So I recently wrote a post about wild foods now that spring is here. But with the arrival of the warmer weather it's not only a time to go out and find food, but medicine as well. Mother Natures medicine cabinet is often times a better option than most store bought remedies. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those people who thinks that herbal or natural remedies are preferable to modern medical science when treating a serious illness, but there are some natural remedies that are just as effective in regards to things like pain relief. Not to mention easier on your liver and kidneys.
So in this post I'm going to provide a guide to easy to identify medicines that grow in our hedgerows. I hope you guys enjoy.
WILLOW TREE:
(image credit: articulo.mercadolibre.com.mx)
I start with this easy to identify tree as it's common knowledge that it contains acetylsalicylic acid. Aspirin in short. It's easy to identify and in regards to using it you can take a number of approaches. In a pinch you can chew green springs, or if you have time use the bark on young branches to brew a foul tasting tea. I have known it to be ground down and combined with things like plantain to make a topical poultice to relieve inflammation and treat a wound as well.
You want to avoid using it if you are on aspirin therapy, taking medications to treat heart disease, are on blood thinning medication, or have gastrointestinal issues. Oh, and to much of it has a laxative effect so moderation in dosing is crucial.
GUELDER ROSE/ CRAMP BARK
(image credit: birdsandtrees.net)
This plant is just now coming into bloom and has amazing medical properties not unlike willow. The same cautions apply that apply to willow as far as medication interactions, but I have used both and found this small shrub to be far more effective. The bark does make a horrible tea, but if you have a cracking migraine when out camping you can't beat it for a fast remedy. It gained its nick name "cramp bark" as it was used for centuries to relieve menstrual pain. It was also used by midwives to ease pain in child birth.
As it comes into fruit it produces beautiful clusters of extremely sour berry's that taste awful. However, they make an amazing jam and one cup of these horrible tasting fellows packs more vitamin C than a dozen oranges. It's a one stop shop if you're looking for cold and flu relief. It's three pointed leaves and cluster of red current like berries are keys to identifying it. Practice identification before you consume though.
TANSY:
(image credit: peridonk.com)
I include this herb not so much for consumption, but rather for its convenient effects on pesty insects. Tansy has a odor that packs a bunch when you boil it in water and bugs can't stand it. Even by it's self it's one of natures natural mosquito and fly repellents. Now it was used as a anthelmintic and consumed in a weak tea to treat intestinal worms, but it is toxic in large doses as it contains thujone. However using the leaves in a poultice sparingly does sterilize a wound and for that is worth knowing about. Think of it as mother natures iodine.
It's worth noting that it does have a look alike called ragwort. The leaves are darker on this poisonous plant and it's known to kill live stock so stay away from it. I've included a picture below. Remember, always practice identifying a plant before you use it. Practice a lot.
TOXIC RAGWORT:
(image credit: naturespot.com)
PLANTAIN:
(image credit: khkeeler.blogspot.com)
I know we see the name and think of the banana but it's not. This amazing plant kinda does it all. It helps relieve symptoms of diarrhea, has antiseptic qualities, and is edible and tasty in the right salad. Whether you're using it in a poultice, steaming it to eat, chomping on it raw, it's all around going to benefit you. The whole plant is edible as is its cousin the broad leafed plantain. I'll include a picture below.
BROAD LEAF PLANTAIN:
(image credit: preppingtosurvive.com)
SPHAGNUM MOSS:
(image credit: wildlifetrust.com)
This isn't something you eat, but rather apply. Sphagnum moss was used during WW1 when the allies ran short on gauze. It's incredibly absorbent. However, you will want to sterilize it and dry it if time permits as you never know what's crawling around in it. The moss itself has antiseptic properties though and can be used to dress a wound, or if you're really desperate on the trail and forgot toilet paper..... let's just say it's easier to use this moss than accidentally grab a hand full of poison oak leaves.
Well guys, thanks for reading. I hope you found the information useful. I look forward to checking out your amazing content in the future. Many blessings and Steem on.
Hi @mudcat36. Your post is very ineresting and a lot helper for those who needs alternative medicines. I dont know much of the herbs or plants you used in making such medicine but what i found interesting is the information that you provid, especially on the benefits of these plants.
