Ipsophyto

No.8 Achillia millefolium Yarrow. Asteracea family

This is a perennial plant steeped in history. Yarrow is widely spread and naturalised around the world, being instantly recognisable for the dark green patches of small feathery leaves, which, in a broken patchwork kind of way, carpet the ground on a lawn in a drought. It colonises waysides, pastures, grassy banks, hedgerows, and waste places

This plant was apparently held in much esteem thousands of years ago, according to evidence of plant remains discovered in a Neolithic grave in ancient Iraq. The plant was also notably and mythically used by the god Achilles on the battlefield in ancient Greece as a blood staunching vulnerary herb of great repute. This is due to its bitter astringent qualitie.

Fashions and wealth bring numerous changes to our landscape, as the treatment of yarrow will testify to. Nowadays, the plant is generally thought of no more than as a weed to get rid of in the garden, unless growing a cultivated variety in which case you will have to pay money for the pleasure of seeing its the little umbel style mats of numerous flowers. In the wild medicinal plants, these are mostly white and often subtley differing shades of pink floral clusters.

It thrives in many conditions in many nations, and as it puts up with substantial amounts of drought without losing its fresh green look of vitality, Yarrow rightly retains its place in the medicine cabinet of the traveller, as well as being a favourite of numerous herbalists. It is embraced in the kitchen of the adventurous because the younger leaves are palatable in a salad with dressing. For other more ornamentally inclined gardeners, Yarrow (its showy pink cousins anyway) merit inclusion in a formal garden.

As mentioned by the latin name ‘millefolium’, the leaf is a feathery multi-cut-affair, although there are not a thousand leaves! These extend 5-15cm in length, being lanceolate in shape and bi / tri-pinnate. The basal leaves are long and have petioles, the upper short and sessile. They arise forming a rosette from late march, originating from underground rhizomes. Flowering occurs usually in late summer.

During July and August, the flowers are borne on a dense terminal corymb resembling an umbel. The individual flowerheads are numerous and creamy white with a sometimes pink flowering version not uncommon. There are five-six florets in each headThese will grow up to 50cm on woolly furrowed stems. The flowers have a characteristic odour and taste bitter. The fruit are small achenes, 2mm long.

Parts used

The herb while flowering, some say just the flowers. Harvesting therefore from June through October. The plant needs drying in gentle heat, or in cold circulating air.

Constituents

Vol oil: containing cineol, pinnene, azulene, eugenol, thujone, camphor. Bitters, cyanogenic glycosides, salicylic acid, asparagin, Tannins, isovalerianic acid

Pharmacology

Cineole has antiseptic qualities, azulene reduces inflammation and stimulates formulation of granulation tissue (for wound healing) Bitter action stimulates digestion, tannins have an astringent effect on exterior and interior surfaces of the body. This boys, means that Yarrow is good for the possible ulceration that alcohol or caffeine coupled with your rich diet is bringing on

Taken internally Yarrow can reach any place throughout your Gastro-intestinal-tract. Nice work. The salicylates are general anti-inflammatory’s as well as helping the stomach wall repair itself.

Yarrow is also diuretic, expectorant and a digestive stimulant which is  explainable by essential oil content. The isovalerianic acid and cyanogenic glycosides have sedative actions. Asparagin is a potent diuretic. As with any member of the Asteracea family, there is a slight risk of possible phytosensitivity for some individuals especially with dermatological problems.

This plant has restrictions on availability in USA, due to its thujone content in some of its polyploid specimens. Yarrow is a one of many different plant species which exhibit the characteristic of specimens with more than the commonly found two sets of chromosomes, or diploid. Thujone, as will be discussed in the section on Artemisia species, is a potentially toxic monoterpene compound found within essential oils in a range of plants, including Sages as well as many others. Due to Yarrow’s propensity to polyploid variation in chemical profile, this seems a little harsh. 

Yarrow has been traditionally employed as a wound herb, digestive aid and bile stimulant, as well as finding much use as an anti-spasmodic. It has reported use for nervous dyspepsia, palpitations, painful periods and convulsions. The herb is much used as a diaphoretic in cases of fevers, whilst also being of use as a peripheral vasodilator. The plant exhibits many uses akin to a family relative, chamomile. Yarrow is, however, more widespread throughout the UK being a successful coloniser of waste ground, both in rural and country settings as well as being more tolerant of adverse conditions and drought.

