St. John's Wort. A great healing herb.

Read on to find out more………

Herbs have been used by animals including humans since their arrival on the planet, to keep themselves healthy, strong and alert. Herbs work as part of a spectrum of natural gifts such as good food, fresh air and water which combine to form a healthy, balanced, whole and integrated animal. The principle of herbal medicine is to work with the whole system of the body, including the more subtle and often invisible parts, to prompt the body into healing itself. Herbs vary in their tasks; some are strong, some subtle, some are for external uses, others internal or both, some take a long cycle to sink into the system, others take effect quickly. For effective use of the herbs, a relationship must be built up with the herb itself as well as with the body and what it needs.

If a herbalist is involved, there is an intriguing triangular relationship between herbalist, herb and patient. The herbalist over time has built up a unique and powerful relationship with the herbs they are drawn towards and how they work for them. In turn they have also learned how to read the needs of the patient and to fit those individual needs with the effect the herb will have. So rather than prescribing the same pill for seemingly the same remedy to thousands of people, herbal medicine recognises that every ailment is slightly different, depending on the constitution, mental, emotional and spiritual state of the patient. This gives herbal medicine a subtlety that if looked at from a strictly logical (western) viewpoint may seem intangible and unbelievable. But let us look at living organisms such as a plant, a human, a tree; these are not simple clear cut defined ‘things’, they are complex formations of biological processes, each situated in its own unique environment and its own growing conditions, temperatures, food supplies….the list goes on. And in the case of humans (for the moment) we have the added variable of all the unconscious psychological processes in our lives, along with our thoughts, emotions, choices….again the list can carry on. All this suggests that to take a blanket medical viewpoint for a whole species seems rather outdated and simplistic. There are of course overall trends in dis-ease and injury, but there is often much more to take into account.

As above, so below, all intertwined

Humans havn’t survived this long without knowing a thing or two about healing themselves, 80% of the world’s population still practice herbal medicine as their primary source of healing. “O yes” they say, “but what about the higher life expectancy we have now?”. If we look at the example of the Evenki tribe of Siberia who are nomadic reindeer herders, we see a people who have adopted none of our modern medical ‘advances’ and have little or no contact with the outside (modern) world. These people practice herbal medicine, making remedies from the plants that are around them, and astoundingly they Never get ill. This is a rare surviving case of how life may have been lived all over the planet (including in our own land) when the knowledge and tribal unity existed that enabled the passing down of healing knowledge uninterrupted by social upheaval or the drive towards ‘progress’.

Western medicine in terms of scientific progression(ie.genetics) and health systems (ie.life support, organ transplant) has made great and worthy investigations and breakthroughs in the science of healing. I was about to say ’science and art’ of medicine and then realized that art is exactly whats missing. By art of medicine i mean the application of medical principles in a way that is not held strictly in one place by stubborn logic but proceeds in an intuitive and holistic (whole system encompassing) fashion.

Much of modern medication is based upon synthesizing herbs or isolating a particular herbal constituent, as with aspirin that is contained in a number of plants including Meadowsweet and Willow.  Isolating the chemical most effective toward a particular ailment, pharmacologists target the problem area as an isolated entity. In contrast, herbalism uses the plant in its entirety and the herbalist deals with the outlying problems of the body and psyche often before working their way in toward the manifesting dis-ease, making sure that the causes surrounding the problem do not cause the ailment to rise up again.  The modern approach is like washing up the filthy pans before the wine glasses; it is curing the symptom rather than the system, and is a mirror held against modern society at large, with comparisons to gaol rather than rehabilitation, more roads for the growing amount of  cars….et cetera.  As Buckminster-Fuller said “Humanity is acquiring all the right technology for all the wrong reasons”, and the primary reason being….money.

Nipplewort forces its way through cracks in the pavement on an industrial estate

We have a friend who had a degree in physics. Once he’d graduated he went looking for a job. He found that there were two main avenues available to him, one being a physics teacher, the other a drug company representative. He decided to look into what  the latter involved. He talked to other students who had trained as drug company reps and found that much of the job was not disimilar to that of a salesman.  It involved informing the doctors of the newest drugs on the market and persuading them that they really needed it. There were sales quotas, bonuses, prescribed methods of persuasion, and a lot of the doctors, especially the older generation, were fairly innocent to the shark like nature of the drug companies, thinking that the intention of this new drug was actually for the good of their patients. He chose to become a physics teacher and he loves it.

