Herbs-Treat and Taste

ADDER'S TONGUE (FERN) - GOOD FOR WOUNDS: HISTORY, AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF ADDER'S TONGUE

2012-02-14T00:54:00.000-08:00

ADDER’S TONGUE FERN, OPHIOGLOSSUM VULGATUMThe adder’s tongue fern resembles the cuckoo-pint and the Arum or Calla lily, but you can see it in the months of June to August only (at least in Britain), as it unfurls a solitary leaf or frond. A spike growing in the middle of the leaf holds this fern’s reproductive spores, which is how it gets the name adder’s tongue. The rest of the year there is

INDIAN CORAL TREE: HISTORY, USES AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF THE INDIAN CORAL TREE

2012-02-13T00:15:00.000-08:00

INDIAN CORAL TREE, TIGER’S CLAW, ERYTHRINA VARIEGATA The Indian coral tree is as its name suggests native to the Indian subcontinent, and its range extends throughout South-east Asia to Malaysia. It was introduced in ancient times to the Pacific islands and to parts of Africa. The Indian coral tree is a member of the Leguminoseae or Fabaceae family of plants making it a relative of dhak, the

MOTHERWORT - HERB OF ANCIENT USAGE: HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF MOTHERWORT

2012-02-12T00:50:00.000-08:00

MOTHERWORT, LION’S EAR, LEONARUS CARDIACA Motherwort is a native of mainland Europe, but has become naturalized in the British Isles, as it was commonly grown in gardens for its medicinal properties. It is the only one of the Leonarus genus which grows wild now in the UK. When not in flower it can be mistaken for mugwort. It is a member of the Labiatae or Lamiaceae family of plants and as such

EUROPEAN PAEONY, LEGEND, HISTORY, USES AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF THE PAEONY

2012-02-11T02:26:00.000-08:00

EUROPEAN OR COMMON PAEONY, PAEONIA OFFICINALIS The European paeony is native to mainland Europe, with its range extending from France, through to Albania. There is another variety of paeony which is native to Greece.In Britain there used to be wild paeonies on the island of Steep Holme in the river Severn, close to the Bristol Channel, (interestingly there were none on the neighbouring island

POKEWEED, "GOURMET" FOOD: HISTORY, USES AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF POKEWEED

2012-02-10T22:06:00.000-08:00

POKEWEED, PHYTOLACCA AMERICANA Pokeweed is a member of the Phytolaccaceae family, also called by a number of other names such as Poke root and American nightshade. Like Belladonna it is poisonous and if handling it, especially if you have scratches on your hands, wear gloves. It is native to North and Central America but has naturalized in parts of Britain where it is a garden escapee. It is a

AFRICAN SHEA TREE - TREE OF LIFE: HISTORY, HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF THE SHEA TREE

2012-02-09T01:26:00.000-08:00

AFRICAN SHEA TREE, KARITE, VITELLARIA PARADOXA The Shea tree is native to the African continent and is propagated by fruit bats. It was formerly called Butyrospermum parkii or Butyrospermum paradoxa although it is now known as Vitellaria paradoxa. The name Butyrospermum means butter seed which is a good description as the seeds is the producer of shea butter which is used in cosmetics. The

JOJOBA PLANT - NOT ONLY FOR HAIR CARE: HISTORY, HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF JOJOBA

2012-02-08T02:52:00.000-08:00

JOJOBA PLANT, SIMMONDSIA CHINENSIS Everyone reading this has probably used shampoo or hair conditioner containing jojoba (with the ‘j’ pronounced as ‘h’) oil at some time or another. It is used in the cosmetics industry for hair and skin products. It is the only one of its genus and the only one of the Simmondsia family, although it is sometimes put in the Buxaceae or boxwood family. Although

GREAT HAIRY WILLOW HERB - HISTORY OF HEALTH BENEFITS AND POSSIBLE FUTURE USES

2012-02-07T06:22:00.000-08:00

GREAT HAIRY WILLOW HERB, EPILOBIUM HIRSUTUM The Great hairy willow herb is also known as the hairy willow herb and the great willow herb, and is as the name suggests a relative of Epilobium angustifolium or the Rose bay willow herb. It is a member of the Onagraceae family of plants so is also related to the Evening primrose, and the plant does resemble this as you can see from the pictures. It

GUINEA HEN WEED - POSSIBLE SOURCE OF ANTI-CANCER TREATMENT: HISTORY, HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF GUINEA HEN WEED