Here in our country, Philippines, we have this "malunggay" or so called Moringa Oliefera. It is also a plant that has lots of benefits. It can be a covèr for a sudden little wound, a herbal drink too. Other scientists too produces a herbal capsule that contains malunggay.
Overall, doing such things is quite helpful for us by just staying home, and also useful in our daily lives. I guess that's why we had this phrase "survival of the fittest", which we need to do something that help us live more of our lives.
Keep posting such useful and helpful post @mudcat36. Godbless and long live.
Excellent post and information, mudcat36. I especially loved your very honest description of teas. Have to know these things! Tansy is a new one for me and sounds like keeper around the house. And cramp bark is also new to me - is this primarily 'wild plant'? I love that it has so much vitamin C. Thanks for sharing your wisdom and knowledge - really appreciate it.
I never knew willow trees were good for headaches, how cool! I love how the earth provides everything we need :) very interesting post. I'm pretty sure I have the broad leafed plantain around here too, it looks very familiar. Never knew they were edible though.
The inside of the bark is where the substance from which aspirin is made.
1001 bits of useful info gathered listening to adults (from before they allowed me to be one 😂).
Also had no clue about the willow tree, but just looking at it, it looks impressive and powerful. :)
yes! so cool right??! THIS is the kind of teaching we should be doing in schools! Nice choice for the comment challenge this week @daniesaori !
Hey @mudcat, love to see what other handy herbs and plants you come up with. This was great! I can tell you put some effort into this. The one I was surprised by was actually the Tansy. I didn't know that could help get rid of intestinal worms....gross, but cool! I'd be curious to know which kinds.
As far as the nature's "toilet paper," I specifically recall a camping trip my parents took us on. My mom forgot to pack toilet paper, so she went around and foraged for soft "toilet paper" leaves, is what she called them. They looked like this:
As a kid, it was humiliating, but I'll never forget how soft those leaves were..... :0)
Hey @mudcat36
I didn’t know you were into herbal medicine :0)
Thanks for your tips. Those were not the regular remedies, and I actually didn’t know about them, so thanks a lot for the tips!
A pleasure to share. :)
I love natural remedies @mudcat36. I don't recognise some of these, maybe they're not found in South Africa. The willow definitely, and perhaps the tansy? I'll have to ask some of our local plant experts about the others. I use other herbs like basil and mint, and of course garlic which is a natural antibiotic for ailments like colds and coughs, and I drink cannabis tea to conquer insomnia, when I can lay my hands on it. We also have a dune plant called Natal sour fig which has many uses - I've used it for stings and eczema although it has many other uses. I'll go down to my local beach to photograph these plants to show my fellow steemians. Thanks for the info, resteemed as it's always useful to know more about what is naturally out there for our benefit.
Your right not every ill needs a pill. Herbs can be just as effective in some cases. You just need to be sure that you are taking the right plant... maybe have somebody with proper knowledge with the first few times.
Very true. I've been doing it my whole life and have taught foraging here in the UK for a number of years. mainly teaching youth though. Mycology is my real passion when it comes to wild edibles in truth. Some have medicinal value, but more can be found in plants in that regard. After a life of working in medicine I have always wondered what would happen if our ability to provide modern health care as we know it broke down. Or became to strained to provide standard care and could only provide treatment to those in critical care. But for the most part foraging, wild medicine, and mycology are excellent ways to add a special sort of enjoyment to quite woodland walks. Thank you for reading. :)
Most kids today don't even know where milk or meat is from. So I must admit I think it might be close to the end of humankind if there is a sudden breakdown in meds
On Saturday, this coming Easter, I am invited to a Spirit Dance a teacher of aboriginal dream time is dancing. My adopted bro is bringing me some gumbi gumbi, a wild bush tucker with an extreme concentrate of Vit C and other goodies. He diagnosed my need, over the phone, when I told him I hadn't had any since I last went walkabout with his Kadaicha man.😃 Great, I thought, over the phone even, just 'cos I've not had any for awhile. Well, pucker my mouth 😂😂
Thanks @mudcat36 for this very informative article.
I read every line carefully not to miss anything.
In my village it is believed that herbs administration works in sinequanon with proverbs.