All of this poses difficulties for the re-introduction of herbal medicine on a wider scale than its present rural underground status. We live in an age where in dealing with symptom rather than system, we blind ourselves to the validity of a more encompassing viewpoint. We are persuaded by the assertions of government advisery bodies and health strategists who take their advice in turn from the massive pharmaceutical companies, who, lets be honest, could probably buy the government if they wanted to (and might already have done so;-).

Old and new can work together

To get ourselves back to the refined, elegant, simple knowledge of the Evenki of Siberia, combined with the very best of the technological breakthroughs of our time, used for the good of us all, is really what we’re looking for.  Again Buckminster-Fuller has the right words : “We are called to be architects of the future, not its victims”.

We have strayed from a simple description of what herbal medicine is, but it is whole-istic after all, part of a far greater system of ecology and health and set within a social context which makes it almost impossible to talk of on its own. I found that my relationship with herbs greatly increased once i started identifying the plants in the hedgerows, finding out what people say they do, then testing it for myself. The best times for learning have been when i’ve been ill or got a great big cut or infection and have stubbornly refused to see a doctor (not that i’m encouraging this!) and taken on the responsability of treating my own body. Thats when you really feel what effect this form of medicine can have.

‘He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herbs for the service of man’ Psalm 104:14

Ed disinfecting a cut on his finger with Myrrh tincture

If your interested in learning about the herbs, i suggest that when you take a walk in the countryside or park, you take a little side bag with a couple of identification books with you (see book list below) and pick out one or two plants that catch your attention. Try to identify these plants, take their picture if you have a camera (i find Google Images useful for id purposes if you think you know the name of the plant but aren’t sure). It may take time to start with, but once you practice the identification process a few times you’ll get quicker and quicker. A good couple of herbals would be useful, and while your at it you might as well learn a few bits of what you can eat from the hedgerow. Learning about plants gives added breadth to a walk in the countryside. It adds an element of connection and interaction, what had previously been a mass of green weeds becomes an exciting assortment of nibbles and medicines.

Picking nettles into a burdock leaf for tea and the cookpot

In order for the herbs to work effectively, they must be in the context of a balanced life. We cannot expect miracle cures if we eat junk food all day and drink too much. One thing relies on the other. Responsability needs to be taken for ourselves before we have access to the best medicines!

Further reading:

Identification Books:

Edmund Launert – Edible and Medicinal Plants of Britain and Northern Europe

Roger Phillips – Wild Flowers

- Mushrooms

Dieter Podlech – Herbs and healing plants of Britain and Europe

Herbals :

Juliette de Bairacli-Levy – The Illustrated Herbal Handbook

David Hoffmann – The New Holistic Herbal

Tess Darwin – The Scots Herbal

Glennie Kindred – Herbal Healers

Other interesting herb related books :

Juliette de Bairacli-Levy – Traveler’s Joy

Margaret Baker – The Folklore of Plants

John Pughe – The Physicians of Myddfai

N.b. We are looking this year to grow our plant, tree and fungi databases for use as identification tools and a resource for the use and folklore of plants in the Britsh Isles.  It is our intention to grow this resource steadily over the time of our journeys in Britain.

The identification pictures attempt to represent the plant in all stages of its development, throughout the seasons. We are in a unique position to comprehensively document this as we walk.

We are hoping that people will begin to use this website to help them learn more about the plants in Britain.

Plantago lanceolata and Plantago major

Folk names: Way bread, Lord of the ways, Wodan’s Herb, Slan-lus (plant of healing)

The flower heads of ribwort are used as ammunition by children and adults alike.
A very common wild plant, it likes to grow on compacted soil and is always found around human habitation. It grows abundantly on tracks and by foot paths hence it’s title of “Lord of the Ways” and “Way Bread”.
It is resilient and resistant in its character.

Edibility

The youngest leaves are nibbled raw, teenage leaves can be cooked in 15 minutes, but once older they can become bitter and fibrous.
Seeds of the greater plantain can be dried and added to salads or into bread. They can be ground into a low-grade flour and mixed with other flours (although this we have never tried).
The fresh seeds of both species make a very good protein nibble, tasting rather like mushrooms

Medicine.