2012-02-06T00:34:00.000-08:00

GUINEA HEN WEED, ANAMU, PETIVERA ALLIACEA Guinea hen weed is a member of the pokeweed, Phytolacceae family of plants native to the Amazon rainforest, Central and South America, the Caribbean, parts of Africa, Florida and parts of Texas in the USA. In the South American continent it is used both for medicine and magic by shaman of indigenous Indian tribes. Its roots particularly have a strong

EARLY PURPLE ORCHID: HISTORY, HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF EARLY PURPLE ORCHID

2012-02-05T01:47:00.000-08:00

EARLY PURPLE ORCHID, ORCHIS MASCULA The early purple orchid is native to Europe including the British Isles, North-West Africa, the Middle East and western and northern Asia. It is one of the Orchidaceae family from which the drink salep is made. This is a starchy drink made from the dried and powdered tuber of a number of orchid types, but this one grows in Britain, where it was used in salep

STINKING HELLEBORE, ATTRACTIVE, IF SMELLY: HISTORY OF USES AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF STINKING HELLEBORE

2012-02-04T02:31:00.000-08:00

STINKING HELLEBORE, BEAR’S FOOT, HELLEBORUS FOETIDUSThis stinking hellebore is a native of the British Isles and western and Central Europe and is so named because of the unpleasant odour it emits from its leaves if they are bruised. It is semi-evergreen and flowers in winter from December through to April and is distinctive in woodland with its erect stem which can grow to around 60

TANSY: HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF TANSY AND TANSY TISANE RECIPE

2012-02-03T06:53:00.000-08:00

TANSY, TANECETUM VULGARE Tansy is native to Europe including the British Isles and has become naturalized in North America where it has become and invasive species in some states. It has been used medicinally for centuries as have its close relatives, feverfew and costmary or alecost. It is believed that the name Tanacetum (from athanasia in Greek meaning immortal) refers to either that in

COSTMARY OR ALECOST - ONCE A MUCH-USED HERB IN COOKERY AND MEDICINE: HISTORY AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF COSTMARY

2012-02-02T01:58:00.000-08:00

COSTMARY OR ALECOST, BALSAMITA VULGARIS / MAJOR Costmary gets its name from the oriental herb Saussuria costus or Indian orris which is an aromatic herb which Theophrastus mentions in regard to its use in perfumes in ancient Greece. Its leaves have a eucalyptus-like aroma which has been alternatively described as being rather like camphor, or like garden mint with hints of balsam. The Latin

THE CHRISTMAS ROSE: HISTORY OF USES AS MEDICINE, NO LONGER USED

2012-02-01T02:56:00.000-08:00

THE CHRISTMAS ROSE, BLACK HELLEBORE, HELLEBORUS NIGER The Christmas rose is also called the Lenten rose, as some flower in December and January while others are a little tardy and bloom in February or March the period of Lent which begins with Carnival and is a period of fasting until Easter. Black hellebore as the plant is also known, a direct translation of the Latin name of its genus, was

WATER FENNEL - DON'T USE AS HOME REMEDY: HISTORICAL HEALTH BENEFITS OF WATER FENNEL

2012-01-31T21:33:00.000-08:00

FINE-LEAVED WATER DROPWORT, OENANTHE AQUATICUM Fine-leaved water dropwort is more commonly known as Water Fennel in Britain, as well as, less commonly these days, Horsebane and it also has two other Latin synonyms for its genus, Phellandrium aquatica and Oenanthe phellandrium. Oenanthe means honey-wine flower in Greek, and aquatica, of the water. As its name suggests it grows in wet places and

YELLOW IRIS - RARE NOW IN UK BUT INVASIVE IN USA: HISTORY, HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF THE YELLOW IRIS

2012-01-30T05:14:00.000-08:00

YELLOW IRIS, YELLOW FLAG, IRIS PESUDOACORUS The Yellow water iris or flag as it is known is no longer a resident of the reens ( a water channel flowing in this case to the sea; rhewyn or rhewin in Welsh) I used to visit when I was a child, but they can still be found growing wild in some parts of Britain. They are native to western Europe, north-west Africa and western Asia and live on river

SOURSOP - VICTIM OF ITS ENGLISH NAME? HISTORY, USES AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF SOURSOP

2012-01-29T22:00:00.000-08:00

SOURSOP, GUANABANA, GRAVIOLA, ANNONA MURICATAThe soursop fruit has perhaps been a victim of its name in English, as it was mooted by Nestle the food giant way back in 1964 that it could be one of the South American fruits along with the passion fruit and guava to make it big in the European market. The other two have since become accepted in Europe, but the soursop needed the boost that one