The plant is simple to use like many others in as much it needs only to be collected when in flower, using leaf and flower is fine. This is infused in  water just boiled. Remember though, that boiling water and temperatures above 40°C will rapidly volatise and evaporate the 10 carbon mono-terpenes, which constitute a large part of the essential oil within plant matter. This is why a lid must be placed onto any tea-cup or other receptacle that you infuse in and decoct into. Remember also, that fresh material can be up to 90% water and more than you think of fresh material is required for a medicinal dose when using medicine herbs in this way.

No 7 Hops…Humulus Lupus Cannabacea family

Almost every man knows about this herb, if he has ever had the pleasure of consuming beer. Indeed, some of them, sometimes suffer the classic brewers droop, which points to its superb powers as a sedative.

Hops was classified with Cannabis in a family of its own although recent advances in D.N.A technology means that many plants are being reclassified by taxonomists and they may well end up back in with the stinging nettle family.

The plant loves riversides, especially clambering over cracked willow as is evident on the bank of the Isis in Oxfordshire. This habit earned it the common name of willow wolves foot. The lupus part of its name equates to wolves, reinforcing the fact that the scientific names of plants are worth discovering and reading up on.

The plant is a herbaceous perennial, growing upto and beyond 18 foot(6m). The stems twist clockwise giving rise at intervals to opposite leaves, which are broadly ovate though more or less cordate at the base. The leaves are deeply lobed(3-5 each leaf) sharply toothed, being hairy and rough on the surface. Smaller leaves are not lobed. The plant is dioecious (flowers are single sex on different specimens).

Male flowers grow in loose panicles from each leaf axis in the upper leaves, being around 5cm across and yellow-green in colour. Female flowers resemble, fat closely stacked catkins, made up of bracts, with the flower itself tucked into the bract axils. After fertilisation the flower grows three fold, up to 8cm long, changing colour from a yellow-green to yellow-brown, then to brown. Flowers taste bitter, distinctly aromatic with a heavy scent subtly reminiscent of beer.

The plant lives happily in most situations inn the south of the country, and locally in preferable microclimates further up north. Hops also grows freely where it is thought to originate, in Asia and Europe.

Parts used
The flower ‘strobiles’ being harvested from August –October depending on site and aspect. They require careful thorough drying because the scent will then improve. A volatile component ‘lupulin’ found within the flower is very prone to oxidation and therefore the plant does not store for long and should be replaced each year.

Constituents
Volatile oil inc: sesquiterpenes, such as humulene, geraniol, linalool, myricin, luparol, luparenol, valerianic acid, humulon, lupulon, bitter resin-lupulin, condensed tannins, asparagin, trimethylamine, choline and oestrogenic substances.
Pharmacology
Sedative properties come from valerianic acid and lupulin. This latter compound is anti-septic, affecting gram positive bacteria. Hops has reported anti-histamine and anti-oxytocic properties which lends to its use as a beneficial herb for the other lot, y’know, girls.

The herb commonly is employed as part of a night time sleep easy sedative combo with other similar plants such as Valeriana officinalis, Lactuca virosa, Tillia europea and Passiflora incanata.

One huge improvement would come about in society, in the authors view, if this plant was used mainly as a herbal sedative, without the alcohol. So come on boys, do yourself and your long suffering friends a favour and start consuming the medicine, not the poison. It does’nt turn you into a wanker after drinking a few cups either!

No. 6 Lime Flowers Tillia cordata/platyphyllus  Tilliacea family.
Aka Linden tree

This is one of the few temperate zone examples of a mostly tropical family. The Lime tree neither smells of nor produces lime flavoured fruit, another horticultural plant name blind alley. Once again this is a plant that is easily found, harvested and used to assist the overstressed male in his search for an instant drinkable chill out following a hard days work, or play! This is one of nature’s strongest tranquillisers.

Research has found that Tillia species contain compounds, such as gamma-amino-butyric-acid, that are found also in the brain (where they are messenger molecules). These work on the benzodiazepene receptors in the brain, as does Valeriana officinalis, enabling the dampening down of the brain’s messaging ‘chatter’, so constant in our minds in western society. This results in an increased state of relaxation via sedation of the specifc area of the brain that needs to quieten down. It is obvious that if the brain relaxes, then so do you

This tree is renowned for both the heady late spring scent and its graceful silhouette created in the winter, at a time when all trees bear their souls. The trademark of the Lime are the regularly almost opposite dark coloured branches arching up and outwards like shoulders and arms.

