"How To Make A Poultice" (To Treat Many Skin Ailments!)

You can make a poultice to draw infection, treat boils and abcesses, relieve inflammation or a rash or simply draw the poison from a bee sting! What is a poultice? A homemade poultice is made by mashing herbs, plant material or another substance with warm water or natural oils to make a paste. The paste can be applied directly to the skin and covered with a piece of clean cloth. If the herb used is potent such as onion, garlic, ginger, mustard, etc., you may want a layer of thin cloth between the skin and the herb. The cloth can then be covered with plastic wrap to hold in the moisture. The poultice can be changed every 3 to 4 hours or whenever it dries out. A compress is used the same way but usually warm liquids are applied to the cloth instead of raw substances. Tinctures or herbal infusions are great for compresses. The list of ingredients to use for a homemade poultice is endless! Make a Poultice for Boils, Infections, Abcesses and Inflammation The following poultice ingredients have properties to draw out infections reduce inflammation. These poultices can even be used to treat chest congestion, hemorrhoids and earaches. Don't forget that you can use poultices or compresses on your pets and livestock also! Onion Poultice- mash raw onion and mix with warm water or organic plant oils. You may want a thin layer of cloth between your skin and the onion. Watch a video on how to make an onion poultice here. (More instructional videos can be seen at the bottom of this page) Potato Poultice- Grate a raw potato and make your paste! A potato poultice is good for inflammation and eye troubles such as conjunctivitis. Mustard Poultice - Mash some mustard seeds, mix with natural oil or water and apply. Use thin cloth between paste and skin. A homemade mustard poultice is very powerful and can burn your skin if applied directly. Plantain Poultice- Plantain is a commom weed that has great drawing power. Mash the fresh weed for the paste or use a tincture as a compress. See the Insect Bite Remedy Page for more information on plantain. Activated Charcoal - Super absorbing properties! Comfrey Poultice - Comfrey roots and leaves have great healing properties especially where bones and ligaments are involved! Make a poultice out of comfrey for any aches or pains. Tumeric Poultice- Organic Tumeric makes a great drawing poultice for boils and infections. For even better results take up to one teaspoon tumeric in a cup of warm milk along with using the external tumeric poultice. (Tumeric is also known as turmeric or curcuma.) Cayenne Pepper makes a great compress for arthritis and many other aches and pains. Bread and Milk poultice - These work very well for infections and boils. Simply heat milk and add a bit of bread, wrap in gauze or cheese cloth and place on cut or wound. Use as hot as you can stand it. Repeat a few times a day as long as necessary. It works pretty fast and often much better than over the counter products. Lemon Balm Poultice - Lemon balm leaves make a poultice for small wounds, cold sores and insect bites. Mountain Rose Herbs. A herbs, health and harmony c MAKE A COMFREY POULTICE FOR SPRAINS AND BRUISES 1. Snip or crush a small handful of comfrey leaves into a dish. 2. Pour enough boiling water on the leaves to cover them. 3. Mash into a pulp with a spoon. A pestle and mortar works great for this! 4. Let cool a little then spread the pulp directly on the affected area. Cover with gauze and bandage to hold in the poultice in place. Leave on for several hours. MAKE A SLIPPERY ELM AND THYME POULTICE FOR BOILS Slippery elm has great healing properties and thyme is a great antiseptic. Try a plantain poultice for boils also. 1. Mash thyme leaves and cover with boiling water (same as comfrey poultice). 2. Pour off excess water and mix in 2 tablespoons of slippery elm powder. 3. Apply directly to the boil or enclose the pulp in gauze. Leave in place for several hours.

Wild Edible Plants Benefits, Hazards, and Major Groups We are surrounded by wild edible plants everyday. In trying to learn about them, you might quickly feel overwhelmed by the staggering amount of information available. Here are some important consideration for getting started: - Identifying Plants - Benefits - Hazards - Major Groupings Identifying Plants It is vital that you can identify the wild edible plants that you intend to utilize. Some edible plants have deadly poisonous look-alikes. Good field guides are invaluable. The best guides clearly explain identification, collection, and preparation techniques. We highly recommend the following guides: - Identifying and Harvesting Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants by Steve Brill - Discovering Wild Plants by Janice Schofield Benefits Wild edible plants are very beneficial for you and your family for many reasons. First of all, there are wild edibles growing near you no matter what part of the world you live in. Chances are good, you can find a large number of species where you live and some of them are likely to be plentiful. Secondly, many wild plants are highly nutritious and can be even more nutritious than many store bought fruits and vegetables. For instance, dandelion which you might think of as little more than a garden-variety weed is actually an incredibly nutritious wild edible plant. In a single hundred gram amount of cooked dandelion greens, there is 11,000 mg of Potassium, 18 mg of vitamin C and 42 mg of calcium. You might consider eating the dandelions in your yard, rather than removing or poisoning them. Though if you are going to consume wild edible plants, make sure you also consider the hazards. Hazards There are some dangers in collecting and eating wild edibles. To begin with, think about the location you are gathering and consider the following: - Is the area sprayed with pesticides or herbicides? - Is the area close to a busy road or other source of pollution? - Does your target species have any poisonous look-alikes? Also consider that wild edible plants are often more nutritionally concentrated than store bought foods - you may not need to eat as much quantity as you would of foods from home. It is also wise to start off eating very small quantities of wild edible plants, especially those you have not tried before, in case of potential allergic reactions. Test them before you collect or eat large quantities. Also, the hazard many people forget to consider, and it is one of the most important, is the hazard you pose to the plants themselves! Please practice wise and sustainable harvesting techniques. Consider the needs of the plants and the other animals that might feed on them. If the plant you are harvesting is rare, is the only one of its kind on the location you are harvesting or especially if it is endangered, leave it alone! Look for places where the species you are interested in gathering is plentiful. Also look for plants that have abundant fruit, nuts or berries. This will make your job of gathering less work and also, if you are considerate, it will leave less of an impact on the land. A good guidelines is to collect one third of the plant material, leaving two thirds for plant regeneration and wildlife. Major Groupings of Wild Edible Plants There are so many different kinds of plants out there in the world. It can really help to initially lump them into more manageable groups. Here are some of the major groups of wild edibles, organized by plant families: The Lily Family (Liliaceae): This includes species such as: - Wild onions - Wild garlic - Wild leeks - Camas - Glacier lilies The Purslane Family (Portulacaceae): This includes: - Miner’s Lettuce - Spring Beauty The Rose Family (Rosaceae): This includes edible plants such as: - Blackberry - Raspberry - Salmonberry - Thimbleberry - Wild roses - Hawthorn - Serviceberry - Choke-cherry - Wild strawberry - Silverweed The Heath Family (Ericaceae): This includes species such as: - Cranberry - Blueberry - Huckleberry The Mustard Family (Brassicaceae): This includes plants such as: - Pennycress - Shepard’s purse - Watercress The Mint Family (Lamiaceae): This includes wild edibles such as: - Wild mint - Self-heal The Sunflower Family (Asteraceae): This includes species such as: - Dandelion - Wild sunflower - Salsify - Chicory - Pineapple weed - Oxeye daisy - Common burdock - Thistle species The Nettle Family (Urticaceae): This includes: - Stinging nettle The Cattail Family (Typhaceae): This includes: - Narrow-leaf and broad-leaved cattail The Beech Family (Fagaceae): This includes: - Oaks - Chestnuts - Beeches The Pine Family (Pinaceae): This includes trees such as: - Pine - Hemlock - Douglas-fir - Spruce With proper identification and careful consideration of safety & potential hazards, edible wild plants can become an exciting and healthful part of your diet. Happy foraging!

Hawthorn

HAWTHORN




NAME : HAWTHORN

GAELIC NAME : SCEACH


LATIN NAME : Crataegus oxyacantha.

COMMON / FOLK NAMES : English Hawthorn May bush May tree Quickset Thorn-apple tree Whitethorn Bread and Cheese Tree Gaxels Hagthorn Halves Haw Hazels Huath Ladies' Meat May Mayblossom May Bush Mayflower Quick Thorn Tree of Chastity

MEDICINAL PART : Flowers Fruit

PLACES OF ORIGIN : Ireland Europe

HABITAT : Mountainous regions. Damp limey soils.

DESCRIPTION : The hawthorn grows as either a shrub or a tree in Ireland & Europe. In Ireland & England it is widely grown as a hedge plant. It trunk or stems have hard wood, smooth and ash-gray bark, and thorny branches. The small, shiny leaves are dark green on top, light bluish-green underneath, and have three irregularly toothed lobes.

FLOWERING PERIOD : The white flowers have round petals and grow in terminal corymbs during May and June. The fruit, or haw, is a 2- to 3-seeded, fleshy pome, scarlet on the outside, yellowish and pulpy on the inside.

PROPERTIES : Antispasmodic Cardiac Sedative Vasodilator


Medical Properties of Irish Herbs, Trees & Fungi




MAGICAL PROPERTIES




GENDER : Masculine
PLANET : Mars
ELEMENT : Fire
CELTIC GODS : Manannan Mac Lír Lír Nechtan
CELTIC GODDESS : Áine Brigit Grian
POWERS : Fertility Chastity Fishing Magic Happiness
CELTIC MONTH : April
OGHAM LETTER : H huath



RITUAL USES
Hawthorn was once used to decorate May poles. At one time hawthorns were believed to be Witches who had transformed themselves into trees. Witches have long danced and performed their rites beneath the thorn.



