Instructions: Select the plant you want more information about, from the list below, or use the scroll bar.
Umbellularia
californica
Una de Gato
Western Spikenard
Wild Chamomile
Caraway Carum Carvi
Caraway is native to north and central Europe and Asia, and has been naturalized in parts of the US.
It is a biennial, with smooth, furrowed stems growing 1 1/2 to 2 feet high. It has white flowers which blossom in June. The fruits / seeds (they aren't true seeds) are slightly curved, and marked with five distinct, pale ridges. They have a pleasant, aromatic odor when bruised, and an agreeable taste.
The leaves possess similar properties and afford an oil identical with that of the fruit. The tender leaves in spring have been boiled in soup, to give it an aromatic flavor.
Medicinal: Caraway aids digestion, can help promote menses, can increase a mother's milk, and is good to add to cough remedies as an expectorant. Both fruit and oil possess aromatic, stimulant and carminative properties. Caraway was widely employed at one time as a carminative cordial, and was recommended in dyspepsia and symptoms attending hysteria and other disorders. It possesses some tonic property and forms a pleasant stomachic. Its former extensive employment in medicine has much decreased in recent years, and the oil and fruit are now principally employed as additions to other medicines as corrective or flavoring agents, combined with purgatives. For flatulent indigestion, however, from 1 to 4 drops of the essential oil of Caraway given on a lump of sugar, or in a teaspoonful of water, will be found efficacious. Distilled Caraway water is considered a useful remedy in the flatulent colic of infants, and is an excellent vehicle for children's medicine. When sweetened, its flavor is agreeable.
Magical: Carry Caraway in an amulet for protection. Carrying caraway seeds promotes the memory. It can also guard against theft. It is said to promote lust when baked into breads, cookies, or cakes.
Growing: Caraway can be found in meadows, woods, and rocky areas. It prefers a rich soil. Native to Europe, Asia, and Africa, it also grows wild here in North America. It is a biennial that reaches 1 1/2 - 2 feet high. Caraway does best when the seeds are sown in the autumn, as soon as ripe, though they may be sown in March. Sow in drills, 1 foot apart, the plants when strong enough, being thinned out to about 8 inches in the rows. The ground will require an occasional hoeing to keep it clean and assist the growth of the plants. From an autumn-sown crop, seeds will be produced in the following summer, ripening about August.
Cascara Sagrada Rhamnus purshianus
aka: California Buckthorn, Sacred Bark
Cascara Sagrada is a shrub growing in the United States, from northern Idaho westward to the Pacific Ocean. The drug is prepared from its bark.
The bark is collected in spring and early summer, when it is easily peeled from the wood, and is dried in the shade.
Medicinal: Used in treating chronic constipation, and is a stimulant to the whole digestive system. It is a safe laxative, and is useful for treating intestinal gas, liver and gall bladder complaints, and enlarged liver. Cascara Sagrada is a mild laxative, acting principally on the large intestine. It is considered suitable for delicate and elderly persons, and may with advantage be given in chronic constipation, being generally administered in the form of the fluid extract.
In veterinary practice, Cascara Sagrada is also much used and is probably the best mild purgative remedy for dogs with chronic constipation, as the dose does not require to be increased by repetition and the tone of the bowels is improved by the drug.
Magical: Sprinkled around the home before going to court, it will help you to win your case. It is used in money spells and in repelling evil and hexes.
Growing: Cascara Sagrada is a bush/tree that is native to the Pacific Northwest regions of North America.
Catnip Nepeta cataria
aka: Catmint
A member of the mint family, it is common in Southern England, Europe, Asia, and was introduced to North America, where it is also common.
The root is perennial and sends up square, erect and branched stems, 2 to 3 feet high, which are very leafy and covered with down. The heart shaped, toothed leaves are also covered with a soft, close down, especially on the under sides, which are quite white with it, so that the whole plant has a hoary, grayish appearance, as though it had had dust blown over it. The whitish to pale pink flowers bloom from July to September.
Catnip is used in some places in Europe for seasoning in cooking. While cats go crazy over the smell, and can be seemingly intoxicated by it, Rats do not like the smell, and the plant has been used as proof around grain plants.
Medicinal: Catnip is effective alone or in herbal remedies for colds, flu, fevers, upset stomach, and insomnia. Particularly good for children with upset stomachs in a very mild infusion. Carminative, tonic, diaphoretic, refrigerant and slightly emmenagogue, specially antispasmodic, and mildly stimulating.
Producing free perspiration, it is very useful in colds. Catnip Tea is a valuable drink in every case of fever, because of its action in inducing sleep and producing perspiration without increasing the heat of the system. It is good in restlessness, colic, insanity and nervousness, and is used as a mild nervine for children, one of its chief uses being, indeed, in the treatment of children's ailments. The infusion of 1 OZ. to a pint of boiling water may be taken by adults in doses of 2 tablespoons, by children in 2 or 3 teaspoons frequently, to relieve pain and flatulence. An injection of Catnip Tea is also used for colicky pains.