Tillia species have found a home all over the UK except in the north of Scotland. They can happily live on their own as seen by the number of specimens planted in parks, as well as in old thickets and hedges and in woodland throughout a number of broadleaved habitats.

The bark of mature trees takes on a close patterned dark grey fissure in elongated narrow tapered ridges. The brown red stems of last year’s growth are home to alternate red oval buds. Buds break by May into broadly ovate leaves, dark green above, with lighter undersides. The leaves carry sharp-toothed-margins and have acuminate leaf tips whilst cordate at the base. A long petiole connects leaf to branch.

There are leaf size differences as well as overall plant size differences between the species. However, the medicinal flowers are collected from all species mentioned. These arrive in full display, uncannily for a plant that has esteemed powers over the domain of mercury and the mind, at a time of year when the astronomical sun is moving through the constellation of Gemini. In other words they bloom during the month of June.

The exquisitely scented flowers grow in small clusters of four to ten flowers. These cymes are pendulous, yellow / white and consist of 5 sepals and petals with many prominent stamens. The long stalks originate from the centre of large pale green bracts with resulting pale yellow green fruits reaching no more than 10 mm across

Parts Used
The flowers with bracts. These are harvested during flowering.

Preparation
Flowers should be dried quickly and carefully as to avoid exceeding 27°C. Tinctures are commonly 1:5 in 25% alcohol

Constituents
Volatile oil inc Farnesol, phenolic acids, proanthocyanadins, condensed tannins, flavonoids, mucilage, sapponins( same one here as in horse chestnut), oestrogenic substances

Action
Peripheral vasodilator, diaphoretic, relaxant, diuretic,

Applications,
This plant is widely used throughout Europe for its gentle sedative action, valuable to induce a restful sleep, relaxing a tense nervous system and musculature. Lime has been employed usefully to treat feverish colds and as an anti-catarrhal remedy used in respiratory infections. German physicians prescribe it specifically to children for influenza. It can also help with arteriosclerosis.

No 5 Chamomile….Matricaria recutita Asteracea family

This species (German chamomile) is an annual, with a distinctive growth form and smell. It is a botanically and pharmacologically distinct species to Chamaemelum nobile (roman chamomile) although there is sufficient pharmacological ‘overlap’ for the two species to be used interchangeably, justifying, according to Simon Mills the esteemed herbal medicine scientist, for their overlap in clinical use.

The plant has thin and wispy, bi or tri-pinnate leaves and seldom reaches above 50cm when in flower. The flowering stalks are terminal bearing their corolla’s on peduncles, revealing the distinctive small cones of composite flowers. They comprise, white ligulate ray florets surrounding yellow tubular florets. The ray florets are often characteristically bent downwards, and are often as not lost on drying. These flowers taste bitter and are distinctly aromatic, imparting an odour instantly recognised by many.

This distinctly (to my pallet, pleasant) aroma of chamomile is in contrast to its close relative, ‘stinking mayweed’ (another Matricaria species) which seems to be beloved by strange hippy types at festivals who then proceed to make a horrible cup of tea. The mayweed is definitely more common of the two species and care is needed to correctly identify, usually by differences in the flower.

Chamomile is found in many areas in the south of the UK, being a popular garden escapee, as well as sometimes-cultivated crop. It likes edges of cultivated fields, waysides and many other places throughout southern England and Europe.

Parts used
The flowers, preferably just before opening. Commonly an infusion is made, simply by steeping the herb with just-past-boiling water.

Constituents
A volatile oil, including bisabolol, proazulenes, flavonoids, glycoside, coumarin, tannins. Valerianic acid, spiroether.

Pharmacology
The azulenes and bisabolol are anti-inflammatory and anti-spasmodic, reducing histamine-induced reactions such as anaphylaxsis, and hay-fever, allergic asthma and eczema, also being shown to hasten healing of peptic ulcers. Flavonoids are anti-spasmodic. Valerianic acid is sedative whilst spiroether is a stronger anti-spasmodic than papaverine. The whole plant is shown to be anti-spasmodic in Labaoratory tests, inhibiting contractions provoked by histamine. They are also anti-inflammatory.