LIMES - HISTORY, HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF LIMES: RECIPE - NO-COOKING NECESSARY- CEVICHE

2012-01-28T02:13:00.000-08:00

LIMES, CITRUS ACIDA The lime fruit comes from Citrus acida not the lime or linden tree which we use as a tisane, lime flower tea. It is a member of the Rutaceae family and so is related to all the other citrus fruits, the lemon, grapefruit, Seville orange, sweet orange, bergamot orange, pommelo, kinnow mandarin and so on. It is a small tree growing to about 8 feet tall with spines, so you

PELLITORY-OF-THE-WALL - UPRIGHT PELLITORY: HISTORY, USES AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF PELLITORY-OF-THE-WALL

2012-01-27T05:05:00.000-08:00

PELLITORY-OF-THE-WALL, PARIETARIA OFFICINALIS LINN. This herb, pellitory-of-the-wall is a member of the Urticaceae family of plants and so is related to nettles and hops but not pellitory. It is the only member of its genus (Parietaria) that is native to the British Isles, and is native to Western Europe through to western Asia and the Caucasus. In Britain it is also known as lichwort, and is

BASTARD MYROBALAN - INGREDIENT OF TRIPHALA ANCIENT HERBAL REMEDY WITH MODERN USES: HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF TERMINALIA BELERICA/BELLIRICA

2012-01-26T04:38:00.000-08:00

BASTARD MYROBALAN, TERMINALIA BELERICA/BELLIRICA This Bastard Myrobalan tree is native to the Indian subcontinent, Sri Lanka and Malaya, and is a member of the Combretaceae family along with Terminalia arjuna (arjun or arjuna), Terminalia chebula (hareer), Terminalia catappa (the Indian almond tree) and the Indian gooseberry (amla) Embelica officinalis. This tree is shunned by people in northern

INDIAN ELM TREE - USED IN TRADITIONAL MEDICINE: HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF INDIAN ELM TREE

2012-01-25T04:38:00.000-08:00

INDIAN ELM TREE, HOLOPTELEA INTEGRIFOLIA The Indian Elm tree is native to the Indian subcontinent and is distributed through Myanmar, Thailand and Sri Lanka and Oceania. It is a member of the Ulmaceae family and so is related to the Slippery Elm of North America and the Wych Elm (Ulma glabra) found in Europe. This deciduous tree usually grows to heights of 18 metres and produces dry, winged

WHITE OR CEYLON LEADWORT - LONG VALUED IN TRADITIONAL MEDICINE: HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF WHITE LEADWORT

2012-01-24T04:46:00.000-08:00

WHITE OR CEYLON LEADWORT, PLUMBAGO ZEYLANICA, SHEETRAJ IN URDU This plant is native to southern Asia including the Indian subcontinent where it grows wild. The flowers are reminiscent of those of jasmine, but the plant is valued for its medicinal properties, both in Asia and Africa. It has been used in Indian and Chinese medicine systems for more than 3,000 years and is also used by traditional

BITTER OLEANDER: HISTORY, HEALTH BENEFITS AND AN UNUSUAL INGREDIENT FOR REMEDIES WITH BITTER OLEANDER

2012-01-23T00:47:00.000-08:00

BITTER OLEANDER, HOLARRHENA ANTIDYSENTERICAThe bitter oleander is native to the Indian subcontinent and as its Latin name, antidysenterica, might suggest its primary use in traditional medicine is for the treatment of diarrhoea and amoebic dysentery. It is a member of the Apocynaceae family of plants so is related to oleander and the periwinkle. It is a deciduous shrub or small tree and has a

JHAND, MESQUITE TREE - FLOURISHES IN DESERTS: HISTORY AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF PROSOPIS CINERARIA

2012-01-22T02:06:00.000-08:00

HONEY MESQUITE TREE, JHAND, KANDI, KHEJRI, PROSOPIS CINERARIA This mesquite tree is native to the Indian sub-continent, Afghanistan and Iran through to the Arabian Peninsula, although it was introduced into Abu Dhabi to stabilize sand dunes. It is a member of the Fabaceae or Leguminoseae family and so related to peas and beans, as well as kudzu or pueraria, senna, the dhak tree, alfalfa, carob,

INDIAN OR COUNTRY MALLOW, HERB WITH PAIN-KILLING PROPERTIES: HISTORY, HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF INDIAN MALLOW

2012-01-21T03:01:00.000-08:00

INDIAN OR COUNTRY MALLOW, ABUTILON INDICUM Indian mallow has been used for centuries in traditional medicine systems and is native to the Indian subcontinent from where it has spread, becoming invasive in some Pacific islands. In ancient Sanskrit writings it is called Atibala and has been used to treat a number of illnesses including jaundice, piles, leprosy, headaches, peptic ulcers and