MAGICAL USES



Hawthorn has long been used to increase fertility. Because of this power it is incorporated into weddings, especially those performed in the spring. Call on the Goddess Áine or the Goddess Brigit while holding a hawthorn branch or wand of hawthorn to increase fertility.
Fishermen should carry some hawthorn and call on the Gods Manannan and Lír if fishing at sea, or Nechtan if fishing inland.
The leaves, curiously enough, are also used to enforce or maintain chastity or celibacy. The leaves are placed beneath the mattress or around the bedroom for this purpose.
Worn or carried it promotes happiness in the troubled, depressed, or sad. Call on the Goddess Grian to bring some sunshine and happiness into your life.
Hawthorn protects against lightning, and in the house in which it resides, no evil ghosts may enter. It is also powerful for protecting against damage to the house from storms.
In the past most Witch's gardens contained at least one Hawthorn hedge.
Care must be taken to propitiate the tree itself before removing any branches. It is important not to damage the tree and certain sacred trees should not be disturbed at all, lest their guardian spirits become angered.
Hawthorn trees standing alone should be avoided. Take parts only from trees that are part of boundary hedges.
The Hawthorn is sacred to the fairies, and is part of the fairy-tree triad of IRELAND and Britain: 'Oak, Ash and Thorn,' and where all three trees grow together it is said that one may see fairies.
Family: Rosaceae


Useful plant parts: Fruits and flowers

Description: Hawthorn is a plant that mostly comes in a form of moderately sized shrubs or small trees. It is known for the, usually, large number of flowers that are located on the tops of branches. For this plant it is also characteristic that it is whole covered with thorns. The leaves are relatively small, and from the upper side they are dark green colored, while on the lower side they have a light green color. The leaves have short petioles.
Collecting period and locations: The flowers are picked during full flowering (through May and June). Then they are rapidly dried in a warm and airy place. The dried material is usually stored in bottles that can be closed tightly. Medicinal substances are lost with time, and because of that, dried flowers are usually not stored for longer than one year. As for the fruits, they are picked when they are mature (the fruits are mostly red colored). Fruits are dried the same way as the flowers, and they also lose medicinal substances slowly with time. Regarding locations where to search, hawthorn can be found in thickets and hedges, in deciduous, and even in pine forests.

Medicinal properties and applications: Hawthorn is known as an excellent cure for heart problems, where it is useful for a number of problems related to heart and circulatory system. In elderly people it strengthens the heart, stimulates and nurtures it. It is also excellent for the mitigation of degenerative effects on the heart muscles, poor circulation and heart palpilations. It can also treat a too low or a too high blood pressure (in both cases, it normalizes pressure to a certain extent). Also, it is often recommended after a heart attack because it helps by increasing blood flow through coronary arteries and it overall increases activity and better nutrition of the heart muscle cells.Active compounds: Flavonoids, loline, acetylcholine, ethylamine and triterpenes.

Recipe: Tea of hawthorn can be prepared by taking two teaspoons full of dried hawthorn flowers and adding them to about 1/4 liters of boiling water and leaving the tea that way for 20-30 minutes. Usually one should drink 2-3 cups of this tea a day.

How To Make a Decoction

Herbal Decoctions and Syrups

Decoction, or simple decoction, is my term for an infusion which has been reduced to one-half its volume by slow evaporation. A double decoction is an infusion reduced to one-fourth of its original volume. Some herbalists use "decoction" to refer to what I call an infusion; others use it to mean something closer to tea.

Decoctions keep longer than infusions if carefully stored under refrigeration. Decoctions are more potent than infusions; this makes them invaluable when dealing with children and animals. The smaller dose is more easily administered.



Decocting is an excellent way to prepare an herb with a terrible taste, such as Yellow Dock root, so it can be consumed without gagging. Adding a bit of some nice tasting brandy or liqueur to decoctions enhances the taste and the keeping qualities.


(Yellow Dock) Looks Like Coffee, or Kawi Iyusdi Rumex crispus or Yellow Dock ,It can be used as a wild leaf vegetable; the young leaves should be boiled in several changes of water to remove as much of the oxalic acid in the leaves as possible, or can be added directly to salads in moderate amounts.[3] Once the plant matures it becomes too bitter to consume. Dock leaves are an excellent source of both vitamin A and protein, and are rich in iron and potassium. Curly Dock leaves are somewhat tart due to the presence of high levels of oxalic acid, and although quite palatable, this plant should only be consumed in moderation as it can irritate the urinary tract and increase the risk of developing kidney stones. The roots have also been used medicinally as an astringent, tonic, and laxative. Compounds contained in the plant's roots have been clinically verified to bind with heavy metals such as lead and arsenic and expel them from the body by stimulating biliary function in the liver. The plant is considered a highly effective blood cleanser and is used by herbalists to assist the body in eliminating heavy metals and to treat other This plant is not only a medicinal herb, but also a food. It is much like spinach, but believe it or not, contains MORE vitamins and minerals. Because of the long taproot, it gathers nutrients from deep underground. The leaves are a source of iron, and also have laxative properties. Juices from the stems, prepared in a decoction, can be made into an ointment with beeswax and olive oil, and used for itching, minor sores, diaper rash, and other irritations. Cherokee herbalists prescribe a warm wash made from the decoction of crushed roots for a disinfectant. Juice from the root, not prepared in any certain way, is said to be a cure for ringworm,Yellow Dock Root helps to eliminate toxins from your body. In this manner, Yellow Dock Root effectively aids in eliminating foreign substances that can overburden the liver.

Decoctions of roots and barks are often prepared; decoctions of leaves, flowers, or seeds are rarely prepared. Since decoctions are made by evaporation, the volatile essences are water-soluble vitamins in the leaves, flowers, and seeds are lost in the process.

I always make decoctions when I have to be in the same room as the stove for the entire evaporating time. With such a low heat, decoctions rarely burn, but if you become involved in something else, there is the danger of reducing the liquid to a scorched nothing. For a pint of infusion (two cups), about an hour is needed to reduce it by half.




Making a Decoction

Begin by straining the plant material out of the infusion and discarding it.
Measure the liquid.
Heat the liquid until it begins to steam; this is before it simmers and long before it boils.
Stand right there and watch for the steam to start rising. When it does, turn the heat down very low.
Steam until the liquid is reduced to half or one-quarter of what it was in the beginning. A little stainless steel pan with measuring marks on the side is of invaluable assistance in this process, but you can also judge by the mark left on the side of the pan as the liquid level falls. Or you can measure it.
Pour the decoction into a clean or sterile bottle.
Label with the contents, strength, and date. Example: Simple decoction of Witch Hazel bark, Dec. '84.
Optional: Add one tablespoon of brandy or spirit per four ounces of decoction.
Cap well
Cool at room temperature, then store in the refrigerator. Some decoctions may keep for as long as a year, others ferment and sour within a few months.
Dosage: A simple decoction is four times as potent as an infusion. One cup (8 ounces) of infusion is equal to one-quarter cup (2 ounces) of a simple decoction. Use up to one tablespoon for an infant.
Double decocting increases the strength of the infusion by a factor of sixteen (four times four). So the dose equivalent of one 8 ounce cup is only one tablespoon (1/2 ounce). The usual infant dose is half a teaspoon of double decoction.



Making a Syrup

Add sugar or honey to any type of decoction, and you have a syrup. The extra sweetness makes some herbs more palatable, soothes the throat, and can improve keeping qualities.

How much sugar or honey should you add? The exact amount is determined by weight. A standard for syrups is an equal amount, by weight, of sugar and decoction.

One cup (8 fluid ounces) of water or decoction, weighs half a pound (8 ounces). So one cup of decoction requires half a pound of sugar.

Honey is about twice as sweet as sugar. Use a quarter of a pound (4 ounces) of honey to every cup of decoction. One level tablespoon of honey weighs about one ounce.

Add the sweetener to the hot liquid
Increase the fire until the brew just comes to a boil.
Pour the boiling hot syrup into a bottle and cap it. Sterilized bottles reduce the risk of producing unexpected herbal fermentations. But the boiling liquid kills many yeasts in the bottle.
Optional: Add one tablespoon of brandy, vodka, etc. to further stabilize the syrup.
Store the syrup in the refrigerator once it cools. Syrups keep for 3-6 months.

Depending on the herbs in your original infusion, you can make a cough syrup (Comfrey root and Wild Cherry bark), an iron tonic (Yellow Dock and Dandelion roots), a soothing syrup (Valerian root), or any other medicinal syrup.

Dosage: Generally, one teaspoon of syrup is a dose for a 125-150 pound person. The dose is repeated as needed, up to 8 times daily. Use a half teaspoonful for 60-75 pound children and a quarter teaspoonful for 30 pounds or smaller.



Summary of Syrup Proportions

Begin with one pint (16 ounces) of infusion
Reduce the liquid to half its original amount (8 ounces).
Add an equal amount, by weight, of sugar (8 ounces or 1/2 pound), or half the amount, by weight, of honey (4 ounces or 4 tablespoons).

Curly Dock

CURLY DOCK, YELLOW DOCK, (Rumex crispus)

Long, lance-shaped, hairless leaves with very wavy margins radiating from a common center in early spring makes this species distinct. In mid-spring, curly dock grows one- to five-foot tall spikes encircled by dense clusters of tiny, inconspicuous, green flowers, giving way to dense clusters of hard, reddish fruit. It grows in fields, on disturbed soil, along roadsides, and near the seashore.
The highly nutritious, lemony flavored young leaves are excellent raw or cooked in early spring, as are the leaves on the flower stalk and the peeled flower stalk in mid-spring. People boil the long yellow taproot and drink the bitter tea to detoxify and to help liver or skin ailments.

