Yellow Dock Herb

Yellow dock is native to Europe and Asia, and grows throughout North America as a common weed. In Europe it is cultivated as a vegetable.

The fresh spring greens of yellow dock are delicious and mildly cleansing. The root has laxative, alterative and mildly tonic action, according to the website Botanical.com, and can be freely used as a tonic and laxative in rheumatism, bilious complaints and as an astringent in piles, bleedings of the lungs, etc. It is largely prescribed for diseases of the blood, from a spring eruption, to scurvy, scrofula and chronic skin diseases. It is also useful in jaundice and as a tonic to the stomach and the system generally. It has an action on the bowels very similar to that of Rhubarb, being perhaps a little less active, but operating without pain or uneasiness.

The root tincture is recommended by midwives to help strengthen the blood during pregnancy, and yellow dock tea is a good preventative for women who are prone to vaginal yeast infections and bladder infections, says Christopher Hobbs in his book Herbal Remedies for Dummies.