Salvia Rosmarinus, (formally Rosmarinus officinalis): Family: Lamiaceae Common names: Rose of Mary, elf leaf, friendship bush. Part used: Leaf and flower Flavor: Pungent Action: warming and stimulating, often drying (Popham, 2021) Salvia Rosmarinus has been used for centuries in food and medicinally with a high point during the 17th century plague, where in London prices exceeded 6 shillings, well over the price of a pig at the time (Iverson, 2019). It was also burned with juniper in hospitals and sick rooms to cleanse the air. It is mentioned by Culpeper as it ‘helps weak memory and quickens the senses,’ and for windy digestion and poor eyesight, for which it is still used for today. Folk medicine saw it used a...
Melissa Officinalis: Family: Lamiaceae Common names: Lemon balm, bee balm. Part used: Leaf and stem Flavor: sour Action: Cooling (Popham, 2021) Melissa Officinalis has been recorded for healing since the 300 B.C in the Historia Plantarum. Paracelsus (1493–1541) utilized it for “all complaints supposed to proceed from a disordered state of the nervous system” (Sharifi-Rad et al., 2021). In European traditions it was used as aa elixir and memory tonic. In Iran it's been used for anxiety and depression, the Unani system use it for various complaints from halitosis, arthritis, mastitis, bell’s palsy, paralysis and epilepsy whereas in Morocco it has been used as a febrifuge, astringent, depurative and cholagogue and spasmolytic (Sharifi-Rad et al., 2021). In Uzbekistan it has...
A sea plant which transforms inert inorganic minerals capable of nourishing the human body,one of the richest sources of minerals (micro-nutrients) chiefly iodine, potassium, sodium, magnesium, sulpher, silicon, zinc, copper, calcium, iron and B12 vitamin (Bartram, 1995, pg 60), (Breverton, 2011, pg. 64). Used to ‘remineralize’, the body. Actions: anti-hypothyroid, anti-obesic, anti-rheumatic, blood tonic, adaptogen, stimulates circulation of the lymph, endocrine gland stimulant, laxative, antibiotic and diuretic (mild), faulty nutrition, listlessness, rickets, glandular ailments, general debility, to build up old broken down constitutions, cases requiring increased body heat, hypothermia, allays onset of arteriosclerosis by maintaining elasticity of walls of blood vessels. Beneficial to male and female reproductive organs, liver, gall bladder and pancreas. Mitigates against onset of rheumatism and...
Today was the beginning of making Yellow Dock, Rumex Crispus, Tincture. My interest in yellow dock was stirred when I read a miraculous recovery of a patients teeth using it and oak bark in a Matthew Woods book, The Book of Herbal Wisdom. Also it is on the list of Herbalists without Boarders requested herbs so I thought time to harvesting. It was a beautiful day and the docks lifted unusally easy. We did it in conjunction with planting out yarrow roots. The dock was dominating in the wildflower meadow bank at Gerrdi Bro Dyffi and the yarrow was scarce so a great swop.
I have since read it is used for its action on the liver.
