Local Herbs To Heal Your Community / Shrub Medicine

[suzanne sanders]

Local Herbs To Heal Your Community / Shrub Medicine

Before, I start with Medicinal Shrubs, I am starting with a tree because it's December, the Winter Solstice is approaching and midwinter is almost here.   The Tree Of The Winter Solstice is Holly.   But, first I would like to mention, Mistletoe, it is the plant of Winter Solstice and at one time it was used  medicinally.  I encourage you to look up the historical roots of this plant and what its uses where.   It is a friend of the Oak Tree.....

 

Holly-llex aquifolium 

There are many species of Holly.  The best known one is llex paraguayensis from Brazil, also known as Yerba Mate" .   For this article we are using llex aquifolium.   

Holly is found in the hedgerows and gardens all over Europe.  It is slow growing, tolerates shade well, is often found in the under story of woods and loves growing by Oak tress. 

The Leaves harden with spikes at the tips in the winter to keep the deer and other animals from eating them.    It flowers in June. 

In Irish/Gaelic it is called Tinne

Strongest protection herb, gives clear wisdom and courage, dream magic and it's element is fire.  The flower of goodwill, tree of restored direction

Evergreen, native to central and southern Europe

The Holly and the Ivy

When they are both full grown

Of all the trees that are in the wood

The Holly bears the crown

The Holly has an association with Winter Solstice that goes back many hundreds of years.  During the Roman festival Saturnalia, which was December 17th -23rd, branches of Holly were exchanged as a symbol of health, happiness, a symbol of joy and goodwill.  

The Holly  was/is a tree of good omen, its evergreen leaves symbolizing life a midst the apparent death of winter.  The potent life force in the depths of darkness, symbolizes everlasting life.   In the days of Pliny (born 23 AD or 24 AD, died in 79 AD) Holly was considered a tree of protection.  If planted near a house or hung over the door, it defended the place and its habitants from poison, evil spirits, lighting and witchcraft.  Men carried it for good luck (women carried Ivy).  Holly water was sprinkled on newborn babies for protection.  Also it was used by the Druids to decorate their huts in winter.  This made it a suitable dwelling for the spirit of the woods.  Holly is the 8th tree on the Ogham and at one time the Irish Chieftains considered it sacred and was Illegal to cut down. 

In the Celtic Tree Ogham, it represents restored balance and direction, represents unconditional Love and increased detachment from emotional turmoil.  Ruled by Mars it provides the raw energy to get things done.  The wisdom of the Holly brings balanced power that will guide us towards positive action. Holding on to any type of negative emotions greatly weaken your life force.   Holly encourages you to communicate and express your feelings to bring things out in the open and helps you find a possible resolution with a loving outlook.  This in-turn will bring transformation and restored direction. 

Holly Homeopathic: Ilex

Used for catarrhal problems, inflammatory, eye symptoms, pain in the spleen, diarrhoea with mucus and intermittent fevers. 

Herbal Remedy

WARNING - The berries are mildly poisonous to children.  They may cause vomiting and diarrhea.  For Adults a few ripe berries have be eaten as a strong purgative to clear the body of unwanted waste or toxins.  

Leaves:  No stained or bug eaten ones

Collect in May and June, put ina brown paper bag to dry. 

Used for:  colds, catarrh(excess mucus in the nose or throat), as an expectorant, for persistent coughs, useful for urinary tract infection, to prevent kidney stones, can be used to eliminate toxins from the body and taken hot it will encourage sweating and bring down fevers.  As a diuretic it helps relieve fluid retention and has been long used for arthritis, gout and rheumatism.  

Make an infusion (tea), and drink.

Flower Essence:

Holly is for people who have emotions that are out of control.  Like, feelings of hate, jealousy, envy, thoughts of revenge and resentment.    Maybe one feels they have lack of love in their life or within themselves.  People who have become oversensitive or  are always finding fault with others, could use the help of Holly Flower Essence.    Holly will help open the heart and unites one with divine love.  It helps with negative out of control emotions by helping them come to the surface, and aids them with the ability to communicate and to restore balance. The Holly Flower Essence brings positive vibes to their life force, helping them move beyond the negative emotions, reaching the place where love and respect reside, so they can feel love again and respect others.  

