February 23rd, 2007 by admin
Alder
Alnus glutinosa
Alder
Black Alder
Common Alder
English Alder
European Alder
Fever Bush
Owler
Winter Berry
Alder - a deciduous tree; the European alder can reach 100 feet. The branches spread to a rounded crown. Broad, sharply toothed leaves, up to 4 inches long, are dark glossy green on top, pale and sticky below. Greenish-yellow male and reddish female flowers (March) are borne in separate cone like clusters (catkins). The fruits grow in roundish cones, green in summer and brown and woody in fall. The red alder resembles the European tree but has elliptical, bluntly toothed leaves.
So indestructible is the wood of the European alder that it was used to make the piles on which the city of Amsterdam and Venice’s famed Rialto section were raised. The tree’s remarkable resistance to wet rot made it a prime choice for posts and pilings in the construction of bridges and sluice gates, for water conduits, and for wooden shoes.
Herbalists through the centuries have used brews made from the bark and leaves of the alder as an astringent and a quinine substitute, and to fight inflammations and fevers. The leaves and branches also have a reputation as natural pesticides. The inner bark, boiled in vinegar and rubbed on the body, reportedly kills lice and scabies mites and dries up scabs.
The red, or Oregon, alder looks like its European cousin, which now grows wild in parts of eastern North America, and has similar properties. Alders are also valued for the nitrogen-fixing bacteria that colonize their roots and thereby enrich the soil.
PARTS USED
Bark, leaves.
USES
The astringent alder is employed most often as a mouthwash and gargle for tooth, gum, and throat problems. The drying action of a decoction of the bark helps to contract the mucous membranes and reduce inflammation. A decoction may also be used to staunch internal or external bleeding and to heal wounds. Alder is also used as a wash for scabies. In Spain, alder leaves are smoothed and placed on the soles of the feet to relieve aching. Leaves are used to help reduce breast engorgement in nursing mothers.
Both species supply natural materials for dyers and tanners and wood for smoking meats and fish and for making pilings used in wet locations. The red alder is used for furniture. Medicinally, the trees have fallen into general disuse.
HABITAT AND CULTIVATION
Alder is native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Alder thrives in damp places and along riverbanks. The bark and leaves are gathered in spring.
CONSTITUENTS
Alder contains lignans, tannin (10 to 20%), emodin (an anthraquinone), and glycosides.
Source: Herbs2000
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February 23rd, 2007 by admin
Bugle
Ajuga reptans
Bugle
Carpenter’s-herb
Common Bugle
Middle Comfrey
Sicklewort
Bugle - a perennial herb growing up to 12 inches tall. Its creeping runners produce rosettes of leaves; the whole structure forms a carpet like mat. The lower leaves are spatula-shaped and often have wavy edges, while the upper leaves are toothed and elliptical or oval. Small blue to purple flowers (May-July), 1/2 inch across, are borne in dense terminal spikes.
Opinion varies as to the value of bugle. Compare the old saw that promises, “He that has bugle and sanicle thumbs his nose at the surgeon,” with the view of a modern French herbalist that bugle is the “most resolutely [medicinally] inactive of plants.” It is generally agreed, however, that bugle is more than just a pretty flower. As another of its names, carpenter’s-herb, suggests, bugle does have some ability to stop bleeding and to heal cuts, as do all plants that contain tannin. Bugle has also been given to stop lung and other internal hemorrhaging, and herbalists have recommended it for coughs, ulcers, rheumatism, and liver disorders, and to prevent hallucinations after excessive alcohol consumption. Some herbalists believe that bugle is mildly narcotic and sedative and may slow the heart rate in the way that digitalis does. Bugleweed’s properties other than wound healing have never been thoroughly researched, however.
Bugle’s species name, reptans, refers to the reptile like creeping of the plant’s runners.
PARTS USED
Aerial parts.
USES
Bugle is bitter, astringent, and aromatic, but opinion varies as to its value as a medicine. Bugle has mild analgesic properties, and it is still used occasionally as a wound healer. Bugle is also mildly laxative and traditionally has been thought to help cleanse the liver.
Bugle is a specific for over-active thyroid glands, especially where the symptoms include tightness of breathing, palpitation and shaking. Bugle may safely be used where palpitations occur that are of nervous origin. Bugle will aid the weak heart where there is associated build-up of water in the body. As a sedative cough reliever bugle will ease irritating coughs, especially when they are of nervous origin.
HABITAT AND CULTIVATION
Native to Europe, North Africa, and parts of Asia, bugle has become naturalized in North America. Bugle prefers damp woods and grassy and mountainous areas, and is usually gathered when-in flower in early summer.
CONSTITUENTS
Bugle contains iridoid glycosides including harpagide, which is also found in devil’s claw.
HOW MUCH TO TAKE
Infusion: pour a cup of boiling water onto 1 teaspoonful of the dried herb and let infuse for 10-15 minutes. This should be drunk three times a day.
Tincture: take 1-2ml of the tincture three times a day.
COLLECTION AND HARVESTING
Bugle should be collected just before the buds open.
COMBINATIONS
Bugle may be used with nervines such as skullcap or valerian
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February 23rd, 2007 by admin
Wild Black Cherry
Ajamoda
Black Cherry
Black Choke
Caban Cherry
Choke Cherry
Padmaka
Rub Cherry
Virginia Prune
Wild Black Cherry
Wild black cherry grows from Nova Scotia to Florida and as far west as the Dakotas, Utah and Arizona. Wild black cherry towers high at roughly 100 feet or so and has a trunk circumference somewhere between 4 and 5 feet. The trunk is covered with rough, black bark.
PARTS USED
Inner bark.
USES
Figuring in official pharmacopoeias and much used in the Anglo-American tradition, black cherry bark effectively counters chronic dry and irritable coughs. Combined with coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara), it treats asthma and whooping cough, “The astringent bark also eases indigestion and the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, especially when these conditions are of nervous origin.
Other medical uses - Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ( COPD ).
HABITAT AND CULTIVATION
Native to North America, black cherry grows throughout much of the US. Black cherry is cultivated in central Europe for its lumber. The bark is collected in late summer and early autumn.
CONSTITUENTS
Black cherry contains prunasin (a cyanogenic glycoside that yields hydrocyanic acid), benzaldehyde, eudesmic acid, coumarins, and tannins. Prunasin reduces the cough reflex.
HOW MUCH TO TAKE
Many people use wild cherry tincture or syrup, taking 2-4 ml three to four times per day.
SIDE EFFECTS AND CAUTIONS
Very large amounts of wild cherry pose the theoretical risk of causing cyanide poisoning. However, this has not been observed in clinical practice, making it a very safe herbal remedy.
Source: herbs2000
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