Edible Wild Plants in Wisconsin

Wisconsin holds a vast variety of edible wild plants. From the uplands to the bottom lands and surrounding lake areas, edible plants thrive. Everything from berries, tubers, roots, nuts and greens flourish in Wisconsin. Before eating any type of wild plant, you will want to make sure it is edible. There are a bunch of plants that look just like their edible cousins but can make you ill if not kill you. Always carry a field guide of wild edibles when venturing into the wilds of Wisconsin.
Berries
Currants

Currants

There is a wealth of various berries growing in Wisconsin that you can eat. Gooseberry is a bush that grows 2- to 4-feet tall and has prickly branches with short clusters of flowers and fruits. They are found in the bottom lands, slopes and openings in the forest. The fruits can either be eaten raw or cooked. Currants grow on a bush that is 2- to 4-feet tall and is somewhat similar to the gooseberry bush but it lacks prickles. The fruits and flowers grow in elongated clusters and can be eaten raw or cooked. Elderberry is a bush that can grow to a height of 10 feet. The plant has broad clusters of flowers that are white and the fruits are purple to black in colorization. These plants can be found growing on the edges of swamps and along roadsides. The fruits can be eaten raw or cooked. The American cranberry grows on a bush that is just 8 to 12 inches in height. It has wiry, trailing stems that hold pink flowers and red berries. Blooming between June and October, it can be found in moist meadows and bogs. The berries can be eaten raw or cooked.
Green and Potherbs


Wild Lettuce grows anywhere from one to 10 feet in height with lance like leaves and yellow flowers. It blooms between July and September and can be found in open woods and meadows. The tender young leaves can be used just like lettuce. Dandelions can reach a height of 20 inches and have fluffy leaves and yellow flowers. This plant can be found almost anywhere within the state and blooms all year long. The flowers and leaves are edible raw or cooked. Spring Beauties grow to 10 inches tall. The plant has slightly succulent leaves and pink to white flowers on it. It can be found in meadows and woodlands. The corms resemble sweet potatoes and when boiled are said to taste like chestnuts. Curly Dock is a plant that can reach a height of 5 feet and has curled green and red flowers on it. It blooms from May through September and be found in fields and along roadsides. The leaves can be boiled like greens and the seeds can be ground and used like flour.
Trees

The Hazel tree is prized for its sweet nuts. The tree can grow to 9 feet tall and has sharply toothed leaves and hairless fruits that are encased in tubular husks. The trees can be found in old fields and woodland clearings. Black Cherry trees can reach a height of 60 feet and are found on the edges of streams and fields. The flowers are malodorous and the fruits are bright red when ripe. They can be eaten raw or cooked. The American Plum tree can reach a height of 30 feet with leaves that are coarsely toothed. The fruits are dark red to purple in color and can be eaten raw or cooked. These trees can be found along the edges of streams or in fields.

Natural Beauty

Exactly when, where and our human obsession with 'beauty' started is hard to say. Fact is, it has been around for a very, very long time. Remains of ancient perfumes, potions and make up have been found in Egyptian tombs and uses of beauty products in classical Greek and Roman times are well documented. But even 'tribal societies' have a well established tradition of skin care and cosmetic uses, though they may be less apparent, when viewed from our modern perspective.

In modern society the aim and purpose of using such products seem primarily to consist of making our appearance more attractive to the opposite sex. In ancient times however, people sought to make themselves more appealing to beneficial Gods and spirits, or attempted to ward off nasty demons.

Beauty is an ephemeral quality and since its inception it has always been a moot point. Culture and fashion greatly influence what we perceive as beautiful. In ancient Greece for example an un-oiled body was thought to be offensive to Gods and humans alike and olive oil was extensively used to make the body smooth and shiny. In other societies animal grease, such as bear fat was used to achieve a similar effect, but on a spiritual level, it was also thought to transfer some of the animal's perceived powers.

perfume testing (22K)All over the world good smells were believed to attract the benevolence of helpful deities, while bad smells were always associated with the Gods of the underworld, harmful demons, or later, the devil. Thus, people soon adopted the many wonderful fragrances of herbs and flowers to serve their own purposes. Flower garlands, head wreaths and armbands were not only meant to look pretty but also send fragrant messages to the spirit world. Likewise, 'make up' and body paint was not only used to enhance physical beauty, but also to protect against the much feared evil eye and other harmful influences. The same thinking motivates indigenous tribal people, who use face and body paints to ward of natural and supernatural enemies. Originally, such paints often really had protective qualities as they were made from herbs, roots and clays with anti-bacterial or anti-fungal properties, but even in ancient times minerals were discovered and utilized for cosmetic purposes which actually caused more harm than good for those who wore them.

perfumebottles (16K)Today cosmetics, perfumes and skin care products constitute multimillion dollar industries, presenting a staggering array of choices to confuse the customer. Whether you are looking for shampoo, lotion, make up or perfume, the variety is overwhelming. Much of it is full of synthetic chemicals, mineral oils, preservatives, artificial fragrances and other junk food for the skin. Latest arrival on the high-end of this dazzling range of products are the 'natural skin care products', although on closer inspection one will actually find relatively few ingredients that resemble anything that you or I would deem natural. This is due to the fact that mass produced cosmetics need to be relatively sterile in order to extend their otherwise short-lived shelf-life - which can only be achieved by using certain preservatives or mineral oils.

The best natural cosmetics are home-made, using high quality vegetable oils and butters, such as coconut, avocado or almond oil, in combination with organic flower waters (hydrosols) and essential oils. They should always be produced in small batches to ensure freshness and purity. Making home-made cosmetics, tailored exactly to your own needs is fun and not all that difficult.

In the case of lotions and crèmes, the idea is to combine a proportion of oil with a proportion of liquid, with the help of an emulsifying agent. In the old days this emulsifying wax was derived from whales, but nowadays animals no longer have to suffer for our vanity. Jojoba oil has excellent emulsifying properties and other plant based emulsifiers can be produced in the laboratory.

egyptian (51K)Just which oils, waxes and other ingredients are chosen to create a specific crème or lotion, will determine its nutritional properties for the skin (see previous article on oils). Some oils are 'drying' while others are moisturizing. Combining these with humectants such as vegetable glycerine or aloe Vera gel produces varying consistencies and benefits for the skin. The trick, when blending crèmes is to have all ingredients at a similar temperature so as to avoid curdling, and to combine them slowly. If you have ever made mayonnaise from scratch you know what it takes to make lotion or crème. Apart from the emulsifying wax, which blends the watery and oily components together, you will also need a stabilizer, such as stearic acid, which is added in very small quantities, to give you product a stable consistency. However, use it sparingly or else your crème will become chalky instead of smooth.

For those who don't want to mess with oils and waxes there are now ready made base crèmes on the market. These generic crème bases can be enhanced by adding special ingredients such as essential oils, infused oils or Aloe Vera gel. However, they can only absorb a limited amount of additional ingredients before they become unstable, so experiment carefully. The quality of such crème bases varies widely and most contain preservatives or alcohol, which increases their shelf-life and makes them less vulnerable to turning into a breeding ground for bacteria and fungi. However, these chemicals are not all that great for the skin, so read the ingredients label carefully, and do your research. Making your own is definitely the best way to ensure highest quality. Producing only small batches means that you don't have to worry as much about shelf-life or bacteria, since your crème will probably be used up before it has had a chance to go rancid or mouldy.

Here is a basic recipe for a nice, light textured crème that is easy to make:
Base Crème

* 60 ml Rose Flower Water (hydrosol)
* 10 ml Apricot Oil
* 8 ml Jojoba Oil
* 8 ml Evening Primrose Oil
* 10g Shea Butter
* 8g Emulsifying Wax
* 2g Stearic Acid

Melt the Shea butter and oils at a low temperature in a double boiler. Pour into a bowl. Using a stick blender (alsoknown as 'magic wands') set at the highest speed, slowly add in the rosewater as you stir. The mixture will turn white and gooey. Add the emulsifying wax and stearic acid and keep beating until all is smooth and creamy. Finally, add essential oils of your choice (1-3% of total volume - but be sure to follow essential oil safety guidelines).

Often the emulsifying wax and stearic acid are of a consistency that requires you to return the mixture to the doubleboiler in order to melt them so they blend in. If you have to do this, do it before you add any essential oils. It is best to add the essential oils right at the end, when the crème base has cooled down to body temperatures, in order to avoid them 'flying off' with the heat - they are rather volatile, after all.

Which oils you'll want to use depends on your specific skin type. Some oils, particularly those that are high in unsaturated fatty acids (e.g. Evening Primrose, Hemp, Borage Seed oil) are usually only used in small quantities (10% of total amount), as nutritive additions, rather than as the main ingredient for your crème base. For a crème base stable oils, such as coconut, olive, almond or apricot oil are good. Some oils have a richer, thicker consistency than others. Experiment with different blends to find a combination that suits your skin type. You can also use infused oils, such as calendula infused oil, or St. John's Wort oil to add extra healing qualities. For the liquid portion plain distilled water will do, but hydrosols are nicer. Rosewater is slightly astringent, while Elderflower water is emollient and soothing and Orangewater is refreshing. Instead of shea butter you can also use cocoa butter for example. You can also add floral waxes, which are a by-product of essential oil production. However, they may contain traces of solvents.
Bath Salts

The cheapest and easiest method to create a home-made bath preparation is to use coarse salts, such as Epsom or Sea Salt. Crush to a grainy size (dissolves easier) and add a few drops of a gentle essential oil, such as rose, lavender or jasmine. Stir and blend well, fill in a jar and allow to macerate for a few days before use. Some people like to add food colouring to make it look more like the stuff you can buy at the store, but this is purely for looks. If you don't mind 'bits' floating in your bathtub you can add a handful of fresh fragrant rose petals or lavender flowers to the salt blend. The salt will dehydrate them and absorb their scent.
Bath Oil

Soaking in water for any length of times dehydrates the skin. Normally, the skin's natural oil secretions keep it from drying out, but frequent bathing and showering washes our natural protective layer off. You can replenish the lost oils by applying skin oils or lotions after each bath or shower, or you can use bathoils. Almond or coconut oil are good choices. Add some drops of essential oil for a beautiful scent and also add a little Turkey Red oil, which facilitates dispersion of the oil in your bath water.

