One of the best things about writing a newspaper column or blog is that we learn fascinating things from you, our readers. Some time ago, we heard from one person about a versatile Lowcountry herb sometimes called Life Everlasting. As you will see, it has numerous aliases and might even grow somewhere near you.
Life Everlasting Is Lowcountry Herb:
Q. When I moved to the Lowcountry of South Carolina about 40 years ago, I learned about an herb called Life Everlasting. People in the Gullah culture sometimes call it Light of Molasses.
The plant grows wild. You pull the whole plant up, clean off the dirt and let it dry. Then you can save it and cook it down to make a tea for sore throats, pneumonia, colds, fevers or whatever ails you! I like it as strong as possible. It actually smells like smoky maple syrup.
A. Thanks for introducing us to a plant we didn’t know before. As far as we can tell, the Latin name for this native plant is Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium, which is quite a mouthful. Life everlasting sounds like hyperbole, to be sure. People may also call this plant sweet everlasting or rabbit tobacco.
Life everlasting prefers sandy soil and sunny exposures. Herb hunters can find it in many parts of eastern North America, not only the Lowcountry of coastal South Carolina. Apparently, it is an annual that smells like maple syrup when the leaves are crushed.
As you suggest, this plant has traditionally been used to treat colds, fevers and sore throats. We have been unable to find any studies demonstrating whether it is actually helpful for these conditions.
Other Uses for Lowcountry Herb:
We were surprised to get a message a few years ago about using rabbit tobacco to ease the pain of fire ant stings. No one seems to have studied it for that purpose, however. It is unrelated to tobacco though internet sources suggest it has been used by Lumbee and Cherokee (and possibly other people) to create smoke in sweat lodges or as a poultice for sores. This post by Michele Roldán-Shaw suggests that Geechee-Gullah people who consumed Light Molasses/sweet everlasting lived to ripe old ages. Here again, however, we have no scientific studies that support or refute the claim.