Plantain is a fantastic remedy for all kinds of bites and stings, and as good as, if not better than, dock leaves for nettle rash. Apply crushed fresh leaves directly to affected area, and eat a little of the fresh leaves or drink a cup of plantain tea as well. Do both every hour or so for maximum benefit.
Both types of plantain are great wound herbs for cuts, grazes and bruises. It is effective both to help stop bleeding of fresh wounds, and to draw out infection from older wounds.
An easy way to use Plantain while on the move is to pick it, chew it, apply it to the infected/bleeding area and secure it with a whole leaf (perhaps dock, burdock or greater plantain) or clean cotton dressing and something to tie it in place (long grass, bark). Change the herb and dressing regularly and especially if the whole thing gets wet.

Chew up the leaves and put them on a wound or infection

So it’s a herb for the skin and this means the internal skin as well as that on the outside.

The leaf used internally as a food or tea helps the lining of the lungs, stomach, intestines, bladder and all in between.

It is cooling,
soothing,
softening,
toning,
healing,

with a mild antibacterial action that can be useful for coughs (esp. the ribwort), sore throats and stomach upsets.
It is commonly an ingredient in herbal hayfever and asthma prescriptions.
The seed heads can be used as a very gentle bulk laxative (combine with Chickweed).
Plantain lotion was a famous Gypsy “Cure All”, good medicine and good income for the traveling folk.

It was also used as a saxon remedy for headache – tied to the head with red wool.

In Guernsey the leaves were chopped and mixed with egg white to soothe burns.

On one occasion in Cornwall we decided to walk through the day and night, from Lostwithiel to Peranuthnoe (nearly 50 miles). We arrived in Truro in the evening, having covered half the distance, with tired feet and aching limbs. No matter how good your boots, after about thirty miles the feet tend to heat up and rub in unexpected places. To cool our aggravated tootsies we picked Greater Plantain (the wider leafed species) and lined our socks with it. The cooling was instant, keeping the threat of blisters at bay for a while. We soon learnt to remove the ribs of the leaf to prevent rubbing.

Take out the ribs and put it in your boots

“Planta” means foot in Latin, and the leaves help feet, look like feet and grow where feet commonly tread.
Known as “Englishmans’ foot” by the native Americans and others, so called because the plant sprouts wherever the English colonial forces set foot.

It is set out in the traditional geometric garden patterns of the 17th century, and the plants grown there were all also growing in physic gardens 300 years ago. The old lady who was looking after the place told us of the terrible trouble they had in keeping all these “new plants” from moving in.

It was thrilling to see all the plants labelled and separated in their new spring growth.

Ed got over excited and took hundreds of identification pictures. Here are some of the plants we found. The plants here are all in their early spring stages, without flowers and summer growth. To look at pictures of these plants in flower, try typing the name into google images.

Soapwort

As the name suggests, soapwort leaves can be boiled in water to make a soap froth containing a good amount of saponin for washing with. In the summer it has pinky white flowers.

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Good King Henry

This plant is part of the Chenopodium family, most of which are good edibles. You might know Fat Hen, the sister of Good King Henry. It makes a good salad when the leaves are young, and can be lightly steamed as it gets on a bit.

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Licorice

Licorice root was found in the tombs of Egyptian Pharoahs and has played a significant part as a healing herb throughout recorded history. It is used to treat the common cold, asthma and wounds.

The root is used to help with stress as it boosts the production of adrenalin, which is great.

The root makes a lovely sweet tea.

And then, as a kind wolf lady pointed out below that someone has moved the label in the garden and in fact the licorice was young horseradish. But i will keep the details above for your digestion and try to take some proper pictures of licorice. If anyone has some photos of the plant, please send them in.

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Woad

Woad is the plant that makes the blue dye worn by Celtic warriors of Briton.

You remember Braveheart?

The leaves are fermented in order to obtain the blue paint which as well as making the warriors look frightening, was also effective in treating their wounds.

A poultice of fresh leaves can also be used for treating wounds.

Woad was the main blue dye in this country until Indigo was imported from eastern lands in 1660. It was used to dye cloth, wool and skin blue. A pink dye is yielded by the younger leaves if you use an alum mordant.