More on Holly: 

https://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/h/holly-28.html

More information on plants of Winter Solstice:

https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/winter_solstice...

I wanted to have some fun, so I thought I would start with a plant that is pretty invasive around here.  It grows  in logged areas, it adds nitrogen to the soil and when it blooms is smells incredible.  Have you guessed it?    

Broom, Scotch Broom:  Cytisus scoparius

A majority of  broom at one time grew in Scotland, hence the name Scotch Broom.

Broom twigs and branches were tied in bundles for sweeping floors.  In Scotland where broom grows abundantly, it has been used for thatching cottage roofs, fashioned into baskets and screens for the home.  

Video Below, Thatched Roof:

http://www.scottish-thatching.co.uk/

In The Kitchen: 

Broom flower buds were pickled and eaten like capers.  

The young bitter green tops were added to ale

The seeds were roasted and ground into a coffee substitute. 

http://www.sustainablebabysteps.com/coffee-alternatives.html

The bark contains tannin that is used for tanning leather, while the fibrous part of the bark was once employed in paper and cloth manufacture.

Medicinally, young broom shoots were used for its mild diuretic properties and were traditional folk remedy for fluid retention.  

European Herbalists prescribed broom in cases of water retention due to a week heart, often mixed with other herbs like hawthorn.  Now days many American herbalists consider the plant unsafe due to the alkaloid sparteine.  Sparteine stimulates uterine contractions, avoid during pregnancy.  Caution avoid if you suffer from High Blood Pressure.  

In the spring the blossoms appear in May and June, they are golden and smell like vanilla or to me cocoa butter.   You can infuse oil with the blossoms and get a beautifully smelling infused oil.  

Broom Scented Soap

You will need: 

Scotch Broom Flowers, NO SPRAY!! 

Organic almond oil

Unscented Organic  soap bar

Soap molds 

Infuse: 

3 Tablespoons of NO SPRAY Scotch Broom Flowers 

2 oz organic almond oil 

Strain

Grate the soap 

Liquefy

Stir frequently

Remove from heat

Allow to cool, but not set

Whip in infused broom flower oil

Pour into molds

Allow to set 

Enjoy 

 

A decoction of the NO SPRAY flowers added to liquid soap (unscented castile soap) makes a nice scented soap.  Or use it as a hair rinse.  

Rose

Stop And Smell The Roses 

The scent of the Rose is energetically sweet.  Supreme heart opener, calms anger and relieves exhaustion.  

Shrub Roses and Hips

The hips of the shrub roses and old fashioned prickly roses are an offering of jewels of crimson scarlet and deep red to sustain our health against the dark cold days of winter 

Parts Used:  Leaf, bud, petal and hips 

Actions:  Anti-depressant, antiseptic, antiviral, antispasmodic,  aphrodisiac,  antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, cholagogue (promoting the flow of bile) , kidney tonic, nutritive, antibacterial, hemostatic (stop bleeding),  uterine, nervine and emmenagogue(promotes menstrual discharge).  The Rose Hips are high in vitamin C and bioflavonoids.

Uses:  Tea, powder, tincture, syrup, infused oil, salve, capsule, infused honey, wound wash and infused vinegar

