| Angelica (Angellica) Angelica archangelica Angelica was once widely used, and said to be a cure for 'all mans diseases'. It resembles the Hemlock variety of plant, with bright green leaves, and umbels of greeny white flowers atop thick stems, rising up to six feet tall. Angelica is very good for easing a cough and in the relief from rheumatism. To make a 'pick-me-up' tea: Infuse 1 oz fresh root (bruised), or 1 oz of the dried herb, with 1 pint of boiling water. A cupful of this tea may be taken quite often, as an instant, though mild, stimulant. To add to your cooking: Angelica stalks will curb the tart flavour of rhubarb- if cooked in lengths instead of being chopped, remember to take them out of your dish before serving. As a culinary herb, you can use the young tender stems in a salad. The mid-ribs of the leaves can be blanched, boiled, and then eaten like celery. Angelica is not suitable for people who suffer from Diabetes, as it increases the sugar content of the blood. |
| Balm (Lemon Balm, Cure-all, Sweet Balm, Honey plant) Melissa officinalis A common garden plant in England, old herbalists told of how this herb would strengthen the brain and aid memory. Its leaves are a rich green and heart shaped, but it is more often appreciated for its lemon-verbena scent than for its other qualities. It may be used to increase the appetite, and aid digestion and circulation. It can be made into a cooling tea for those suffering with a fever, and it is also used in combination with other herbs to treat colds. To make a tea infuse 3 or 4 sprays of fresh leaves (or 1 oz of dried) into 1 pint of boiling water. To make a cooling summer drink, make the tea using only fresh leaves and add to this lemon juice and honey. As a culinary herb it is used in stews and casseroles, chooped in salads, or used in stuffing. The leaves are particularly good for pot-pourri mixes as they dry well and will retain their scent for a long time. |
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| Basil (Sweet basil, Garden basil) Ocymum basilicum A garden plant grown throughout Britain, it can reach a height of two feet, with 1 inch long pointed leaves (spotted on the underside with oil galnds) The leaves are smooth and cool to the touch with a light fragrance.Used for its aromatic and cooling properties, this herb is also used as an aid to digestion, calming the nerves, and to relieve flatulence.An infusion of Basil is an aid in stopping vomiting and nausea, and is best used by adding a few leaves to your daily herb tea. Bruised leaves are sometimes used to place on the skin over an insect bite to help draw out the poison. Burning basil on your barbeque will keep insects at bay. It was once used as a base for royal perfumes, and can still be used to scent the skin, or hair. Infuse a sprig of basil in hot water, and use as a rinse over the hair. |
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| Cabbage The trusted cabbage leaf must be added here. Grown throughout the world, few people know of one very good use for the leaves of this humble culinary food. After childbirth, when suffering from Mastitis, raw cabbage leaves, placed whole over the breast, will ease the discomfort. |
| Camomile (Chamomile, double camomile, roman camomile) Anthemis nobilis Found growing wild in all areas of Britain, the greyish green plant with double flowers, gives no scent to hint at its bitter taste. Only the flowers are used, an n infusion of camomile tea (1 oz dried flowers to 1 pint boiling water) is said to be soothing and calming, with sedative properties- though completely harmless. Externally, it may be applied as a poultice (steep well muslin bags filled with the dried flowers in boiling water) alone or combined with other herbs, to relieve pain, swellingsand inflammation. When harvesting the Chamomile flowers, note that only double flowers should be used, as the single flowers are very strong. |
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| Caraway (Caraway seed, caraway fruit, alcaravea) Carum carvi Although common in Europe and Asia, it has been naturalised into Britain. It can grow to 2 feet high, with feathery foilage topped with umbels of tiny white flowers. One unusual use for caraway seeds, is to place them in a muslin bag, and add them to vegetables such as cabbage, when they are being boiled. This helps eliminate the odours of cooking the vegetable. According to ancient beliefs, caraway seeds were put into love potions to hold a lover, and stop them from straying. Caraway seeds, crushed and added to your herbal tea will help in the relief of a stomach upset, and is also a tonic and stimulant. Seeds, crushed, and used with other healing herbs in a poultice can take away bruising. |
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| Catmint (catnep, catnip, nep) Nepeta cataria Found wild in England, it grows along hedgerows, field borders, even waste ground. Localised in Scotland Good for treating colds, fevers restlessness and colic, it is used as a calming influence, and also for soothing nightmares of children when taken as an infusion of 1 teaspoon of dried herb, steeped in half a pint of hot water for 10 minutes It also has uses in being used as a poultice to reduce swellings. Cats love to roll around in growing catnip, and they do this because the crushing of the leaves as they do this, releases the oils, and these oils deter fleas from the cats fur. Float some bruised leaves in your bath to help in mild cases of skin irritation. |
| Comfrey (knitbone, bruise-wort, knitback, slippery root, consolida) Symphytum officinale Although a native of Europe and the temperate parts of Asia, this plant is common throughout England, growing by rivers. The roots and leaves are used from this plant as an astringent, and an expectorant External uses include using the leaves as a poultice to help in the healing of cuts, ulcers and abcesses, and to reduce swelling, sprains and bruises. The plant contains Allantoin which is known to reduce swelling around a fractured bone, which allows the healing process to be quickened. |