Here is one...
Until the rotten tooth is pulled out, the mouth must continue to chew with caution.
It's high time people learnt to appreciate natural medicine. I'm a very big fan of herbs and roots for medication.
I may not know their botanical names but I knew a lot of herbs through my grandfather and I cherish all.
When I saw PLANTAIN in your post, my eyes opened wide just for me to see a difference in specie.
But for the WILLOW TREE, I must commend you for adding immensely to my God-given knowledge about herbs.
I am not familiar with most of these plants. We have some willows that I see in the city. I didn't know it has medicinal benefit.
Growing up in the mountains and to parents who came from a family of farmers, natural medicine is not new for me. I have the same comment in one of @joalvarez' posts about medicinal plants. I grew up with books like Healing Wonders of Herbs and Healing Wonders of Water and lately Encyclopedia of Natural Remedies. Although I don't know the content by heart but it comes in handy when we are struck with something. Through the years, these have helped us avoid being hospitalized.
Prevention is better than cure. It helps much more to grow plants in our yard naturally. To have a ready source of such plants in our yard will give us more benefits.
This post gives us additional knowledge that what we consider as weeds and ornamental plants can be a source of remedies too.
I certainly enjoyed sharing so I'm glad it was found as useful. I have never heard of an illness caused by having to much information and though I've spent my entire life wild food foraging as a passion I'm always picking up new bits of info myself. It's not just going out and doing it that's fun, but sharing with others as well. Thank you for stopping by. :)
There is this superiority complex that comes with having too much information lol! Some people tend to be haughty about it :D
That is true. But it's easy to stay humble if the mission is sharing with others. But agreed, some do go over to the dark side of learning. Lol
Such great information here! I absolutely love the Willow tree, just for the looks! I never knew it had medicinal qualities. I dont think Id ever heard of Tansy before but you can bet I wont forget it now. Texas is terrible with mosquitoes. Im definitely going to look into getting some planted, hopefully theyll grow good in our area. And Plantains?!?! Ive heard of them being good for tummy issues but ever actually tried them out. Will have to keep that in mind when the times arrived. But my favorite out of them all, has to be the GUELDER ROSE! Where was this at for me 3 years ago?! ;)
Thank you for this post. Sometimes its easy to forget that nature sometimes has the best medicine!
Indeed and agreed. It's amazing how often we overlook what's on offer and run to the pharmacy instead. I appreciate you stopping by and giving my humble write up a read. :)
I am wondering if the willow tree could be the same as another type of willow tree. I have one in my backyard but is not the same kind of willow as the one shown... I'm going to have to look it up.
The one with the berries, would that happen to be chokecherries? They are quite sour but do make really good jams.
This is a good find. Thank you for sharing this.
Choke cherries aka bird cherries are a different type of plant. Though they do make fine jams. The answer to the willow question is yes. Both common and weeping willow share the same medicinal properties. So it seems you have a nice tasting aspirin alternative in your back yard. Always a plus. :)
Awesome! Going to collect some shortly :p
The berries look so much alike. Going to have to look for differences, see if I have any in my neck of the woods :)
I grew up in a way different space and live in a completely different place now (the desert). I didn't realize there was a tansy but I am real familiar with tansy ragwort. Sounds like we got the short end of that trade.
Thanks for a great article. Mother's cupboard can provide a lot of what we need.
It is immense fun to write about. I'm glad you enjoyed the write up. Thank you so much for stopping by. :)
This is a very good post @mudcat36... I'm glad @danielsaori highlighted it... He does manage to find some interesting topics that people post about.
I didn't realize that in addition to your crypto skills you also had a bit of nature savvy in you. I'm very impressed. Now don't get me wrong, I'm easily impressed by something I'm not familiar with! :)
Seriously, that is very cool and I love to see the different pieces of knowledge you have shown us... I particularly like the willow tree as we have many of them and that sounds better than aspirin!