Gather the leaves in the plant’s second season, before she flowers.

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Southernwood

An aromatic plant with a saucy background. Known as ‘lad’s love’ or ‘maid’s ruin’ (depending on your perspective), Southernwood is an aphrodisiac. Young men would rub it on their faces both to attract the ladies and to make their beards grow.  We will be doing some scientific field testing soon. Reports will follow.

The plant will help to ease menstrual obstruction and can be combined with Mugwort and Pennyroyal. It makes a relaxing addition to a bath and discourages moths from clothes (it was calle ‘garde-robe’ in French).

The old Welsh Physicians say “Take Southernwood, and pound it well, and add thereto some wine or old mead, strain well, and let the patient drink a portion thereof night and morning.” This was said to be a cure for those who talk in their sleep.

Southernwood yields a yellow dye from the twigs.

The plant likes rocky ground.

Other names:  Sweet Coltsfoot, butter dock, dog rhubarb, exwort

I sow, I sow,

Then come, my own dear,

Come here, come here,

And mow, and mow.

To find her husband, a young maid sows Butturbur before the sunrise upon a Friday morn.

Her man will appear with a scythe in his hand, yet if her nerve should fail she may say ‘have mercy on me’ and so the vision departs.

do read on….

Butterbur grows in the damp places, beside rivers, wetlands and ditches. It is a relation of  Coltsfoot.

The flowers appear in the early spring, and like Coltsfoot, the leaves appear afterwards.

In Sweden the plant is grown near to bee hives so that the bees can drink a good supply of early nectar.

In the middle ages it was used to treat plague and fevers, and in the 17th Century it was a noted treatment for coughs and asthma. Being related to Coltsfoot, this makes complete sense.  To treat these ailments one would harvest the leaves in early summer and the root in late summer, dry and store them for the winter months. A decoction of the root would be made to treat asthma and other bronchi-related ailments.

The problem with using Butterbur for internal medicine is that modern chemical analysis has shown that it contains some potentially harmful alkaloids. This opens up for us a debate which is ongoing between the pharmaceutical scientists and the traditional herbalists. Is a plant that contains small amounts of toxin actually bad for the system as a whole?

Well, apple pips and apricot kernals contain cyanide, in very small amounts of course. It has been shown that eating your apple pips, as well as certain other foods containing trace amounts of cyanide, releases nitrilosides and vitamin B17 into the system. For years this has been seen by many investigators as a chemical that prevents cancer. It is controversial on the biology scene as it is dealing with cyanide, and fruit. Read an interesting article HERE.

So the intake of certain toxins may not be the great body poisoning it is seen by some to be.

A few years ago there was a study on the toxicity of comfrey. Comfrey has been used in mecdicine since before before, and will continue to be so used. The study fed comfrey to rats for a short while with no adverse effects. Then it fed them the plant for a prolonged period and found that the rats began to develop liver tumours. The conclusion was that comfrey is dangerous. My conclusion is that you shouldn’t have a diet of only comfrey for a prolonged period.

So back to butterbur. Should it be used as internal medicine? I would say that if you have a cough then Coltsfoot is the safer option. But if plague were to come along, i would consider this plant as internal medicine.

Juliette de Bairacli Levy, the famous herbalist who travelled with Gipsies and Bedouins throughout her life, learning their healing arts, advocates the use of Butterbur for the treatment of migraines.

Juliette has just died at the age of 96. Thank you Juliette for your great works, you have inspired many to learn how to heal themselves and others from what is growing around them.

The plant can certainly be used externally as a poultice for wounds and skin eruptions. Pulp it up a bit and apply it to the wounded area, and tie it on with a clean cotton cloth.

Butterbur leaves grow enormous. The herbalist John Gerard once said that the leave were large enough

“to kepe a man’s head from raine, and from the heats of the sunne……“

sources :
The Folklore of Plants - Margaret Baker
www.pfaf.org
The illustrated Herbal Handbook - Juliette de Bairacle Levy

St. John’s Wort flowers around midsummer. If you rub the leaves between your fingers you can smell a back-of-the-nose heat. It is sunshine in plant form, bringing calmness to the nerves and yielding a bright red colour, both in dyeing and when soaked in oil.

