More information about the Maroon Bush

[Guest guest]

Upon doing a bit of checking around, the Maroon Bush is looking pretty

good. It also appears that I was correct in saying that it was priced

too high. Hopefully a less expensive source can be found or, like Dr.

G suggested, we can get some of those bushes back here and try to grow

them ourselves.

 

Here is a particularly informative post. I have not yet had the time

to follow all the links or make sure they are still valid:

 

I lost my father to cancer a couple of years ago. I found this article

through a Web search. The original is at

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=209347

 

" Thanks for the interesting question.

 

First of all, I made sure that I had the exact right plant name. What

you are looking for is the native Australian plant " Scaevola

spinescens " , also known as:

 

* Prickly fanflower

* Maroon bush

* Currant bush

 

I found information on this plant at:

 

Maroon Bush (Scaevola spinescens), an Aboriginal Medicinal Plant of

Promise?

URL: http://www.csu.edu.au/faculty/health/biomed/MHR/maroon.htm

Quote: " This paper describes recent work to investigate the chemical

constituents and bioactivity characteristics of Maroon Bush, Scaevola

spinescens R.Br. (Goodeniaceae), which has been used in traditional

Aboriginal medicine as a bush tonic and as an occasional treatment for

cancer. The story of Maroon Bush, or Currant Bush, as it is sometimes

called, is an absorbing study in prejudice, blundering and

closed-mindedness, and especially reflects orthodox scientific opinion

of the time. "

 

Scaevola spinescens – Prickly fanflower

URL: http://www.nhaa.org.au/forum/text/forum6.html

Quote: " Scaevola spinescens is a common shrub of inland Australia,

distinguished by its dwarf spinescent branchlets and yellowish-white

one-sided flowers borne on short slender stalks in the leaf axils.

 

The fanflower is a traditional Aboriginal medicine, root decoctions

having been used for stomach ache and urinary problems, while

decoction of broken stems are purported to cure skin rashes, boils and

sores. It has attracted attention in recent years as a potential

cancer remedy, and for many years the Western Australian government

made an extract of the plant available to terminally ill cancer

patients. "

 

Having the full name and a description of the plant lead me to the

following two pictures.

 

Picture: http://farrer.riv.csu.edu.au/ASGAP/APOL11/se98-1ds.jpg

Australian Plants in their own Garden

URL: http://farrer.riv.csu.edu.au/ASGAP/APOL11/sep98-1.html

 

Picture:

http://www.australian-aridlands-botanic-garden.org/images/sca_spi.jpg

Plants at the AALBG

URL:

http://www.australian-aridlands-botanic-garden.org/general/plants/plant00.htm

 

 

I hope this information helps with your research.

 

If you need any clarification of the information I have provided,

please ask using the clarification feature and provide me with

additional details as to what you are looking for. As well, please

allow me to provide you with clarification(s) *before* you rate this

answer.

 

Thank you.

 

websearcher-ga

 

Search Strategy

 

(on Google):

Scaevola maroon

Scaevola spinescens

 

(on Google Image Search)

Scaevola spinescens

http://images.google.ca/images?q=Scaevola+spinescens & hl=en & lr= & ie=UTF-8 & sa=N & tab\

=wi " ;