Good job and great post.. I'm glad to see you get some good recognition on it! :)
Thank you my friend. And yes, deep down I'm a massive nerd at heart. Lol. I have a love for most things related to biology and mycology. I don't know if your aware of it but you have a lot of edible plants as well as medicinal ones in your neck of the woods. I spent a lot of time in my teens camping, hiking, and fishing on Lake Santeelah up near Joyce Kilmer outside of Asheville. The vegetation is pretty much the same as over in the Nanthala near you. That region holds a wealth of natural resources in regards to useful plants. Huge deer as well. I spent a lot of time up there in my teens. Only two down sides were the uneasy drive in from Tennessee as you would have to drive that nerve wracking road called the dragons tail, and of course having to go home as I'm pretty sure I could have stayed put for good. It's a beautiful place.
You do know it well! I'm impressed again @mudcat36! yes i didn't realize that we had so many treasures here, but it is definitely beautiful for sure. I know there are many that come here just to explore these mountains. I grew up in Orlando, so we didn't have anything like this ... but maybe I can still get into camping once I find some time from steemit! (and I hate bugs so I will need your suggestions there too!) lol
Great article @mudcat36 Your right there,you defiantly don't want to mistake Ragwort for Tansy!!
Here in the UK this time of the year as i am sure you are I'm patiently waiting for the nettle and cleavers to give their precious springtime tonic 😊
Indeed indeed. And don't forget about Elderflower booze! Those yeasty sweet blooms make a fine carbonated bottle of the old feel good. Lol
Yes Elderflower champagne is lovely stuff 😊
Good to note that toxic ragwort should not be confused for tansy , i have them alot in my compound. Thank God say i read this post well oo, i don dey plan to pluck all of them take pursue all these mosquito wey carry straw fr my house . Lol
Lol. Aye.
Lolzz. Omo na so i see am o
I'm brought to this post by DanielSaori's Comment Contest. I know I can't win this week contest as I have no knowledge about herbal remedies. ☹
So, instead of making some random unintelligent comment, I'll just help a steemian because I truly believe this is a good quality content. @curie, I think this article should be on your list. I think this article really brings value to steemit, don't you agree, @papa-pepper & @mericanhomestead ? ♥
Thank you so much for the compliment. Well, if at any point you have any questions in regards to anything to do with wild food, woodland medicine, or mycology, then please feel free to ask away. I love sharing information on these topics. :)
Hey!! I picked your post for this week's comment challenge. :) Thought this could lead to some interesting discussions.
Comment Challenge #23
Wow! Thank you! Is there anything else you'd like me to do to help out? I'm really chuffed you picked my humble write up. That's genuinely made my day. :)
You are welcome!
If you have time to follow up on some of the comments and give your input, that would be cool. Always brings life to the discussion when the author steps in. :) But other than that, nothing. Just be cool and continue steeming.
Wowwwwwww ooo my god,niiiiiiiiiice pictures
codeandcodethe post verry good,# headeri like this# headerHello @mudcat36,
Just wanted to say hi and let you know that your wonderful post have been picked up for the weekly Sustainability Curation Digest in association with Minnow Support Project.
Your post will be upvoted by @msp-curation bot on behalf of MSP.
Thanks for writing awesome content and if you have some time, make sure to check out some of the other posts from this week.
Sustainability Curation Digest #1 🌄🌍🌝 by Carpedimus - MSP
Keep up with the great work :)
Thank you so much! Going to head over to SCD and share the support. Thank you for giving my post a read and selecting it. :0)
It was my pleasure :)
Great post. I am familiar with plants, too and I use them often for many different treatments. So if I may I would add Dandelion to the list. I live in a country we all hardly wait for the first green spring salad. And when I say all I literally mean everybody, because I do not know a person here that wouldn't have a sparkling eye and a smile when you mention Dandelion salad.
Young raw dandelion leaves, salt, pumpkin oil, vinegar, boiled eggs. This is a real Must every spring.
I found a article about dandelion
It's spring. So nice. Thank you for a kind reminder :)
I’m in Western Australia, we don’t have many of the plants you mention easily available.
One of my favourite remedies that works almost instantly is to suck on a piece of eucalyptus charcoal to quickly get rid of a sore throat.
I’m probably too late for the competition, being GMT + 8
Brilliant, I'm going to read this several times over the next few days. I love info-posts, especially ones that lead to practical applications. I am not much of a gardener but do have various friends with whom I barter skills. Thank-you. Keep on keeping on. 😇
Resteemed