If you don't like bath oils because they feel too greasy, but still want to add essential oils for the smell or for a specific therapeutic effect, you could try using plain milk (some people prefer goats milk), or cream as a dispersing carrier agent for your essential oils. A tiny blob of honey mixed in is also very nice and softening for the skin.
Hair Care

Making shampoo from scratch may be a bit ambitious, but there are certainly hair care products that can be made easily. These would better fit into the category of 'conditioner' though. A quick and easy conditioning can be made with Rosemary (dark hair) or Chamomile (blond hair). Just make an herbal infusion as if you were making a strong tea, steep until cooled off, strain and use as a rinse.

To nourish brittle and stressed hair, an oil pack is good, but be warned - this is a greasy affair. Jojoba oil or coconut oil is excellent for this treatment. Take a little oil and massage well into the hair. Cover with a plastic bag and leave in place for a while to allow the oils to really penetrate the hair. Wash out and rinse as usual. Don't overdo it with the oils though as it can be quite tricky to get all the oil out. Aloe Vera gel also makes a good conditioner. It can be diluted with a hydrosol or used neat. It has the added benefit of aiding skin conditions such as dandruff.

These are just a few suggestions. The scope for making your own natural skin and hair care products is only limited by your imagination. From simple to elaborate, anything is possible and you can be sure that whatever you make at home is much better for your skin than whatever you could buy at a store - and compared price-wise, high quality home made cosmetics, although requiring a certain minimum investment for equipment and materials, still work out much less expensive than top of the line commercially available natural cosmetics. And better still - if you make a little extra you'll always have beautiful gifts to share with your friends.

Note: Be aware that some essential oils can be highly irritating or cause allergic reactions in some individuals. Always investigate essential oils thoroughly before using them on your skin and only use them in dilution. It is best to test a dilution on a small area of the inner arm first, before applying them more generally. Furthermore, some essential oils (e.g. oils of the Citrus family) can increase the skin's sensitivity to the sun's rays, making it prone to burn more easily. Thus they should not be used on exposed skin during the summer months. Also, be especially cautious with essential oils during pregnancy.

Puffballs

Puffball (or Puff Ball) funguses are examples of "gastromycetes" (literally "stomach fungi") which completely enclose their spores. These start out as dense flattened mushrooms with no stem visible above ground. When they are ripe, the outer skin becomes papery, the interior dries out so that the whole round fungus is lighter than paper, & it lets go of its rooting so that it can blow about releasing spores from the hole that bursts open at the top and secondarily at the bottom where it was formerly attached to the ground.


The species name means "pear-shaped." The genus name translates "Wolf" (Lyco) & "burst of wind" (perdon), so that Nancy Smith Weber's mushroom field guide says it means, "Wind of the Wolf." A better translation is "Wolf Fart Pears," & some people do indeed call any fungus of the Lycoperdon genus "wolf-farts."

Shown above in an August photo are young Lycoperdon pyriforme Wolf-fart Pears underneath a Pin Oak. A larger species occasionally encountered is L. gigantea which ripen into puffballs as big as footballs. But most often seen in Pacific Northwest gardens is L. pyriforme, usually only an inch or two round at maturity.

Puffballs will spew a cloud of spores if tramped by animals or picked up & squeezed by curious & delighted children. A childrens' myth holds that if you breathe the spores of a puffball, you'll turn into one, or mushrooms will grow inside you. Kids' instincts are correct in assuming danger, as the spores are indeed potentially harmful. The spores in the lungs can cause respiratory distress & even germinate as far as the hypae stage, fortunately treatable with fungicidal medication. Also, if they are eaten once they begin to reach the spore stage, they can be very mildly poisonous. The additional child belief that getting spores in your eyes causes blindness is untrue, but it wouldn't be very comfortable either.

Horror-story mushroom myths shared between smaller children has the benefit of protecting them from accidents, but the myths teenagers come up with put them in the way of harm. The same sorts of young adults naive enough to believe baked banana skins are a good substitute for marijuana are also naive enough to believe the spores of puffballs are hallucinogenic if breathed into the lungs, a notion that has no basis in reality. An incident from Wisconsin involved kids breathing so many spores so deeply that they indeed germinated in the lungs, requiring hospitalization.

Puffballs are edible when young & when still fleshy-white within, though inedible once they've darkened & begun to go to spoor. When cut open, the gleba (interior) must not have any sign of yellow, brown, purple, or anything but fleshy whiteness. It should be regarded as toxic if it is any other color than white. The Giant Puffball can be sliced, breaded, & fried. Smaller species can be used like any other edible mushroom for any number of purposes. Unlike other mushrooms, however, they are nearly impossible to keep fresh longer than a day, as the toxic spoors will quickly develop inside them, & freezing destroys their taste. This is why they have no commercial marketability, but they are quite the delicacy when used immediately. Freeze-drying is the only way they might be kept any length of time.


They are considered among the safest choices for beginner mushroom hunters as nothing looks exactly like them that is poisonous. The major proviso is they must be used while still white within, though even when they go to spore they are only mildly toxic increasing their safety factor for beginners. At such a stage they are the closest thing one can have to French truffles without the great expense of true truffles. However, the thick-skinned varieties of puffballs called Sclerodermas are outright poisonous once they begin to change color, & have been implicated at least in the death of small pigs.

Although us amateurs would be taking very few risks in selecting white-fleshed puffballs for feast, I regard myself as a bit too amateur & not certain I would never mistake a Scleroderma for a Puffball. I would only harvest them to eat if a friend well versed in mycology was with me that day, but I've heard enough of "the horror stories" to be paranoid about gathering fungus for the table. Paranoia aside, puffballs are an extremely safe choice just so long as one uses nothing puffball-like that is thickskinned, stemmed, or any color within other than white.

Puffballs can appear in the same place year after year, usually under a tree, with oaks a favorite. There is a mycelial mass underground which is the main body of this fungus, which goes unseen; the fungus is only visible in late summer or early autumn when it produces the above-ground fruiting bodies which are the part known as puffballs or wolf-farts. The mycelial mass can reach downward several feet, & sometimes grows into a wide circle many feet around, which causes seasonal "fairy rings" to erupt in woodland areas & sometimes in lawns.

Although the puffballs can persist in a given location for several years running, as a rule the underground mass uses up the decaying matter & will need to migrate into a new area or else die out. When they form fairy rings, the ring can appear to be moving further away from a central point each year, as it uses up the decayed matter in the center of the ring then moves outward.

Puffballs are one of the least worrisome mushrooms to pop up around the bases of oaks or other trees. If one sees fan-shaped mushrooms or stringy funguses or little golden toadstools at the base of trees, one might be more concerned with the possibility of a pathogenic root fungus, but puffballs are harmless to a living host tree. Indeed, its presence often means that the array of beneficial mycorrhizae is extremely healthy for that tree, turning decaying matter into nutrients useful to trees & shrubs.

PUFFBALL RECIPES

Puffball Escargots

From the Oregon Mycological Society’ 1987 edition of Wild Mushroom Cookery

1 dozen Lycoperdon perlatum or pyriforme
cup butter, softened
2 TBSP minced shallots
2 Cloves garlic, crushed
1 TBSP bread crumbs
1 TBSP minced fresh parsley
tsp. salt
tsp. rosemary
Fresh ground pepper
Dry sherry

Slice off bottom of each mushroom and scoop out the center. Chop and blend with butter. Mix in remaining ingredients and stuff mixture into the hollowed out shells, drizzling a few drops of sherry onto the top of each. Place in a baking pan in one layer and bake at 400 or broil until browned and sizzling. Serve hot as an appetizer.

Stuffed Giant Puffball Mushrooms

Ingredients

* 1 white giant puffball
* 1 or 2 courgettes, depending on size, chopped
* 2 rashers smoked bacon, chopped
* 1 handful parsley, chopped
* 1 slice ham, chopped
* 1 small onion, chopped
* 6 tomatoes, chopped
* 1 handful basil, torn up
* 1 tsp thyme leaves
* 1 clove garlic, crushed
* 1 tbsp oatmeal

Method

1. Cut one end off the puffball and scrap the inside, carefully. Chop up the scrapings.
2. Mix all the ingredients together with the scrappings and stuff the mixture back into the puffball. Cover the puffball with the cut end and wrap it in foil. Place in a roasting tray.
3. Place the stuffed puffball mushroom in the oven at 180 degrees and bake for about 2 hours.
4. Slice and serve with vegetables.

"Stinging Nettle"

A surprising feature of herbal research is that it is seldom the rare, exotic, and beautiful plant that proves the most interesting; more often it is some common, familiar, and despised weed that it discovered to have undreamed of virtues. The common nettle is a good illustration.

Nearly everyone who has ever run barefoot as a child knows and hates this plant, but it is only a stinging acquaintance.

Nettles are common along roadsides, in waste places, and on vacant lots where barefoot children like to play, and when contacted by a bare ankle it causes a painful smarting followed by a red rash.

"All some want to know about nettles is how to get rid of them." This is the attitude that most people have toward this herb.

And yet, this detested weed is one of the finest and most nutritious foods in the whole plant kingdom. Unlike many health foods, nettle greens are really good, as well as being good for you.

In addition to their good taste, nettles are rich in vitamins A and C, amazingly high in protein, filled with chlorophyll, and probably exceedingly rich in many of the essential trace minerals.

No grazing animal will eat a live nettle, but when nettles are mowed and dried, all kinds of livestock eat them avidly and thrive on them. Horses get shinier coats and improve in health when fed dried nettles. Cows give more and richer milk when fed on nettle hay. Hens lay more eggs when powdered nettle leaves are added to their mash, and these eggs actually have a higher food value. Even the manure from nettle-fed animals is improved, and makes better fertilizer.


