One ingredient in the Great Swedish Bitters really sent me searching for answers. It was "Ground Pine". Now, I had seen Ground Pine listed in old herbals and as either a bittering or fining agent in ancient beer recipes. But, I had no idea what it was. I assumed, wrongly, that it was a juniper species as juniper shows up so often in old beer recipes. My Canadian herbalist friend, Torey, said "it may be club moss". Club Moss, I knew from Maria Treben's books and other sources, as a commonly used herb in central and eastern European herbal medicine. So, I did a quick search of my favorite herbal website, NaturalMedicinalHerbs.net... and to my shock, read its listing for Club Moss, "The plant contains lycopodine, which is poisonous by paralysing the motor nerves. It also contains clavatine which is toxic to many mammals. The spores, however, are not toxic." In fact, it listed no medicinal uses (which is very rare for that site)! How could this be?
Well, that listing was for Lycopodium serratum. Under Common Club Moss, Lycopodium clavatum, it states:
A decoction of the plant is analgesic, antirheumatic, carminative, mildly diuretic, stomachic and tonic. It is used internally in the treatment of urinary and kidney disorders, rheumatic arthritis, catarrhal cystitis, gastritis etc. It is applied externally to skin diseases and irritations. The plant can be harvested all year round and is used fresh or dried. The spores of this plant are antipruritic, decongestant, diuretic and stomachic.
http://www.naturalmedicinalherbs.net/herbs/l/lycopodium-clavatum=common-club-moss.php
But, it also includes the same warning as for serratum.
My search began to find out if the herb is safe or toxic and what its uses may be. The obvious starting place was to grab my least favorite herbal book from the shelf, the Physicians' Desk Reference for Herbal Medicine. It is dull and dry, but an encyclopedic reference for all the studies and clinal trials associated with herbs. It has the best information on toxicity, interactions, side-effects... anything a doctor might look for when a patient says they are taking an herb. Under "Precautions and Adverse Reactions", for Club Moss (Lycopodium clavatum) it reads:
No health hazards or side effects are known in conjunction with proper administration of designated therapeutic dosages. Irritations should be expected with extended use of the drug.
Overdose: Despite the toxicity of the alkaloids, no poisonings have been reported.
Maria Treben listed Club Moss (Lycopodium clavatum) as, "Good for gout and rheumatism, even if the joints are deformed, for chronic constipation and piles.. The tea is useful for all complaints of the urinary and reproductive organs, for inflammation nd hardening of the testes, formation of gravel in the kidneys and renal colic. For inflammation of the liver, growth of connective tissues of the liver, even if malignant, Club Moss is indispensable." She goes on to tell stories of various cases in which club moss was found beneficial for cirrhosis of the liver, chronic muscle cramps in the legs and feet, bladder cramps, high blood pressure, cramps caused by scars from severe injuries, bedsores and open sores.
There are also many members of Lycopodium Mrs, Grieves, in her A Modern Herbal, says that American Club Moss, Lycopodium complanatum, can be used similarly to Common (to Europe) Club Moss, Lycopodium clavatum... but that nierther should be confused with Yellow Bugle, which may also be called European Ground Pine (Ajuga chamaepitys). American and Common Club Moss should also not be confused with Chinese Club Moss, which may be useful for Alzheimer's. And, to make matters even more confusing, NaturalMedicinal Herbs.net says about Lycopodium selago: "The plant is hypnotic. Chewing three stems is said to induce mild intoxication whilst eight can cause unconsciousness."
So, it is safe? Well, likely, yes in reasonable doses... if you use the right Lycopodium... but, just to be safe, I will give it a maybe... beware of common names! Many herbs can be toxic in unreasonably large doses. Thujone is found in Wormwood, Yarrow, Tansy and Sage, but these are herbs few herbalists would be without! Comfrey and Sassafras contain substances that could cause cancer... but, these herbs have been used medicinally for countless generations. How can this be? Well, look closer at the studies and you generally find circumstances which would be hard to recreate by any reasonable person... lab rats given such high doses, in such high concentrations of the herb that it would be the equivalent of a human drinking 20 gallons or more of the tea, daily for 20 years! Sure, that is a bit of an exaggeration, but you get my point. Banning an herb like sassafras based on fairly ridiculous "studies" in lab conditions that would be almost impossible to recreate in the real world... while approving countless pharmaceutical drugs that have side effects like "sudden death", seems less than reasonable to me. But, I'm not giving any advice - make your own informed choices.
https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2020/11/club-moss-controversial-herb.html
