Above: Spilanthes in the garden.
Spilanthes (Spilanthes americana, Acmella oleracea)
Here’s another plant that looks straight out of a Dr. Seuss book!
Spilanthes plants have bright yellow flowers with a orange “eyes” shaped like gum drops.
I remember my first encounter with Spilanthes, at a colleague’s herb farm. We discussed its Doctrine of Signatures, a term for when a plant resembles what it is used for, is that the mature flowers also resemble teeth. Spilanthes is also known as the “toothache herb” because it is an effective local analgesic especially for the teeth, gums, mouth, and throat. Its incredible antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral activity make it useful in mouthwashes, gargles, and wound-washes. Spilanthes tincture is prominently featured in my first aid kit!
Spilanthes energetics is cool and dry. If you nimble on the leaf, stem, or flower, you will experience it’s acridity first, followed by a tingly carbonation feeling in your mouth and lot of saliva!
You can easily grow Spilanthes as a fun and attractive plant in your garden, pots, or window boxes. Spilanthes is originally from tropical areas such as Central and South America and Africa, but is an easy plant to grow as an annual in cooler temperate regions. I like to plant patches of Spilanthes along my garden walkway. It spreads abundantly and I cut it back often away from the walkway and my other plants and dry these cuttings for tea or tincture them fresh.
Spilanthes in my gathering basket. 
A Spilanthes bouquet!
How to Make a Spilanthes Tincture
You will need:
- Fresh Spilanthes leaves, stems, and flowers (lightly rinsed of any dirt)
- 32 oz jar with lid, sanitized
- 50% ethanol alcohol (ETOH)- I use vodka. See below for amount.
- Chopstick or thin stirrer
- Blender
- Liquid measuring cup
- Kitchen scale
1. Weigh your fresh Spilanthes in grams.
2. Multiply the # of grams by 2. This will be how many milliliters of alcohol you will need. For example, I had 240 grams of fresh spilanthes. You want a 1:2 ratio to herbs (gr) to liquid (mL), so 240gr X 2 = 480mL of alcohol.
3. Roughly chop your Spilanthes and place in blender. If you do not have a blender, then finely chop your plant material.
4. Add alcohol to Spilanthes and blend.
5. Pour into jar, stir, and lid.
6. Label your tincture with the name, date, 1:2, and 50% ETOH. Let sit in a cool and dark place for 30 days before straining. Strain through a fine metal strainer lined with a cheesecloth or nut bag. After straining, squeeze out plant material, label, and store tincture in amber bottle in cool and dark place.
How to Use Spilanthes Tincture
Mouthwash for toothache, infection, thrush, gum pockets, or gum disease: Place 2-4 dropperfuls (6-12 mL) in 2 oz of water.
Gargle for sore throats: Place 2-4 dropperfuls (6-12 mL) in 2 oz of water or homemade saline solution (8 oz water and 1/2 tsp salt).
Toothache: Place a few drops directly on the tooth.
Ear drops for earaches and infections (safe for children): Use a 1:10 or 1:5 (stronger) ratio of tincture to water.
Wound wash/compress for healing and pain relief (bug bites, stings, sores, infections): Use a 1:10 ratio tincture to water. Use as a wash or soak clean cloth and use as a compress.
Nasal rinse for fungal sinusitis: Place 2-4 dropperfuls (6-12 mL) into your nasal rinse (neti) pot.
All of the above can also be done with Spilanthes tea with a slightly stronger ratio.
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Have you ever used Spilanthes in ointment form? Is it possible to get good results from infusing an oil with this plant?
Thank you for your question! Some of Spilanthes active constituents are oil-soluble, like its alkamides (esp. spilanthol, its “numbing agent”), so an infused oil would effectively extract them. The infused oil is used for it’s analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and circulatory stimulant effects. Use as a gum or tooth oil, canker sores swab You could also thicken the oil with beeswax to make into a salve for minor wounds, bruises, insect bites and stings, and sore muscles and joints. Note that alcohol is the best medium for extracting the alkamides and will be stronger than the oil (you can use it diluted in water as a topical liniment), but the oil is still a great option for topical use.
You can also make a cream and use Spilanthes tincture or tea as a part of the water the recipe calls for. For creams, I use Rosemary Gladstar’s Perfect Cream Recipe (Google it!) Hope that helps! If you have any further questions about this, please feel free to comment them here.