Nettles furnish one of the most valuable of all plant substances to use as a mulch in your garden, or to add to your compost pile. Having approximately seven percent nitrogen, figured on a dry-weight basis, this plant is richer in this essential nutrient than many commercial fertilizers.
Nettles are covered with tiny, nearly invisible stinging hairs that produce an intense, stinging pain, followed redness and skin irritation. The generic name comes from the Latin word, "uro," which means "I burn." Nevertheless, they're superb, non-stinging, cooked vegetables.

Nettles usually appear in the same places year after year. Look for them in rich soil, disturbed habitats, moist woodlands, thickets, along rivers, and along partially shaded trails.

They grow throughout most of the United States Here are a few of the most common species: Stinging nettle's (Urtica dioica) rather stout, ribbed, hollow stem grows 2-4 feet tall. The somewhat oval, long-stalked, dark green, opposite leaves are a few inches long, with a rough, papery texture, and very coarse teeth. The leaf tip is pointed, and its base is heart-shaped.


This is a dioecious plant, with male and female flowers growing on separate plants. The species name, dioica, means "two households" in Greek: By late spring, some plants have clusters of tiny, green female flowers, hanging from the leaf axils in paired strands.
You can eat the stems as well as the leaves of the very young plant.Collect nettle leaves before they flower in spring. They may be bad for the kidneys after they flower. New nettles come up in the fall, and you can pick them before they're killed by frost.

People have been using nettles for food, medicine, fiber, and dyes since the Bronze Age. Collect them using work gloves, and wear a long-sleeved shirt. If you happen upon nettles when you have no gloves, put your hand inside a bag. The young leaves are the best part of the plant. They come off most easily if you strip them counter-intuitively, from the top down.


Clean and chop nettles wearing rubber gloves. Once youíve cooked them a little, the stingers are deactivated, and the plant becomes wonderfully edible.

Nettles have a bad reputation as an unpleasant-tasting survival food in some circles. That's because people don't know how to prepare them. They often boil them, which is awful. Nettle leaves are good simmered in soups 5-10 minutes, but my favorite method is the waterless steaming method, recommended for spinach in a 1699 cookbook by John Evelyn, and described in the cooking section.
Enjoy nettles as a vegetable side-dish with rice and beans. Sometimes I make creamed nettlesómuch more satisfying than creamed spinach. Because nettles have the richest, hardiest taste of any green,you can combine them with lighter ingredients, such as celery, zucchini, lemon juice, or tomato sauce.
Dry nettles for winter use and tea.

As food, this tonic is good for rebuilding the system of chronically ill people. Nineteenth century literature is full of so-called constitutionally weak people, who usually die on the last page. In Russia, they were given freshly squeezed nettle juiceóa tonic loaded with iron and other nutrientsófor iron-deficiency anemia. This often worked.

Many of the benefits are due to the plant's very high levels of minerals, especially, calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, phosphorous, manganese, silica, iodine, silicon, sodium, and sulfur. They also provide chlorophyll and tannin, and they're a good source of vitamin C, beta-carotene, and B complex vitamins. Nettles also have high levels of easily absorbable amino acids. They're ten percent protein, more than any other vegetable.

The substances in the stingers have medicinal uses: In the late 1980s, scientists studying the differences between dried and freeze-dried herbs accidentally discovered that freeze-dried nettles cured one of the researcher's hay-fever. Subsequently, a randomized double-blind study at the National College of naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon showed that 58 percent of hay-fever sufferers given freeze-dried nettles rated it moderately to highly effective. Nettles are a traditional food for people with allergies.


Nettles sting you because the hairs are filled with formic acid, histamine, acetylcholine, serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine), plus unknown compounds. Some of these substances are destroyed by cooking, steeping, or drying, but not by freeze-drying or juicing. Unfortunately, you need a vacuum chamber to freeze-dry herbs. However, you can purchase freeze-dried nettles in capsules for hay-fever.

As an expectorant, it's recommended for asthma, mucus conditions of the lungs, and chronic coughs. Nettle tincture is also used for flu, colds, bronchitis and pneumonia.

Nettle infusion is a safe, gentle diureticóconsidered a restorative for the kidneys and bladder, and used for cystitis and nephritis. It ís also recommended for weight loss, but you may shed more pounds of water than fat.


Nettle tea compress or finely powdered dried nettles are also good for wounds, cuts, stings, and burns. The infusion was also used internally to stop excessive menstruation, bleeding from hemorrhages, bloody coughs, nose bleeds, and bloody urine. It helps blood clot, but major bleeding is dangerousóindicative of a serious underlying condition. Consult a competent practitioner in such cases. Use for minor cuts.

Other uses include treating gout, glandular diseases, poor circulation, enlarged spleen, diarrhea, and dysentery, worms, intestinal and colon disorders, and hemorrhoids. Nettles are usually used along with other herbs that target the affected organs.

German researchers are using nettle root extracts for prostate cancer, and Russian scientists are experimenting with nettle leaf tincture for hepatitis and gall bladder inflammation.

Eating nettles or drinking the tea makes your hair brighter, thicker and shinier, and makes your skin clearer and healthierógood for eczema and other skin conditions. Commercial hair- and skin care products in health food stores often list stinging nettle as an ingredient. Nettles have cleansing and antiseptic properties, so the tea is also good in facial steams and rinses.

Nettles' long, fibrous stems were important in Europe for weaving, cloth-making, cordage, and even paper. Native Americans used them for embroidery, fish nets, and other crafts. You can even extract a yellow die from the roots.


Nettle tea is given to house plants to help them grow, but the strangest use I've ever heard is for severe arthritis. You must whip the victim over most of the body until an extensive rash develops. This flagellation or "urtication" may stimulate the weak organs, muscles, nerves and lymphatic system, and increase circulation. Or it may cause so much pain, the victim forgets about the arthritis.



Old-Time Herbal Remedy

All this would seem enough to ask of one common weed, but in addition to these virtues, nettles have also long been used in home remedies and herbal medicines to treat mankind's ills. Any efficacy the nettle may have in this area is probably due to its high content of vitamins and minerals.

A lively soft drink can be made of nettles that is reputed to cure the aches and pains of the aged, but it also makes a pleasant beverage for people of all ages. Eating nettles is not at all the unpleasant experience you might expect it to be, for this plant, when gathered at the right stage and properly prepared, is a very palatable vegetable. It is said that a good French cook can make seven delicious dishes of nettle tops. You can do as well, once the general principles of nettle-cookery are known.



Nettle Greens: Gather Only Early in Season

Like asparagus, peas, and many other vegetables, nettles must be gathered at just the right stage to be good. The common nettle has perennial underground rhizomes, and from these the tender shoots spring up as soon as the weather is warm. It is only these first nettles, gathered when less than a foot high, that are good to eat.

Take only the tender tops of young, first-growth nettles, before they begin to bloom. Wear leather or plastic-coated work gloves while gathering nettles. Wash the greens by stirring them in water with a long-handled spoon, then use a pair of kitchen-tongs to put them directly into a large saucepan with a tight cover. The moisture that clings to the leaves will furnish ample cooking water. Cover and cook gently for twenty minutes; drain, but save that juice.

You can chop the greens right in the cooking pot by using a pair of kitchen shears. Season the vegetable with butter and salt to taste, and it is ready to serve. A more wholesome vegetable never came to the table. Cooking completely destroys the nettles' stinging properties, and actually converts the venom into wholesome food.

Creamed or Pureed Nettles

Mix the cooked and chopped greens, 2 cupfuls, with a small can of cream of mushroom soup (or cream of celery, or cheese soup) and 1/2 cup of light cream for a superior creamed vegetable, wonderful over toast.

For pureed nettles, rub the cooked nettles, juice and all, through a sieve; return this puree to the heat, add 2 tablespoons of butter, salt to taste, and simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in a few tablespoons of light cream, sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper, and serve immediately.

Nettle Pudding

An old English recipe is nettle pudding, which is not a dessert but a hearty main dish. To 2 cups of cooked and chopped nettle greens add 1 cup chopped leek or onion, 1 cup chopped broccoli, 1 cup raw rice, 1 cup ground beef, and 1/2 cup fine-chopped beef suet. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and a little freshly ground black pepper, mix well, then tie the mixture up in a muslin cloth that has been wrung out in cold water. Drop into boiling water and boil for 1 hour, or hang over boiling water and steam for 3 hours. When you remove the pudding cloth, you will have a round cannonball of a pudding that is delicious when served with a good gravy or melted butter.

Nettle Soup, Juice & Beer

Let's return to that juice we drained from the cooked nettles. Just seasoned with a little salt and pepper and a little vinegar, it makes a tasty soup that is supposed to be very efficacious in removing unwanted pounds. Mixed with a little honey it is said to relieve asthma, allay a cough, and help cure bronchitis. Taken as hot as you can take it, after exposure, this juice has a reputation of helping to prevent colds.

This same juice, cooled, is said to be a fine hair tonic. Applied twice a day it is reputed to prevent falling hair, eliminate dandruff, promote a healthy scalp, and help keep the hair neatly combed.

In some parts of England the country people still make a pleasant summer drink called nettle beer. To 4 quarts of freshly picked nettle tops add 2 gallons of water, 2 lemons cut in thin slices, rind and all, and 2 ounces of crushed, dried gingerroot. Boil gently for forty minutes, then strain and stir in 2 cups of brown sugar. When cooled to barely lukewarm, dissolve a cake of yeast in a cup of the liquid and then stir it into the brew. Bottle immediately and cap tightly, and in a few days it is ready to drink. It should be refrigerated until ice-cold before opening, for this is a lively drink and will foam wildly if opened while warm. Since it has no detectable alcoholic content it can be given to the whole family.

