Category Archives: Herbs
Cuts, scrapes, rashes, ulcers and burns are so commonplace in a household that it is useful to cultivate wound-healing herbs. The balcony or window-box may have only a single pot containing Aloe vera, or the garden a variety of plants such as marigold, daisy, plantain, St John’s wort, rue, comfrey and chickweed; nevertheless, you will find these plants regularly in use.
(more…)Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a perennial plant of the ginger family well-known for use as a culinary spice in India and Asia. As a medicine, turmeric has been used for millennia by Ayurvedic and Unani physicians to treat both internal and external conditions, as it is still used today. In particular, it has a long history as a digestive aid and a liver herb, its yellow colour hinting at this role under the doctrine of signatures. The yellow colour is due to a high content of beneficial phenolic compounds called curcuminoids such as curcumin. In Okinawa it is considered a ‘longevity food’ because its consumption is a prominent part of the diet of centenarians.1
(more…)Black tea, green tea and oolong tea are made from the same plant, Camelllia sinensis, a small bush with yellow-green serrated leaves, originating from China. Green tea is prepared from leaves which are steamed and then rolled, while black tea and oolong tea are produced when the leaves are allowed to partially ferment.
(more…)
Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) is often found growing as an ornamental plant in urban gardens. It has large, fleshy leaves covered in hairs and soft hollow stems, producing a cluster of blue, hanging flowers. The root has many branches, a white slimy interior and is covered in black bark. Dioscorides mentions that the root can be pounded into pieces and drunk for the treatment of conditions as varied as blood-spitting (tuberculosis) and hernia. He says that it is a good herb for closing wounds and soothing inflammations, as well as for healing injuries suffered in childbirth. Dioscorides in fact covers most of the present day uses of the herb whether it is eaten fresh, drunk as a tea or applied as a poultice.1
(more…)
Nettle can be found growing in mild to temperate regions across the world. The most common species found in Australia, urtica dioica/urens, appears in the spring in urban gardens and around farms where it especially likes damp, shady and well-manured spots. The plant has green stems lined with characteristic stinging hairs, serrated leaves and yellowish roots, and is unfortunately considered a nuisance and routinely sprayed. (more…)
The bark of the cinnamon tree is a popular spice that has been used in cooking and medicine since around 3000 BC. True cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) is usually wild-harvested and the spice is obtained from the dried inner bark of the shoots. Commercial cinnamon may be obtained from one of several species other than zeylanicum such as cassia/ aromaticum (China), burmannii (Indonesia), loureiroi (Vietnam), verum (Sri Lanka), citriodorum (Malabar) and tamale (India). (more…)
Plantain is a very useful first-aid herb that can be easily found in suburban gardens or paddocks in the country. You will find it growing in your front lawn as the slender ribwort (Plantago lanceolate), but less commonly the broad-leaved species (Plantago major). (more…)