Applications
Include general relaxant, uterine relaxant, anti-inflammatory, peripheral vasodilator and bitter. There are strong traditional uses of the two plants we sometimes mistakenly think of as one. For centuries used to treat convulsions, nervous insomnia, and nervous tension. This is an excellent remedy to use on offspring, being gentle and effective.

In these 21st century days of fast food and stress the plant could be employed to great effect on those people who simply need to relax and chill out. Chamomile is also perfect for those people who have either imbibed too much alcohol or had one too many curries. As this is a male dominated activity a lot of the time, the plant warrants inclusion in a booklet designed for the use of men

In the garden it has a reputation of being a companion plant, of benefit to others wherever it grows. Certainly, most aromatic herbs have beneficial effects within the garden eco-system, either from their abilities to fend of pests or by root exudates, which can exert beneficial or harmful effects on neighbouring plants.

Garlic: Allium sativum Lilliacea family

Garlic is one of the world’s most familiar plant medicines, familiar to most people due to its distinctive appearance and pungent smell, renowned for its culinary use throughout the planet.

Botany
The plant is one of the huge Lilly family members, with botanists believing it to have originated in Asia. Garlic is a biennial, taking two years to complete it’s life cycle and is usually propagated from the individual cloves of the bulbs.

It is a monocotyledon, having only one seed leaf, like onions and grasses. The leaves are thin lanceolate blades, of a dark green hue, although not as dark as leeks, their cousin. The leaves are characterised by their parallel veins running up the length of the leaf either side of its mid rib vein. The plant can grow up to 18 inches(45cm) whilst during flowering, the spike can reach a further foot(30cm).

Growing it
Garlic is very easy to grow. The plant loves moisture, although hates being waterlogged. It prefers a rich sandy loam, requiring free draining soil wherever it finds itself. As for soil acidity, slightly under neutral pH (around 6.5) will prove ok. If cloves are planted in the autumn they will usually do a little better than cloves planted in the spring. This is because the plant needs to have felt a winter. It is possible to confuse the plant by placing February bought bulbs in the fridge at less than 5C for a week or two before planting out, yet the bulbs will probably be smaller than autumn planted ones.

Medicinal use

Garlic has been used as a medicine for thousands of years, and has built a reputation for killing vampires. I believe this is because of its proven abilities to kill bacteria, viruses and fungus. It can also kill potential love with the ladies if your beau does not like the smell !

Parts used

The individual cloves; raw is best, as it maintains all the potency, which rapidly diminishes with cooking.

Harvest
When the leaves turn yellow around mid – late July, depending on your region. The whole bulbs are then lifted and dried to allow the outer skin to harden before being stored

Constituents
Among the literally thousands of compounds within garlic, is a volatile oil, containing alliin, which after crushing or chewing is enzymatically converted to alliciin. Germanium is present, as are substantial amounts of mucilage.

Actions

Antibacterial, antiseptic, antifungal, antiviral, warming expectorant, due in part to the mucilage, reduces platelet clotting, anthelmintic, hypocholerestolaemic, hypolipidaemic, vasodilatory and more…do your own research!

Applications
As a fiery herb under the dominion of mars (according to Nicholas Culpeper) it is no great surprise that this plant is renowned for expelling endoparasites from the body. Check out the glyph of mars and you see the arrow leaving the circle. There you go.

This plant has a traditional use as an expectorant to help clear coughs and colds. This is due to the passage of the volatile oil components along and through the lungs where it loosens mucus and promotes its leaving via the mucociliatory escalator. It has been used with great effect for treatment of atherosclerosis(fatty deposits clogging up the arteries) through the reduction of fibrinogen in blood. As a vasodilator it reduces blood pressure. It is also used in dietary control of diabetes and hypoglycaemia because of resultant improvement in pancreatic abilities to produce insulin and glucagons.

In short, this is one of the most treasured and valuable herbs to have in your bathroom, sorry kitchen cupboard. As said before, the plant can kill most pathogenic organisms (in fact it has been placed in the Control Of Substances Hazardous to Health handbook for people in the catering trade, as it is pretty corrosive in large doses)

Recent research from the University of East London has shown it substantially destroys the antibiotic resistant MRSA. This makes me wonder whether it is purely the smell that puts people off using it. Sod ‘em, I love it. Top herb!

It secures a place in a publication about herbs for men, not just because vampires were traditionally cast as men, but because lets face it ladies, many of the best chefs are blokes!