Category Archives: Herbs
Saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) is a small palm native to the south-eastern United States which grows to about 2-3 metres with leaf fans comprised of narrow leaflets. The leaflets are supported on a narrow stem lined with spines, hence the name saw. The fruits were collected for both food and medicine by the indigenous people.
(more…)The willow (Salix spp.) is a large tree with thin, hanging branches that bear slender leaves and flower clusters called catkins. The bark and leaves were used to make an anti-inflammatory, pain-relieving medicine in ancient Mesopotamia, Babylon, Sumeria, Egypt, China and Greece. You will find willow listed in the Edwin Smith Papyrus amongst the clinical cases, where it was used to treat a surgical wound to the breast by applying it as a poultice.1 Hippocrates knew the willow and recommended chewing the bark for treating fever and to assist child birth, and it is listed in Dioscorides for treating several complaints including intestinal obstruction and gout.2
(more…)Vitex (Vitex agnus-castus) is a common shrub in the Mediterranean region which occupies rough ground around roads and gullies, recognisable by its strong scent, leaf stem carrying several leaflets resembling hemp, and spikes of lavender coloured flowers. Dioscorides mentions that it was used to encourage chastity, and we still know it as chaste-tree or monk’s pepper because it can be used by both men and women to suppress libido.1
(more…)The Ginkgo tree (Ginkgo biloba) is still found growing wild in China, the only species remaining from an ancient genus that originated in the Jurassic period. It is a tall tree which has fan-shaped leaves that turn yellow in Autumn, and edible nuts that are toxic if eaten in quantity, especially when raw.
(more…)Pellitory-of-the-wall (Parietaria officinalis) can be found in gardens across the city growing on walls, beside shady paths, over rubble and along fences. It has reddish, brittle stems, downy leaves and small flowers at the base of the leaf stem. It is abundant, yet a largely an unknown nuisance, being responsible for pollen allergy all over Europe, and most academic research focuses on this aspect.1
(more…)Parsley is a common culinary herb found growing in household gardens. The two most familiar cultivars are curly-leaved parsley (Petroselinum crispum crispum) and the flat-leaved ‘Italian’ parsley (Petroselinum crispum neapolitanum). When eaten regularly parsley is a nutritive tonic containing minerals such as iron, potassium, manganese and copper, as well as B-vitamins, vitamin C, E and K. It also contains a considerable amount of the antioxidant lycopene.
(more…)The marigold (Calendula officinalis) is a common garden flower that loves sunny paths and walls, and spreads easily by seed without cultivation. There are several varieties but the one with the orange flowers and flat, olive-coloured leaves is commonly used in medicine. We pick the golden petals in order to make an infusion (tea), medicinal oil or cream, after drying the flowers in the shade, but the fleshy leaves are also sometimes used. The leaves can be dried and made into an infusion, ointment or even a poultice.
(more…)Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is found growing along railway lines all over Melbourne. It grows tall, green and fragrant in the spring with delicate filiform leaves and yellow flowers forming the typical umbels of the Apiaceae family. The ancient Egyptians used fennel and it is also mentioned on Linear B tablets, the oldest form of Greek writing.1 The shepherds of the Mediterranean still feed it to their goats and sheep in order to increase milk, and fennel does the same for breastfeeding women, but it is not to be used during pregnancy.
(more…)Chili (Capsicum annuum) is a small plant of about one metre height, with lush green leaves and angular branches that bear white flowers followed by purple, red or yellow fruit. Chili has been cultivated in South America for thousands of years and was discovered by Christopher Columbus on his voyages to the New World in the 15th century. He introduced it to Europe before Portuguese and Spanish traders took this new spice to India and Asia, where it has since become an integral part of the cuisine. Despite its heat, chili is a nutritious fruit containing vitamins A and C, β-carotene, magnesium, potassium and iron.
(more…)St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) is an invasive weed in Australia, growing to about a metre high with small oval-shaped leaves and yellow flowers. The plant’s Latin name refers to the many transparent oil glands in the leaves which look like perforations when held up to the light. When you gather it for drying, the flowers stain your fingers a tell-tail red.
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