It is of the oil that we wish to speak.

This bright red liquid will help to heal bruises, sprains, burns, skin irritations, or any wound that involves nerve damage.

Gather the top 6 inches of the plant when in flower. Do this as close to midsummer as possible for optimum potency (ie.now).

Get yourself some good oil that you wouldn’t mind smearing on your skin. Almond oil is good and other nut oils will do well. If you want to splash out use hemp oil.

We will assume you want to make a half pint of the healing unction, but it is your choice, depending on how much you or those around you get injured.

Lightly pound the  flowering heads, leaves included, in a mortar and pestle to release the juices. Put the plant into the half pint glass container of oil until there is hardly any more space, making sure that all plant material is covered by the oil.

Put a cork or lid on the bottle and leave it in the sunlight for 40 days (and 40 nights). Give it as much sun as possible.

Every few days give the bottle a slight jiggle around. Watch it go more and more red.

When the month is up and the oil is a deep bright red colour, strain the plant matter from the oil and you are left with a healing ointment for applying to burns and bruises and cuts and inflammations.

If you feel it is the type of injury that needs treatment with sunshine, such as a nerve rending cut or a burn on a kettle, apply this oil, coating the injured area.

We were told in a comment below that the oil on skin can cause photosensitivity so when applied it is best to avoid direct sunlight on the injured part.

Make sure you clean the container before you start and you and the injury are clean before applying the oil.

There is much more information in the St.John’s Wort Profile. Please have a look to find out more.

yum

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They are here right now gracing our hedgerows and rocky ground.

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A summer treat for the sharp of eye.

Leave enough for the birds to spread the seeds around.

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We like them with oats in the morning.

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Honesty, known for it’s translucent, paperlike seed  discs in autumntime and it’s enchanting pink flowers in the spring.

It is said that it’s presence in gardens reflects the integrity of the gardener.

It likes to grow on banksides, in gardens and on meadow fringes.

The Burdocks  are now transforming into  hedgerow giants.  They’ve been raising their heads since March and seemingly growing a few inches every day.

The root of the burdock is probably the most prolific of the wild edible roots. By the end of the summer the first year roots will be reaching carrot proportions, and the second year ones will be turning into wood.

Burdock in May

First year Burdock grows large elephant ear leaves but does not go to seed.  In the second year the plant grows  quicker and developes a tall stalk covered in burrs, the little balls that stick to your clothes, the original velcro.

Here we are digging up an enormous second year root.

Check how hard and stony the soil is (soft soil is much easier) and make sure you’ve got a good trowel or digging stick. Dig around and around the root, deep as you can.

If you cannot reach the very bottom of the root you can cut itoff  as deep as possible.

Digging around the root of a 2nd year growth

Once you have the root, cut and peel off the outer layer. If it is a first year plant there will be much less to peel off and less woody inedible stuff in the middle.

The root can be added to stews, roasts and used like parsnips or tatties.

Some say the new leaves are good to eat, but we’ve always found them rather too bitter.

Peeling the outer layer off

The inner part of new stems is palatable and a good nibble.

For medicine, the root is collected in September/October as the plant retreats back to the soil. It is normally chopped into small pieces and dried. A decoction is then made by pouring 1 cup of boiling water to 1 teaspoon of the dried root and simmering for ten minutes.

The tea is one of the best blood cleansers and it moves the body into a state of integration. It tones the kidney and helps with skin ailments.

Externally a compress or poultice (crushed damp root applied to skin) is applied to wounds, ulcers and other skin conditions.

Also used as a weaker medicine for the same ailments are the unripened burrs and new leaves.

Gathering nettles on a burdock leaf

You can use the huge leaves for gathering herbs and plants, or wrapping up fish and other foods for cooking in the coals of the fire. If you wrap the wild greens you forage in a burdock leaf, they will keep fresher for longer.

Fergus in a jumper made of Burdock

We think the leaves would also make a fine rain and sun hat or small roof to shelter from the rain.

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This tasty nibble grows in walls and moist banksides. Good in sandwiches.

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With purple/pink little flowers, this plant covers the ground in hedgerows and meadows. The leaves smell mint like. It likes loamy and heavy clay soil.