Gotu kola (Centella asiatica) is a medicinal herb that has tremendous healing properties that are known to benefit a wide variety of ailments.
Gotu kola is rich in vitamins A, C, & B-complex as well as minerals such as silicon, selenium, calcium, magnesium, and iron.
Gotu kola is one of the premier herbs for neurological disorders including dementia, Bell’s palsy, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, bipolar disorder, tremors, Guillain-Barre syndrome, Tourette syndrome, and narcolepsy.
It also functions as a brain tonic and energy booster and has been shown to significantly improve cognitive skills while reducing brain fog and forgetfulness.
Gotu kola is an adaptogenic herb which makes it excellent for strengthening the adrenal glands and preventing stress related illnesses such as headaches, exhaustion, insomnia, and indigestion.
Gotu kola functions well as a blood cleanser and is known to help improve the circulatory, digestive, and lymphatic systems.
It is also known to relieve high blood pressure and is particularly beneficial for hepatitis, urinary tract infections, heart disease, venereal diseases, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Gotu kola contains triterpenoid compounds that can help to strengthen the walls of blood vessels, veins, and capillaries which significantly improves blood flow and circulation.
These abilities make it an effective remedy for varicose veins, leg cramps, ulcers, retinopathy, hemorrhoids, and chronic tingling of the arms & legs.
Topically, gotu kola has shown to be effective for skin ailments such as psoriasis, acne, eczema, bed sores, wounds, cellulite, postoperative scars, and even leprosy.
Gotu kola can be found in tea, tincture, extract, capsule, and cream form online or at your local health food store.
Growing
Gotu kolas native environment is a swamp, it likes warm temperatures, lots of water, a reasonable amount of nutrients and dappled sun to full shade.
It will quickly wilt and yellow if left to dry out, or the sun is too harsh, but very often they will recover if quickly drenched with water and a weak seaweed solution, for the next week or two.
If you have purchased ‘bare root runners’ then you will need to expect a loss of existing leaf while the rootstock ‘reboots’ and adapts to your environment. This is perfectly natural and you need not assume that you have killed the plant.
Gotu kola will grow in almost any soil but if it is constantly wet then the leaves will show brown spots and you know immediately that you need to either move the plant or change the watering conditions.
With a high content of mulch in the soil, the plants will spread better and establish more strongly.
If you have purchased potted Gotu kola then keep them in their pots for a week and place them in the area that you intend to grow them.
Once they are acclimatized you are free to either pot them into larger pots or directly into the garden. Water twice daily until they show signs of spreading and then, ignore them completely.
Constant harvesting of the leaves will ensure a continual supply and will encourage the plant to spread. Some people are sensitive to the leaves.
For more information:
http://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-gotu-kola.html
https://homeguides.sfgate.com/identify-gotu-kola-plants-66441.html
