Health Benefits of Bachelor's Button

Bachelor's Button is a daisy like plant that produces small flowers that are shaped like buttons and look like miniature carnations. They are usually blue, but some plants produce pink, purple or white blossoms. It is a perennial member of the aster family. Bachelor’s Button are treated like weeds in some areas because of their ability to self-seed. 

Bachelor's Button is also known as feverfew, Tanacetum parthenium featherfew, flirtwort, altamisa, featherfort, febrifuge plant, midsummer daisy, nosebleed, Santa Maria, wild chamomile and wild quinine. More common names are Basket Flower, Blue Bonnet, Blue Bottle, Blue Bow, Blue Cap, Cornflower, Boutonniere Flower and Hurt Sickle. 

Bachelor's Button has been used for over 2000 years for medicinal purposes. The uses of Bachelor's Button can be traced back to the ancient Egyptians and Greeks who used it for headaches, joint pain, stomach aches and fever. It can also be used for migraines, as a slight sedative, dizziness, arthritis, colds, fevers, cramps, worms, menstrual cycle regulation, as an antiseptic, psoriasis, toothaches, insect bites, labor pain, infertility, asthma, allergies, tinnitus, nausea and vomiting. A tea made of the leaves or flowers can be used for colic, colitis, indigestion, colds, arthritis, osteoporosis, bursitis, alcoholism, flatulence, menstrual cramps and tendonitis. The dried leaves of Bachelor's Button are used to make supplements that include capsules, tablets and liquid extracts. Sometimes the leaves are eaten fresh.

Bachelor's Button has side effects that include canker sores, swelling and irritation of the lips and tongue and loss of taste, nausea, digestive problems and bloating. There is also a possibility of allergic reaction. Bachelor's Button has not been evaluated by the FDA for safety effectiveness or purity.