blood loss after childbirth.
• Historical use : The most common traditional usages of this plant seem to have been as a vermifuge for both humans and horses, using the fresh green tips and as an insecticide for head lice, a strong brew of twigs used as a scalp rub. The plant also had a reputation for treating dropsy, jaundice and expelling poisons from bites by venomous insects. In Fife, the miners used broom tops and nettles, infused in water as a treatment for dropsy. In Russia it had an optimistic reputation as a treatment for Rabies. These uses are not given in more recent works, there is now more concern about the toxicity and unpredictable level of active ingredients of the herb than there used to be.