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| Chives Allium schoenoprasum Only the bright green hollow, grass like stems may be used from this herb. As with most members of the onion family, they do have an antiseptic quality, and chives are an aid to the digestive system- encouraging appetite and comforting the stomach. Best uses are to add as a garnish to the food you prepare- chopped in omellettes, salads, over meat dishes, or with grilled tomatoes. |
| Chickweed (starweed) Stellania media A common weed that seems to appear wherever humans have settled.The plant should not be confused with 'Mouse-ear Chickweed' which has small, green leaves, and spreads across the lawn. Cress Chickweed is a weak-looking plant with lots of well-branched stems that are pale and transluscent. Bright green leaves which are pointed oval in shape, and grow in pairs, are a contrast to the tiny white flowers with narrow petals looking like the rays from a star. The whole herb is often used- dried and fresh., and it has a high content of copper. It has a cooling effect when used as a poultice, and it will reduce inflammation.. As an infusion it may well benefit scurvy and also kidney disorders. To make the poultice: place the chickweed in a muslin bag and boil it in a little water for 2 or 3 minutes. Lift the bag from the water, and when cool enough, place the bag on the affected part. The water you have used can be kept to bathe the part. |
| Cucumber Cucumis sativa Native of the East Indies, the cucumber was first cultivated in Britain round about 1573. The whole fruit is used, whether peeled or not (though it is advisable to peel the fruit if eating, especially for those who suffer Irratable Bowel Syndrome, or Crohns disease), cooked or uncooked. The seeds are a diuretic, and a cleanser for the body. The fruit is especially good as a cooling and calming effect upon the skin- soothing and healing irritated skin. Cucumber juice is widely used- now it can be found in shampoo, handcreams, emmolients, lotions, ointments and creams. It is particularly soothing for sunburn. Slices of raw cucmber placed over closed eyes will reduce puffiness and red-eye. |
| Clover Trifolium pratense This does not grow as groundcover like white clover, but may reach heights of 2 feet tall, with several stems carrying the well known 'lucky' three-parted leaves- though the four leaflets are considered to be much more potent charms. Clover goes well with dandelion, Nettle and sweet cicely in daily herbal teas- especially as an aid for those with Anaemia. Both the rose pink flowers and the green leaves make an effective tea for the relief of broncchial coughs, and had a reputation too for the ease of whooping cough.(though for this purpose is best mixed with Mallow and Thyme, and used with Garlic). Using Clover honey as a sweetener for herbal tea is always recommended (good when a mumps epidemic is threatened), and both white and pink clover wine is pleasant. To make clover tea, the fresh plant can be infused by pouring over 1 oz of the herb, 1 pint of boiling water- cover and drink a cupful twice daily. |
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| Avens (Herb Benedict, herb benedicta) Geum urbanum Ancient physicians told of this herb as being the antidote for all poisons, and a charm to keep evil at bay It is a wild plant with slender stems growy two feet tall. The wiry stems branch out and are topped with little yellow blossoms, not dissimiliar to those of wild strawberry. The leaves are darkish in colour, and appear hairy. They grow along the stems in two or three pairs. All the plant is virtuous, and the properties the ancients placed upon Avens still holds true in part. Gargling with Avens tea will help cure a sore throat, and the tea will also help ease an upset stomach, a cold or chill. Used on the skin, an infusion will clear the complexion of spots and blemishes, and ease the soreness of sunburn. The tea is made by infusing 1 oz of the powdered herb or root, with 1 pint of boiling water. Strain the mix, and take up to three or four glassfuls a day during the illness. As a pick-me-up, a tea may be used from 1 teaspoon of the dried herb with 1 pint of boiling water (this mix is used as an astrigent for the skin). |
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| Borage Borago officinalis Writings on the properties of Borage go back far, 17th century and beyond. It has little silvery hairs bristling along the stem, leaf and calyx (the green 'petals' around the base of the flower), with a bright blue flower shaped like a star with dramatic purplish-black cones of anthers. Because of the rich honey-yeild, bees adore Borage, and having all in the garden helps to ensure the fertilisation of fruits. Borage contains potassium and calcium, and may be eaten as a vegetable dish cooked similarly to spinach: place the washed and wet leaves in a saucepan with a knob of butter, cook over a low heat whilst stirring. When tender, strain, and serve with more butter, pepper, salt, chopped chives and spring onoin. To not throw away the strained liquid, as this contains nitre and salt, and may be added to gravy, soups or herbal tea. Borage soothes the bronchials, and cools feverish conditions. It makes a poultice for inflammed swellings. For borage tea, infuse 1 oz of fresh leaves , or 1 teaspoon of dried, to 1 pint of boiling water. |
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| Burdock Arcticum lappa Found by the roadside and wastegrounds, this 3 feet tall plant with branching stems and heart shaped pale green leaves, should not be confused with a true Dock. Burdock is called such because of the large size of its leaves (similiar to other Dock), but the leaves of the Burdock are covered on the underside with a fine grey down. The round purplish flowerheads are encased by fruit burrs, which hook on the coats of animals. The leaves and seeds are astringent, and will help heal damaged tissues, eczema and boils. A decoction of the root and seeds is made from 1 oz (dried) to one and a half pints of water. Boil down to one pint, and take a cupful four times a day before meals. For skin problems, it is best if just the seeds are used. An infusion can be made from fresh or dried leaves- 1 oz to a pint of boiling water, and can be used to treat the skin as a lotion, and sipped when you have a stomach upset. The leaves can be made into a poultice and applied to give relief from bruises and inflamed swellings- including gout. |
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