Flowers:  Sweet, slightly bitter, cooling and warm.    The warming aspect promotes movement of Chi ( I would imagine this is due to its effect on helping the heart feel happier, warm from the emotions of love), and cooling for its anti-inflammatory action.  Tissue toner for various tissues in the body.   When the heart is heavy, the burden of stress, grief, overwork or unpleasant emotions, the rose reminds you to enjoy life, hence the saying "Stop And Smell The Roses".    Roses tone the heart and have anti-hypertensive, anti-diabetic, anti-anxiety, hypnotic, anti-inflammatory, nerve calming and uplifting emotional effects.  It can dry cold clear mucous discharge, aid in stuck chi in the liver, treats poor appetite, used for irregular menstruation and pain caused by blood stagnation.  Make a strong tea out of the flowers for a skin wash to stop bleeding from cuts and wounds.  Also a gargle to relieve sore throats, use it to heal mouth sores and tighten bleeding gums.   Rose flower tea  to relieve diarrhea, calm the nerves and/or lift the spirits. The Rose petals (and the leaves and flowers of other member's of the rose family, such as raspberry leaf, blackberry leaf, hawthorn leaf) act as a gentle astringent, it tightens and tones the gut, reproductive organs and skin.  Helpful with leaky or inflamed gut, and mild bleeding.  Rose works for all skin types and helps with anti wrinkle/anti-aging (with a holistic diet).  Try blending rose petals into your face mask for general cleansing.  Rose petals harmonize blood and are used for irregular menstruation and pain caused by blood stagnation.  Promotes blood circulation, treats painful delayed or stopped menses.  

Hot water tea extract is bitter and makes it more astringent, this could benefit the digestive system, skin and/or use as a mouthwash or eye rinse.  Cold or slightly warm water extracts the rosy aromatics without getting to bitter or astringent.  The longer it steeps the better.  

Rose Hips:  Traditionally the Rose hips were used in late winter for a blood purifier. They are very rich in vitamin C and bioflavonoids.   Used as a tonic for exhaustion. The fruits slightly aperient (used to relieve constipation) and good in treatment of female ailments.   Can strengthen capillaries and help relieve cramping, often recommended in treatments for menses that come too early and for deficient kidney chi.  Has been used to strengthen nails and hair.     Culpepper's book, dried powdered and taken in white wine, they will remove strangury (painful urination in which the urine is emitted drop by drop to muscle spasms of the urethra or urinary bladder) and to strengthen the kidneys.  Used in cases of mild gall-bladder problems.   It has been said in Folklore, the Rose roots boiled as a strong decoction helped with mad dog disease or  venomous bites.   The hips made into a conserve and eaten occasionally, help digestion and dry up the moisture from a cold. They will help the body's defenses against infections and the development of colds.  

Leaves (wood rose):  The Okanagan-Colville Indians used the leaves as a poultice for bee stings and added to smoking mixtures.  Their astrigent properties make them useful for a first aid wash for mild wounds.  Thompson Indians made a tonic for general illness from the stems.  

Juliette de Bairacli Levy's book says,  use the flowers leaves and fruits.  Treatment of catarrh, diarrhoea, haemorrhages.  Tuberculosis.  Eye ailments. The fruits all female ailments including leucorrhoea (vaginal discharge, could be normal discharge or possible infection), and metritis (Inflammation of the uterus).  The essential oil of roses is an active stimulant of the nervous system and the uterus, it is an important nerve heart and brain tonic, and is also a tonic for he ovaries and uterus.  Petals of white rose for sore inflamed eyes.  

Side Note: In an emergency situation, you are not going to find rose essential oil.  Essential oils take a ton of plant matter.  Example, it takes 60 roses to make ONE DROP OF ESSENTIAL OIL or 10,000 roses to make a 5 ml bottle.  OR 1 ton of Rose petals to make 1 ounce of essential oil.  If you buy rose essential oil and it is not super expensive then you do not have real rose essential oil.

I personally feel if you have oil and fresh or dried roses you can make a simple infused medicinal oil to use.   

Rose Leafs:  Collect before the flowers buds open 

Rose Petals:  Gather the petals before the flower has been pollinated. Before they are pollinated the flowers are bright yellow in the center and smell strong and beautiful.  After they have been pollinated the center start to brown, dry up and the scent will be weaker.  

Rose Hips:  It is best to gather the hips after a hard frost.     Because I live in a very rainy part of Oregon, this is a difficult thing to do, because they have a tendency to turn moldy or get black spots on them before the first frost.  So if you live in a climate that is similar to me then you harvest the hips when they are deep orange or red.   

