Pacific Yew – Pocket Herbal
Taxus brevifolia – Taxaceae family The Pacific Yew is small tree found primarily in the northwestern coastal forests of North America. The native peoples used its needles and twigs to brew teas for a wide range of ailments including cancer. Traditional healers were careful with the tree as it was well known how toxic the […]
Plantain – Pocket Herbal
Plantago major/lanceolata – Planaginaceae family The people of medieval Europe called plantain “Heal All.” As an astringent anti-inflammatory, this hardy herb was an invaluable aid in handling pain, cuts, burns, swelling and digestive problems. This was one of the herbs children from a very early age were trained to identify for smoothing life’s rough spots. […]
Rose – Pocket Herbal
Rosa species – Rosaceae family In the language of flowers, also known as floriography, a gift of a red rose symbolized love. In pre-Victorian times however, this offering was more likely to find its way to the dinner table on a plate than in a vase. Traditionally, roses were grown for their nutritional and medicinal […]
Cattail – Pocket Herbal
Typha angustifolia – Typhaceae family To Native Americans, cattail was a cornucopia. It provided food, medicine and clothing to any one inventive enough to utilize its resources. All cattail asked in return was a marshy place to grow and a little wind to spread its protein-rich pollen. The jelly that grows between young leaves was […]
Corn Silk – Pocket Herbal
Zea mays – Graminacaea family One version of a Zuni tribe legend reveals the powerful secrets of corn. It was said that was the magic of the Corn Maidens turned the hearts of the Zuni from war to farming. Their dance atop the corn stalks, visible as the wind stirs the corn tassels, is a […]
Nutmeg – Pocket Herbal
Myristica fragrans – Myristicaceae family Anyone sailing to the European marketplace in the 1600s with a pouch of nutmeg seeds had his fortune made. This was the heyday of the spice trade when heavily armed armadas fought to defend loads of tropically grown treasure from pirates. Nutmeg was worth more than its weight in gold. […]
Mistletoe – Pocket Herbal
Viscum album – Santalaceae Family The classic image of the druid is that of a bearded man in a white robe cutting mistletoe out of an oak tree with a golden scythe. The druids revered mistletoe as the most sacred of plants. They noted it was the exception to almost every rule in the plant […]
Narcissus – Pocket Herbal
Narcissus pseudo-narcissus – Amaryllidaceae Family The healing properties of Narcissus have recently been rediscovered. Although this plant, commonly called daffodil, has a history of use in traditional Japanese medicine, concern over misuse of its toxic properties pulled it off of nervous pharmacists’ shelves. The growing popularity of flower essence remedies over the last few decades […]
Orange – Pocket Herbal
Citrus species – Rutaceae family In the 1700s, oranges were at the center of a storm. Thanks to global exploration, citrus and other tropical fruit had increased in popularity. Orange groves were naturalizing well in the Americas so availability was spreading. The world was not only eating more oranges but Pettigrain oil (distilled from orange […]
Dandelion – Pocket Herbal
Taraxacum officinalis – Asteraceae family To early American colonists, dandelions were carefully tended crops. Europeans brought this ancient food with them to plant in their gardens for use as salad greens, beer bitters, wine base, stockpot roots and vital medicine. It’s difficult for the modern gardener to imagine long rows of “weeded” dandelion beds, but […]
Pomegranate – Pocket Herbal
Punica granatum – Punicaceae Family Pomegranate has a powerful reputation. History tells of this fruit as food, medicine and potent symbol in myth and legend. Key personalities throughout human culture have used pomegranate to teach valuable lessons to those thirsty for knowledge. Ganesh, King Solomon, Persephone and Buddha are just a sampling of those who […]
Meadowsweet – Pocket Herbal
Filipendula ulmaria – Rosaceae Family To meadowsweet, aspirin is an annoying upstart. The trouble started in 1835 when a German chemist discovered that this graceful European herb contained salicylic, which eased pain. At the time, this information was treated simply as scientific trivia. It was much easier to make a cup of tea from a […]