Our ancestors were hunters, gatherers, fishers, and farmers. There were no pilots, cable installers, computer programmers, or telemarketers. Food was either gathered, raised, or killed fresh and served in relative purity straight from Mother Nature’s pantry.

Today, most consumers live in close proximity to a large grocery store, where hunting through the butcher’s cold case or deli and foraging in the produce section is about as close to the food source as they will ever get. It has been observed with sagacity that if all meat eaters had to slaughter their own meat, there would be mass conversion to vegetarianism. Needless to say, that may never happen, but it does show how far most of us are from the real process of food foraging and/or production.

As I wander through the orderly vegetable and fruit displays in our area’s new mega market, I hear thunderclaps and the sound of soft rain as overhead misters automatically spray the vegetables. In the egg and dairy section, I am serenaded by mooing cows and clucking hens. By the meat and fish counter I hear the sounds of the ocean and the piercing cries of seagulls. In the pet section, I am reminded to buy the kitty her cat food with the plaintive meows of hungry kitties and barking dogs. These nature recordings are more than mere entertainment or novelties. I know store managers are subtly trying to manipulate my natural foraging instincts by attempting to make me feel like a self-sufficient primitive hunter/gatherer, or at least like I’m back on the farm, filling my basket with the earth’s fresh bounty. The recordings seem to delight most shoppers and their children, but they do nothing but annoy me. I resent any form of sales manipulation, especially on the subliminal level.
As a child, I loved to walk along ditch banks in the spring and summer to find tender greens, fruit, and whatever else was free and edible.Given the opportunity, I prefer to forage for wild foods,and also grow my own food for winter eats.
Take a hike, cutting across foothills and forest . . . preferably with someone, and determine if there are any wild edibles that haven’t been sprayed. Forget mushrooms unless you have been taught by someone knowledgeable in the field.

Puffballs are usually good, if picked fresh, and can be sliced and sauteed in Tamari (soy) sauce and margarine — a real delicacy!
Be a responsible forager, asking for permission when necessary. Be kind to the trees and plants you harvest, leaving enough behind for them to regenerate or reseed. Always leave some for the wild birds and animals that depend on them for survival. Never gather so much in one area that it looks stripped or bare . . . move along and take a little here and a little there as the animals do.
The most overlooked area to forage is our own gardens, yards, and property. If you have a dripping faucet, brook, or spring, plant mint, watercress, or other water-loving plants that can take care of themselves. In our own yard, we have many plants that require little but water. These include catnip, two types of oregano, peppermint, rosemary, volunteer mammoth sunflowers, garlic, and Echinacea Augustifolia. Our garden offers foragable edibles like Lamb’s Quarters and squash blossoms, which we dip in blue cornmeal batter and fry. My most wonderful garden “weed,” however, is Purslane.

It can be enjoyed for its tangy taste in raw salads, or fried lightly with other vegetables. Native Peoples have always valued this super-nutritional plant. Traditional herb lore prescribes this lowly plant as a treatment for the “sugar” disease.
Finally, one might consider becoming a modern-day Johnny Appleseed. If you are aware of ditches, brooks, or other damp areas, try planting Mammoth Sunflowers, watercress, tomatoes, or other (legal) herbs, trees, or seeds and care for them periodically during their initial growing stages. A few squash or pumpkin seeds can yield enormous amounts of food. Just don’t be too disappointed if fellow foragers discover and harvest your plants. True earth farmers and caretakers know that if we could give as freely as Mother Earth, no one would ever go to bed hungry.
Our surroundings are overgrown with edible herbs, greens, berries, roots, nuts, seeds and mushrooms, which survive the herbivores who dine on them by prolifically reproducing-so much so that people incorrectly identify them as "weeds." Although certain wild plants are poisonous, there are plenty of edibles that are easy to recognize, tastier than anything you buy, super nutritious and just plain fun to gather and cook with.

Fireweed

Fireweed grows abundantly here in Maine in blueberry barons,along roadsides and in old burn areas.
Epilobium angustifolium is synonymous with Chamaenerion angustifolium & frequently mispelled augustifolium. It is circumpolar in distribution beginning in the subarctic regions. Due to its extensive range it has a plethora of common names, but the foremost name is Fireweed.


Because it has willow-like leaves its second most common name is Willow Herb with sundry variants: Rosebay Willowherb, Bay Willow, Flowering Willow, French Willow, Persian Willow, Willow Weed, Giant Showy Willowherb, Great Willowherb (as distinct from the small alpine willowherb), Spiked Willhowherb, or Tame Withy (after willow withe). It is frequently called Blooming Sally, especially in Ireland, alluding to both the flowers, Sally being a corruption of the Latin Salix (Willow).

Both E. angustifolium & E. palustre are sometimes known as Wickup, Wickop, or Wicopy. It shares this name with Dirca palustris also known as Wicopy, Leatherwood, Moosewood, or Rope-bush. Both plants share in common that they were used to make twine or ropes or were woven with reeds or rushes to form tough mats. The name Wickup has the same proto-Algonquin origin as Wickiup or Wigwam, a hut covered with mats woven from just such plants.

It has been called Wild Asparagus because edible, & for its blossoms, Purple Rockets, Mare's Tail, & in Great Britain, Bloomi. It has also been called pileworts because of its medicinal use, though lesser celandine has a greater claim to that name. A recurring name that puzzles me is Blood Vine, because it never grows like a vine, though it does produce a great deal of sap (blood) that was used as syrup by Inuit people.

In Italy E. angustifolium is known as the Herb of Saint Anthony (Erba di Sant Antonio), while in Spain E. hirsutum has the same name (Yerba de San Antonio) & E. spicatum along with other species of Epilobium are called St. Anthony's Laurel (Laurel de San Antonio).

The association with the saint arose from a belief that Fireweed was the herb to treat Saint Anthony's Fire, a horrific disease of the Middle Ages caused by fungal poisoning from ergot-contaminated rye. It caused berserk rages, hallucinations, & a feeling of being burned at the stake, before fingers & other extremities began to black & drop off. It was believed that St. Anthony was able to cure this affliction, & Fireweed was one of the plants that peasant lore lit upon as Anthony's curative herb.


Fireweed is such a common wildflower throughout our county that there's even a Fireweed Road. It's beautiful in full flower almost as soon as the wild foxgloves have finished flowering in the same vicinities, & continues flowering throughout summer.

Flowers are followed by fluffy seeds dispersed upon the wind. Native peoples also mixed the fluff with dog hair or other animal hair to manufacture blankets, or just used the fluff to get fires started. In Europe fireweed fluff used to be mixed into cotton for the manufacture of stockings.

Fireweed is common along roadsides, meadows & clearings, edges of conifer & deciduous forests, sea level to sub-alpine levels, in wet or dry locations, & its one of the first wildflowers to appear in clear-cuts & burned areas. Indeed its common name Fireweed arose because it so quickly colonized areas that had experienced forest fire, both from the facility with which the seeds reach new areas, & because its thick rhizomous root system can survive forest fires. When Mount Saint Helen's exploded, a year later the Fireweeds were first to recover, turning the blasted hillsides purple.


This tough perennial ranges in height from four feet to eight feet, its yellow stems sporting purple flowers in tapered racemes. They are especially liked by bees & Fireweed Honey is available from our county on a pretty regular basis. It is a host plant for the North American yellow-banded sphynx moth (Proserpinus flavofasciata).

It is very widespread here & is the floral symbol of the Yukon. It also grows in northern Europe, where it became famous for springing up where soil had been cleared & disrupted by aerial bomb attacks during World War II. It even sprang up flowering amidst the rubble of the bombed inner city of London.

Some tribal peoples used fireweed medicinally to topically treat infected wounds. Modern herbalists regard it as an antispasmodic medication taken internally. In Europe it is still used to treat diarrhea & other bowel syndromes, & it is an ingredient of many commercially prepared alternative remedies for everything from cosmetic skin care to asthma to baldness to kidney disease.
FIREWEED & RED CLOVER


Many of its alleged values are false or exaggerated, but a good deal of authentic medical research has been done with Epilobium species of America & Europe, & it is in fact one of the more promising herbs. It has been shown to inhibit cell proliferation of the prostate [Vitalone et al, Pharmacology October 2003]. It is an effective antimicrobial [Battinelli et al, Farmacology May-July 2001], & it has several other potential values, possessing chemical components that are a proven anti-inflammatory.


Early season shoots are a delicacy harvested late spring or early in the summer. Shoots & young stems are peeled & can be eaten raw or steamed as a substitute for asparagus. Yupik eskimos preserved the stems in seal oil in order to have them year-round, & their name for Fireweed, Pahmeyuktuk, referred to its edibility. The peelings of the stems were not wasted as they were dried & used to weave strong twine for fishing nets.

Very young leaves are also edible in salads or in soups or steeped for use as a tonic tea for upset stomach. Mature leaves become tough & bitter, but by then the unopened flower buds are tasty for salads or in stir-fries. A syrup was traditionally extracted from the stems & flowers, having a high mucilage content that made it useful among native peoples in preparing berry-cakes that dry solidly. Today the flowers are harvested to make Fireweed Jelly, available from small cottage-industry canning companies including Native American companies.

Pioneer Alaskans used the sweet pith in the manufacture of ales & vinegars. As an intoxicating beverage it was rendered potently hallucinatory with the addition of Fly Agaric, Agaricus muscarius.

Black Cohosh

The fruit of the trees shall be for meat,and the leaf there of for medicine.
Ezekiel 47:12


The old Indian teaching was that is is wrong to tear loose from its place on the earth anything that may be growing there.
It may be cut off, but it should not be uprooted.
The trees and the grass have spirits.
Whenever one of such growth may be destroyed by some good Indian, his act is done in sadness and with a prayer for forgiveness because of his necessities...


