Category Archives: Herbs
With COVID cases and hospital admissions at record highs in Australia, there seems to be no end to this pandemic. The ongoing problem of new variants and diminishing protection from vaccination is further compounded by apathy or antipathy amongst the public in the face of increasing statistics of re-infection.
(more…)Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) is an evergreen bush with woody stems and small, elliptical leaves. It is an aromatic plant in the mint family, a cultivar of the wild mountain thyme (Thymus serpyllum) which grows in Asia Minor, North Africa and the Mediterranean. The goats love the sweet thyme called thrimby that grows on the parched rocky slopes of the Greek islands, their milk tasting of it, as well as the other foraged herbs such as sage, sideritis and wormwood. The leaves of the plant are used for making tea while the essential oil is extracted from the whole plant.
(more…)White horehound (Marrubium vulgare) is a common herb originating from the Mediterranean region. It resembles mint, has square stems with grey-green, wrinkled leaves, and white flowers at the nodes. It has been used as a cough medicine since antiquity and was also used to treat tuberculosis (phthisis).
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Is Wormwood A Psychedelic Herb?
There are at least 57 species of wormwood known in Europe and 187 in China, but the most common to be found in the domestic garden are mugwort, grand wormwood, tarragon and Roman wormwood. All the wormwoods share the common characteristics of bitterness and a strong scent, the latter making it useful for keeping away insects. Wormwood has been used since ancient times in herbal medicine to stimulate the appetite as well as treat jaundice and expel worms, the most commonly used species today being Artemisia absinthum. It has also been used as an ingredient in alcoholic drinks such as absinthe and vermouth, which stimulate the digestion when drunk as an aperitif, as well as mood.
(more…)Echinacea (Echinacea angustifolia, purpurea, pallida) is a popular herb its name coming from the Greek word for sea urchin, referring to its spikey seed head. This valuable herb is used for stimulating the immune system, its use dating back to the Nineteenth century American eclectic schools of herbal medicine who learned it from the American Indians. The dried herb is widely available in the supermarket in the form of a compressed pill, often combined with other respiratory system herbs, vitamin C and zinc, and is mostly used for preventing or treating colds and flus.1,2
(more…)Liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) is a herb with thousands of years of medical usage. It was called glukoriza, which means sweet root, by the physician Dioscorides, but was in use for at least two thousand years before that. The Egyptians took it as a tonic to build stamina and vitality, the Romans to stop hunger and thirst on military campaigns, and the Chinese still use it to increase Qi and restore the glands. Today, most of the liquorice cultivated is used to sweeten tobacco.
(more…)Yellow dock (Rumex crispus), also called curly dock, is an easily identifiable herb found growing in ditches where you can see the rusty-coloured seed stalks standing above the other grasses. It is also present in damp paddocks where the roots can be dug up well away from the roadside where the council routinely sprays. The roots, leaves and seeds are gathered in the countries of the Mediterranean region to make salads, flour and soups, as well as medicine.
(more…)Chickweed (Stellaria media) is a delicate, inconspicuous herb that you find growing about the shady parts of the garden amongst the other weeds. It is the colour of grass with small, white, star-shaped flowers and slender green stems. The whole plant can be used fresh in a salad together with other greens from the garden such as dandelion, sow thistle and sheep sorrel.
(more…)Mullein (Verbascum thapsis)is a plant that you will often see growing on dry waste ground or along the side of the road and railway lines. The leaves are large, covered in soft hairs and arranged in a rosette. Yellow flowers grow on spikes that rise from the centre of the plant. In dry climates the large up-turned leaves catch what little rain there is, then funnel it downwards towards the base. The hairs can be scraped off the leaves and used to make wicks, hence the common name candlewick.1
(more…)Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera), also known as Indian Ginseng, is a plant in the nightshade family found growing in India, Nepal and China. The powdered root is used in Ayurvedic medicine as a rasayana, which means tonic, to promote a youthful state of mind and health. It improves the health of emaciated children, treats constipation, enhances the mood, and assists with cognitive decline in the elderly, thereby helping all age groups.
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