Rose Hip Seeds:  They are a powerhouse of vitamin E 

More information on Rose:

https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/essential-oils/health-...

Tea recipe:

https://theherbalacademy.com/cooling-down-with-summer-rose/

Rose Hip Syrup Recipes: 

This one is good except I would use honey instead of brown sugar. 

https://www.eatweeds.co.uk/rosehip-syrup-recipe

Made with Honey:

https://www.sweetreehoney.co.nz/More+Info/Recipes/Preserves++Sauces...

https://whisperingearth.co.uk/2010/10/12/rose-hips-the-fruit-of-love/

Information on Northwest Plants: 

http://www.drakes7dees.com/blog/coast-plants/

http://www.fernhillnursery.com/plants/native-pacific-nw

https://gathervictoria.com/2017/10/25/foraging-cooking-with-coastal...

Oregon Grape:  Mahonia aquifolia or Mahonia repens

Parts Used:  Root, berry, leaf and flower 

Uses:  Decoction,  infusion, tincture, powder, capsule, salve, first aid wash, poultice, plaster, and a soak

Actions:  Alterative, hepatic stimulant, laxative, cholagogue, bitter tonic, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, astringent and antiseptic. 

Internally:  root or bark

Use for dysentery diseases of all sorts (dysentery is a type of gastroenteritis. Symptoms could be diarrhea with blood, including a fever and abdominal pain.  Could be caused by bacteria, viruses, parasitic worms and protozoa, like giardia) especially caused by resistant bacteria like cholera, giardia and bloody stools.  In folk medicine, it was used for chronic degenerative diseases such as cancer and arthritis.  The Spanish Americans, called it Yerba de la Sangre "herb of the blood" indicating its use as a blood purifier ( blood purifier is an alterative, which improves the body's detoxification processes and efficient removal of metabolic waste). They also used it very similarly to yellow dock in the treatment of anemia.  This is not because of the significant presence of iron but, it's ability to release iron stored in the liver.

Alteratives (blood purifiers) include lymphagogues (lymph movers), choleretics and cholagogues (liver movers, including bitters and sours),  and diuretics (which increase urine output) all are considered alterative (blood purifiers) and are often combined for a more whole body detox action  

Oregon grape root has a tonic effect on the liver and gallbladder.  It stimulates bile flow  by cleansing the liver.  It is useful when sub-clinical liver toxicity  is brought on by environmental toxins, poor diet or pathogens.   It's diuretic properties aid cleansing by enhancing the elimination of toxins via the kidneys.  It is a bitter tonic augmenting (increases) digestive secretions.  These bitter components stimulate the liver and gallbladder.  The bitters stimulate the flow of saliva and digestive enzyme's awakening the appetite, improving digestion and absorption, activating the sluggish liver and/or gallbladder.   It is excellent for fighting systemic infections.   It is highly beneficial for treating prostate infection.  Used for topical cleansing making it useful for treating skin conditions such as acne, eczema and psoriasis.  It is useful as an anti-infective in formulas or alone for upper repiratory infections.  It is used for gram positive strep throat and has been used successfully in treating MRSA.    It also acts to reduce congestion in the venous system and improves varicose veins and hemorrhoids.  

Oregon Grape Root (when needed) can improve general health, bringing back strength, stamina and helps reduce fatigue.  Oregon Grape Root, has a cooling and drying effect on the body. For the people who have those  tendencies they need to add some other herbs, like some carminatives (warming) and demulcents.

Oregon Grape Leaf 

The leaf dried or powdered for external use as a poultice, plaster or first aid wash for wounds (no powder in deep wounds).  

Oregon Grape Berries:

Can be made into jams, syrups or sauces.  They are bitter if eaten raw.

Oregon Grape Flower Essence:

Cools down those fiery personalities who are perfectionist, critical, self critical, dissatisfied and bitter.   Helps transform self criticism into self love and acceptance.  Reduces the tendency to be judgmental of oneself and/or judgmental of others.