"Herb of the Month"

"Black Cohosh";scientific name:Cimicifuga racemosa;Plant Family:Ranunculaceae

A Dr.Young first introduced Black Cohosh to the Medical world in 1831,but the Native Americans had been using it for hundreds of years prior to that.

A member of the Ranunculaceae family, Black Cohosh spans up to three feet and can reach a height of eight feet when it flowers, in late spring to early summer. Its leaves have toothed margins and are divided into three lobed leaflets. Its foliage is lush, and its attractive flowers are cream-colored and fragrant.
Roots and rhizomes are thick, knotty and very dark. Black Cohosh is native to the eastern woodlands of North America and ranges from southern Canada south to Georgia, across to Arkansas and up to Wisconsin.
It's more abundant in its southern range. Black Cohosh is one of 15 species of Cimicifuga found worldwide.

By 1912,Black Cohosh was one of the most frequently prescribed herbs by American physicians.As synthetic medicines were developed during the 20'th century,Doctors turned away from the use of Black Cohosh,as they did with most other medicinal herbs as well.But now,it's time to turn back to this wonderful herb.
Other more common names for this herb are: RattleRoot,SquawRoot,SnakeRoot,and Black SnakeRoot.As the common names suggest,this herb was often used by the Native Americans as a remedy for snakebite,as well as for women's female problems.


How does it work,why does it work?Black Cohosh contains estrogenic sterols and glycosides,and a host of micronutrients.Black Cohosh has a most powerful effect as a relaxant and normalizer of the female reproductive system.
It may be used beneficially in cases of painful or delayed menstruation,ovarian cramps,or cramping pain in the womb.It has a normalizing effect on the balance of the female sex organs and may be used safely to regain normal hormonal activity.It has been used quite effectly for women going through Menopause.It is a safe and comfortable alternative for women who don't feel safe with hormonal therapy.
It also seems to help balance a woman's moods when going through Menstration or Menopause.In addition,it may be used safely in cases of Premature or False Labor.

It is very active in the treatment of rheumatic pain,arthritis,muscular,and neurological pain.It finds use in Sciatica and Neuralgia.
As a relaxing Nervine it may be used in many situations where such an agent is needed.It is useful in labor to aide uterine activity whilst at the same time,calming nervousness.
Black Cohosh will reduce spasms and aides in the treatment of pulmonary complaints,such as Whooping Cough.It has also been found to be beneficial in cases of Tinnitus.
People with hormone-sensitive conditions, such as cancer of the breast, prostate, ovaries or uterus, endometriosis or uterine fibroids, should avoid black cohosh until more is known about how it works and whether it has a hormonal effect.

Side effects of black cohosh may include:

* Indigestion
* Headache
* Nausea
* Perspiration
* Vomiting
* Heaviness in the legs
* Weight gain
* Low blood pressure

Excessive doses of black cohosh may cause seizures, visual disturbances and slow or irregular heartbeat. There have been a number of cases of liver damage suspected to be associated with black cohosh use. In most of the cases, there were other medical problems present and other medications used that may have contributed to the liver damage. Also, the quality and purity of the black cohosh products used isn't known. Some black cohosh products, for instance, have been found to contain a Chinese cimicifuga (Cimicifuga foetida) instead of black cohosh.


Still, in August 2006, Health Canada advised consumers of the possible link between black cohosh and liver damage. In June 2007, the United States Pharmacopeia proposed that black cohosh product labels contain a cautionary statement. The American Botanical Council has countered that there is insufficient evidence to warrant the proposed caution.

Black cohosh should not be confused with the herb blue cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides), white cohosh, bugbane, Cimicifuga foetida, sheng ma or white baneberry. These species have different effects, and blue cohosh and white cohosh, in particular, can be toxic. There is a case report of neurological complications in a post-term baby after labor induction with a herbal blend of black cohosh and blue cohosh.

People with allergies to plants in the buttercup (Ranunculaceae) family should avoid black cohosh.


Black cohosh contains small amounts of salicylic acid, so people with allergies to aspirin or salicylates should avoid black cohosh.

People with a history of blood clots or stroke, seizures, liver disease and those who are taking medications for high blood pressure should not use black cohosh.
Possible Drug Interactions

Because it may act like the hormone estrogen in the body, black cohosh could interfere with hormone replacement therapy or oral contraceptives.

Black cohosh may interfere with the effectiveness of the chemotherapy drug cisplatin.

Theoretically, black cohosh may interfere with the effectiveness of hormone replacement therapy or oral contraceptives.

Blackberry

Strawberries, raspberries, red currents - most of the berries are already gone. But one remains, serving to remind us of sweet summer days and accompanying us to winter's threshold: the lowly Bramble - also known as Blackberry. How we curse it in spring and summer when we find passage across a field blocked by its thorny arms, when its barbs tear our clothes, tangle our hair, or scratch our skin! When bramble blocks the way it means business. Although it is not impossible to overcome, most will choose an easier route than to engage in direct combat.


Yet, who can resist its sweet berries when bramble bestows a seemingly endless harvest, so much so that looking at the remaining rows of jam jars I always wonder whether I will be able to finish it all before the time comes to make more…

Bramble is an undemanding plant, springing up just about anywhere it gets a chance. In fact, it is often regarded a weed. But, like many other so-called weeds, its humble appearance disguises a lavish gift.

Blackberries are rich in vitamins, especially C and A, and minerals. They also contain flavonoids and tannins, which means that they are not only delicious field fare or jam material, but can also be used medicinally.


The tannins act astringent, thus medicinally blackberries (as well as the blackberry leaves, when picked in spring) can be used to tighten the gums, and to inhibit bleeding. Small children benefit from their action on a 'rumble-tum', arresting diarrhea, settling an upset, nervous stomach and even soothing a stomach-flu.


The leaves can be brewed into a tea. Sometimes they are mixed with raspberry and strawberry leaves to make a refreshing general purpose household tea. Medicinal they act diuretic and diaphoretic and thus are used to cleanse the blood and lower a fever. A less known, very valuable property of the leaves is their ability to lower blood sugar levels, which should be interesting for diabetics, who ought to consider using blackberry leaves as an alternative to regular tea or coffee. The leaves are also astringent and can be used as a gargle to soothe a sore throat. The berries or juice are beneficial for treating hoarseness. Singers and public speakers should make ample use of this freely available and effective remedy.

On a more spiritual note, the lowly bramble flower has an honored place among non-traditional flower essences It serves as a remedy for confusion. Bramble essence is said to help one realize the 'essential truth' or underlying pattern of a situation and is thus said to help find solutions to a problem. It is claimed to bring about mental clarity and aid concentration and memory.



Of course there are gazillions of blackberry recipes - cordials, jam, jellies, ice cream, mousse, pies, chutneys and tons more. I prefer them fresh off the vine with a little cream, but here are some all-time favorites:
Apple and Blackberry Crumble:
Filling

* 3 Large cooking apples
* ½ kg Blackberries
* 5oz Sugar or Honey
* Cinnamon
* Lemon
* ½ oz Butter

Crust

* 2 oz Butter
* 2oz Rolled oats
* 2oz Flour
* 1oz Walnuts (crumbled)
* 1oz Sugar or Honey

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F

Peel and cut the apples into small chunks. Melt the butter and sauté the pieces, stirring frequently. Add the sugar, lemon and cinnamon and walnuts and continue to stir until the apples are getting soft.

Prepare the crumble topping by rubbing the softened butter, sugar, flour and oats into a crumbly mixture.

Add the blackberries to the softened apple filling and stir gently. Transfer the filling into a shallow ovenproof casserole and sprinkle the crumble topping on top. Bake for about 20 minutes or until light golden brown.

Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Blackberry Jam

* 2 cups blackberries
* 4 cups rhubarb
* 4 cups sugar
* Pinch salt

Carefully clean the berries and peel and cut the rhubarb into one inch pieces. Place the fruit into a heavy pan with 2 cups of sugar and boil for three 3 minutes. Add the rest of the sugar and a pinch salt and boil for four more minutes. Pour into sterilized jars and sea. Makes three pints.
Blackberry Cornbread

* 2 cups white corn meal
* ¼ tsp. soda
* ¼ tsp. salt
* 1 cup buttermilk
* 1 egg
* 1 cup sorghum molasses
* 1 ½ cup blackberries (the wild is better than tame)

# Into mixing bowl, add corn meal, soda, salt, buttermilk, egg; stir well. Add molasses, stir well. Add blackberries, stir into mixture without mashing them. Pour into a well greased iron skillet and bake slow at 350 degrees until pone begins to brown. Reduce heat to 200 degrees until cooked.
From Alicia's recipes
Blackberry Sauce

* 1 lb Blackberries
* 3 tb Sugar
* 1 tb Lemon juice

Serve this with duck.

Combine berries, sugar and lemon juice in a pot. Cover and cook until bubbling, about 10 minutes.
Remove from the heat, place in a food processor and blend.

Pass through a strainer to remove the seeds. Chill before serving. Can be frozen for up to 1 year.
Makes 1 Cup

Henbane

Among other herbs which are poisonous and harmful, Henbane is not the least, so that the common man, not without fear should spit at that herb when he hears its name spoken, not to mention when he sees it growing in great quantity where his children are running at play."


Fear and loathing are the usual responses to this not altogether innocent herb of the nightshade family. All too often is it described as a noxious, evil-looking and poisonous weed that is best avoided. Herbalists of all periods have painted our mental image of this herb in non too flattering terms: A filthy looking plant, covered with sticky hairs, its gray-green, sharply toothed leaves are limp and liverish in appearance. The flowers are bell-shaped, dirty yellow or sickly pale purple and marked with deep purple veins. The whole plant, according to some authors, looks and smells like death. As if that wasn't enough, further evidence of its devilish nature is revealed by the places where it chooses to grow: the rubbish heaps of civilization, ditches and dumpsters, waste-grounds, among the ruins of old castles and monasteries, and most especially, it loves to grow in graveyards.


