Weeds and Wildflowers

I always intended Earth and Tree to be a repository of information and resources, a kind of 'bringing together of interesting stuff' relating to a more natural and earth-centred way of life. To this end, I spent some time (more than I anticipated!) yesterday organising all the blog links on the side column into categories so that we can find things more easily.. if your site has fallen off, please let me know as it won't be intentional! Some of the wonderful blogs could have been listed under several categories but I just went with what felt right at the time .. hope you will find it useful?

Speaking of bringing together interesting stuff...

Its a good time of year for Backyard Herbalism with all the weeds and wildflowers in abundance, including the dandelion .. if you're wondering what you can do with them, check out Greenwoman's post on making a Dandelion Salve and Yolanda's post on making a Soup with the buds.



And if you liked yesterday's post on the Cowslip, you should also see the Wiggly Wigglers post on Cowpats and Cowslips which has more interesting information for you.

Cowslip

The use of Cowslip (primula veris), known as ‘herba paralysis’ and ‘palsywort’, for spasm, cramps, paralysis and rheumatic pain was once widespread, and dates back to at least the medieval period. Also called ‘Key Flower’, an association with keys from a link with the pagan goddess Freya was later christianised, giving the names ‘Our Lady’s Keys’, and 'Herb Peter'.

The young leaves were formerly eaten in salad and mixed with other herbs to stuff meat, while its ‘somewhat narcotic juices’ were utilised in Cowslip wine.

A home-made infusion is useful for coughs and bronchitis and the flower tea soothes headaches (only the yellow part of the flower is used, all green parts are carefully discarded). Indeed, Cowslip is a rich source of salicylates (aspirin-like compounds) and has the reputation of being second only to Betony for relieving head pain. Cowslip is also used internally in modern herbalism for asthma, arthritis, restlessness and insomnia and applied externally to treat sunburn.

A sedative, expectorant herb which relaxes spasms and reduces inflammation.

Flowers April – May
NB: No longer collected from the wild as has now become rare.



CAUTION: Skin irritant and allergen; Do not use in pregnancy, if sensitive to aspirin or taking anti-coagulant medicine such as Warfarin

PLEASE NOTE: These notes on the history and use of herbs have been compiled for general interest and are not intended as medical advice, for which you should consult a professional herbalist.

BIBLIOGRAPY:
‘Herbs and Healing Plants of Britain and Europe’ Dieter Podlech (1987)
'A Modern Herbal' Mrs M. Grieve FRHS ed. Mrs C. F. Leyel (1973)
'The Herb Society's Complete Medicinal Herbal' Penelope Ody MNIMH (1993)
'RHS Encyclopedia of Herbs and Their Uses' Deni Brown (2002)