Research

Over the centuries, settlers in the Southwest have used native plant yerba del manso, commonly called lizard-tail or swamp root, as a remedy for colds, sinus infections, gum diseases, toothaches, ulcers and upset stomachs. In recent years, the popularity of medicinal herbs has grown tremendously and NMSU agronomist Charles Martin believes lizard-tail could become a cash crop for New Mexican organic farmers.

Native Americans first introduced the plant with the large white flower spikes to Spanish settlers. The Europeans learned that its antiseptic and antibiotic properties had many practical uses, causing one explorer to note in his diary, "Of all the plants we gathered none was endowed with so much magic as the yerba del manso."

Martin, an assistant professor at the NMSU Sustainable Agriculture Science Center in Alcalde, believes that swamp root could provide an above-average-per-acre gross income for small-scale farmers, depending on market demand.

"Because it is so useful as a medicinal herb and with the growing medicinal herb market, New Mexico growers have a real advantage at turning it into a cash crop,” Martin explains. “It has potential commercial sales outside of the Southwest. So just imagine the potential market when herbalists on either coast or in large Midwestern cities discover its benefits."

For the past eight years, Martin has worked to determine how to transplant the native species into a cultivated environment. At first, Martin and his team tried to grow the plants from seed but found that the microscopic seed resulted in a low germination rate. They had better luck establishing a nursery by transplanting the stolons (above-ground runners such as those on strawberry plants) and rhizomes (underground stems such as those of the mint plant), which send out shoots all along the stem.

Martin anticipates a need for commercial cultivation of this plant in the future as yerba del manso becomes popular to herbalists.

"Traditionally, people dig up the roots or harvest the crown of the plant from wild stands in high water table areas, such as river bosques. But with the riparian areas in New Mexico shrinking because of urbanization, the habitat for this useful plant is rapidly disappearing,” he notes. "With the knowledge we have from this research we hope to avoid what happened to other popular herbs, such as echinacea, where there was so much over-harvesting from native stands that the stands were depleted and became threatened or even endangered."