There are about a dozen distinct species of Hyoscyamos, though it appears that historically only four of them played an important role: H. niger, H. alba, H. aurea and H. muticus. Although it is impossible to determine exactly where Henbane first originated, it is generally thought that it came from the Mediterranean regions of Asia Minor and northern Africa, from where it spread east to Pakistan, India and China. Its migration to the northern latitudes of Europe seems to have occurred at a slightly later date. Some sources claim that the Gypsies were largely responsible for bringing it to Scandinavia and the British Isles. As for its arrival on the American shores, it is generally believed that it came with the Spaniards. Native healers and shamans soon adopted the plant and began to use it much like their European counterparts.

Powerful plants are always treated with suspicion for it is entirely in the hands of the practitioner, whether they will heal or harm. The voices of prudence, campaigning for the eradication of toxic plants, often argue that innocent people and children, who know nothing of their poisonous properties, may inadvertently fall victim to such plants. However, such an attitude is borne out of ignorance. Education, not prohibition or elimination is the best safeguard against accidental poisoning. As Paracelsus rightly said - all things are poison, the dosage alone determines whether a substance kills or cures. Henbane is no exception to this rule.


From time immemorial to the present day, Henbane has played a significant role as an important medicinal and magical plant. Like its cousins, the Deadly Nightshade (Atropa belladonna) and the Thornapple (Datura stramonium), it contains a potent mixture of tropane alkaloids (Atropine, Scopolamine and Hyoscyamine,) which block the normal neurotransmission of the parasympathetic (involuntary) nervous system and thus, even small quantities can produce rather drastic effects.


When ingested in toxic quantities, the symptoms are: increased rate of heartbeat, dry mouth, dilated pupils, impaired vision, general sense of weakness and debility, headache, dizziness, difficulties in swallowing, stomach cramps, body aches and pains, increased temperature with hot flashes and reddened skin, agitated excitement, sometimes aggressive rage, convulsions, confusion, hallucinations, followed by deep sleep, delirium, or in severe cases, death. The most significant psychotropic effects of Henbane are: A sense of body dissolution or distortion, the sensation of flying and erotic hallucinations. Also remarkable is the total oblivion that follows the period of intoxication. Frequently, the next day the person remembers nothing of what happened.

It is obvious how these properties could easily be abused and why this plant acquired such a sinister reputation. Nevertheless, compared to Deadly Nightshade and Datura, Henbane is perhaps the least toxic, thanks to the fact that it contains relatively little Atropine, the most dangerous of these alkaloids. Indeed, few cases of either accidental or intentional poisoning with Henbane have ever been fatal. The synergy of alkaloids in Henbane is fortunate in that they work quite complementary. Scopolamine acts as a narcotic, somniferant, and anodyne, while Hyoscyamine has a relaxant effect on involuntary muscles and checks mucous secretion. The roots are considered the most potent part of the plant. Egyptian Henbane (H. muticus) is stronger than common Black Henbane (H. niger) and it is from this species that most commercial Scopolamine is derived.

The colorful, though often tragic history of the medicinal and magical uses of Henbane can be traced a long way back. The oldest surviving record, dating to 4000 BC, stems from an inscription on a Sumerian clay tablet. It is also mentioned in the famous Ebers Papyrus (Egypt, 1500 BC), along with other important medicinal herbs. The Egyptians knew it as 'Sakran' - 'The Drunken', no doubt referring to the plant's intoxicating properties, but perhaps also as an allusion to the ancient practice of fortifying alcoholic beverages with its seeds. This practice was very common. Dioscorides mentions a similar potion, a honey-mead prepared with Opium and Henbane seeds. Henbane-spiked mead was particularly popular among the Celts and Germans - accounts of their notorious drinking orgies bear witness to this fact. Henbane seed has also long been used as an additive for brewing beer. In fact, the name of the Czechoslovakian town of Pizen (German: 'Pilsen') is said to be derived from the word 'Bilsen' the German name for Henbane. Apparently the beer brewed there, known as 'Pilsener', was famous for its 'Bilsen'-induced effects. Eventually however, the authorities put an end to this practice by implementing the first 'anti-drug law' in 1516, known as the 'Deutsches Reinheitsgesetz' ('beer purity law). Modern day Pilsener beer no longer contains any trace of Henbane.

The ancient Greeks knew Henbane as 'Apollinaris' and considered it sacred to Apollo. Many scholars now believe that Henbane played an instrumental part at Apollo's oracle in Delphi. The descriptions of the ecstatic state in which the oracle-priestess Pythia proclaimed her prophecies and reports of 'heavy fumes' during the ritual, leads them to suspect that Henbane seeds were used as incense. Henbane is well known for inducing states of ecstasy, a condition that used to be regarded not so much as a temporary state of derangement, but rather as a state of mind that touched upon the divine. Some writers muse that the scientific name 'Hyoscyamos', which translates as 'Hogbean' might perhaps be a corruption of 'Dioscyamos' which would translate as 'Divine Bean', a reasoning that, considering its status as a sacred plant, makes somewhat more sense. Furthermore, the rationalizations given for 'Hogbean' are rather contradictory. Some writers claiming that refers to the fact that pigs are supposedly immune to the plant, while others directly dispute this claim, stating that it causes them cramps. Still others believe that it refers to the story of Circe, who might have used Henbane to turn Odysseus men into pigs. However, Ovid does not mention Henbane directly, but only refers to 'a brew made from magical herbs'. It is interesting to note that the Celts, too considered the plant sacred to their God of prophecy. According to Dioscorides they called it 'Belenuntia', herb of Bel, which still echoes in 'Beleño', the Spanish name for Henbane.


For medicinal purposes Dioscorides recommends Henbane 'to allay pain and procure sleep'. Other common applications included an oil made from the leaves for treating obstinate rheumatic pains, gout, neuralgia and sciatica. Ulcerous wounds and swelling were dressed with a poultice made from its leaves. It was rarely taken internally, though, except for cases of severe stomach or urinary cramps, when a very dilute extract could be administered. Smoking the leaves mixed with Horehound (Marrubium vulgare) and Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) was a popular remedy for asthma and nervous or spasmodic cough. Taken in small quantities this would not produce a significant psychotropic effect, but relax the respiratory muscles while simultaneously reducing the secretion of the mucus membranes.

It seems that one of Henbane's most common uses was as a treatment for toothache. It was once commonly believed that toothaches and other maladies were caused by worms. It was thought that the tiny eggs of such worms were inhaled and subsequently lodged themselves in the mouth, where they later hatched and caused toothache. * While some sources simply recommend an extract of Henbane to be applied to a painful tooth (a rather risky treatment), others recite a more fanciful procedure. Gerard describes it in contemptuous terms:

'Drawers of teeth, who run about the country and pretend they cause worms to come forth from the teeth by burning the seed (of henbane) in a chafing dish of coals, the party holding his mouth over the fume thereof, do have some crafty companions who convey small lute strings into the water, persuading the patient that these little creepers came out of his mouth, or other parts which it was intended to ease.'

Given the powerful psychotropic effects this kind of treatment would doubtlessly induce, it is easy to imagine that the patient would readily believe such a hoax. Henbane root was also given to children as an amulet for easy teething and to prevent fits.


During the Middle Ages, Henbane became best known as a 'Witches Herb'. It is said to have been one of the ingredients of the infamous flying ointment. Reports of their alleged activities were generally obtained by torture at the hands of the inquisition and should thus be treated with a measure of suspicion. However, the descriptions of this potion's powerful effects are indeed very characteristic of Henbane's psychotropic action. A reoccurring theme describes how the Witches used this ointment to transform into various animals and fly away on their broomsticks to attend orgiastic rites. Apparently the broomstick served as the means by which the ointment was applied to the sensitive mucous membranes and thus became the vehicle for an erotic flight of the imagination. Henbane also induces a sense of body dissolution, 'as if the soul separates from the body and flies through the skies' which would account for the witches' subjective shape shifting experience and flight to their fabled Sabbath.

But witches were not the only ones to take pleasure in the aphrodisiac properties of this plant. Apparently, incense prepared from the seeds was commonly burned in mediaeval bath-houses. The ambience there could not have fallen far short of what one might expect from the imaginary orgiastic rites of the witches. Needless to say, the aphrodisiac properties of Henbane were also extensively used in numerous charms and love-potions.

Ironically, records found in Lucerne, Switzerland, dating to the 16th century indicate that witches condemned to death were given a 'draught of compassion' - a witches brew consisting mainly of Henbane that was supposed to induce a state of oblivion and insensitivity to pain.

Perhaps some of our modern uses are not so wildly different to those of the past. Although admittedly, its aphrodisiac and visionary aspects don't figure very prominently anymore, the psychoactive properties are still employed in the treatment of some cases of mental disturbance, especially those characterized by agitation and nervousness. Interestingly, during the 60's it seems to have been 'fashionable' to drug women in labor with Scopolamine, presumably 'soothe their agitation' and render them 'oblivious and insensitive to pain'.

Other modern uses include liniments for rheumatic aches and pains and as spasmolytic medicines for gastro-intestinal cramps, griping, and paralysis of the bladder. Asthma cigarettes containing Henbane leaves have, until recently, also remained quite popular. A homeopathic remedy based on Henbane is still available at health food stores and herb shops.

Henbane has many beneficial uses, but its power must not be underestimated. This plant demands respect. In the hands of a knowledgeable and cautious healer it can be a blessing, but in the hands of irresponsible fools it can wreak havoc and even cause death.


The information given here is purely intended as an account of the ethnobotanical history of this interesting plant. It should not serve as medical advice and self-experimentation is not recommended.