The herb should always be infused, boiling will remove most of the health qualities. Its qualities are somewhat volatile, hence when made it should be covered up.
The tea may be drunk freely, but if taken in very large doses when warm, it frequently acts as an emetic.
It has proved efficacious in nervous headaches and as an emmenagogue, though for the latter purpose, it is preferable to use the fresh herb, not as a warm tea, but using the juice of the green herb and take it in tablespoonful doses, three times a day.
An injection of the tea also relieves headache and hysteria, by its immediate action upon the sacral plexus. The young tops, made into a conserve, have been found serviceable for nightmare.
Magical: Use the large leaves, well dried, to mark pages in magickal books. Use in conjunction with rose petals in love sachets. It will also create a psychic bond between you and your cat. Grow near your home to attract luck and good spirits.
Growing: Catnip will grow in most soils, and tends to enjoy a bit of the dry spells once it is established. It grows throughout North America, and is a perennial reaching to 3 feet high. Sow in rows, about 20 inches apart, thinning out the seedlings to about the same distance apart as the plants attain a considerable size. They require no attention, and will last for several years if the ground is kept free from weeds. The germinating power of the seeds lasts five years.
aka: Acacia, Gum, Una de Gato
Acacia's are shrubs or small trees.
Gum Acacia consists principally of Arabin, a compound of Arabic acid with calcium, varying amounts of the magnesium and potassium salts of the same acid being present.
Medicinal: Also known as una de gato. Used in treatment of arthritis, gastritis, tumors, dysentery, female hormonal imbalances, viral infections. It is effective in aiding treatment of the immune system, the intestinal system, and the cardiovascular system. This herb should not be taken by those who have received an organ transplant, nor by pregnant or nursing women. Gum Acacia is a demulcent and serves by the viscidity of its solution to cover and sheathe inflamed surfaces.
Cayenne Capsicum minimum
aka: African Pepper, Chillies, Bird Pepper.
Cayenne is grown in most tropical and sub tropical countries.
Medicinal: Cayenne, also called capsicum, is very effective added to liniments for all sorts of arthritis and muscle aches. It benefits the heart and circulation when taken alone or added to other remedies. It is also used to stimulate the action of other herbs. It will stop bleeding both externally and internally, making it excellent for use with ulcers. It is used in antibiotic combinations, for menstrual cramps, and as a part of treatment for depression. A powerful local stimulant, with no narcotic effect largely used in hot climates as a condiment, and most useful in problems of the intestines and stomach. It should not be used in ordinary gastric catarrh. For persons addicted to drink it seems to be useful possibly by reducing the dilated blood-vessels and thus relieving chronic congestion. It is often added to tonics and is said to be unequalled for warding off diseases. Herbalists use it largely in pill form and powdered. Externally it is a strong rubefacient and acts gently with no danger of vesication; is applied as a cataplasm or as a liniment; it can be mixed with 10 to 20 per cent of cotton-seed oil. The infusion is made with 2 drachms to 1/2 pint boiling water taken in 1/2 fluid ounce doses.
Magical: Cayenne pepper scattered around your house will break bad spells. Adding it to love powders will ensure that your love will be spicy, and can inflame the loved one with passion.
Growing: Cayenne pepper plants like a good, rich soil, plenty of water, and full sun. The peppers are dried after ripening. For herbal use, the peppers are usually ground into a powder and mixed with other powdered herbs in capsules.
These trees have regular, graceful conical forms that make them valuable as highhedge trees. The leaves are of two kinds on different branchlets, one awl-shaped and the other short and obtuse. Both have a small, flattened gland, containing a thin, fragrant turpentine. They are persistent, and overlap in four rows. The flowers are very small and terminal, and the cones nodding first ovoid and then spreading, with blunt scales arranged in three rows.
Medicinal: Ceder is aromatic, astringent, and diuretic. The twigs may produce abortion, like those of savin, by reflex action on the uterus from severe gastrointestinal irritation. Both fenchone and thujone stimulate the heart muscle. The decoction has been used in intermittent fevers, rheumatism, dropsy, coughs, scurvy, and as an emmenagogue. The leaves, made into an ointment with fat, are a helpful local application in rheumatism. An injection of the tincture into venereal warts is said to cause them to disappear. For violent pains the Canadians have used the cones, powdered, with four-fifths of Polypody, made into a poultice with lukewarm water or milk and applied to the body, with a cloth over the skin to prevent scorching.
NOTE: The oil, resembling camphor, may produce convulsions in warmblooded and paralysis in cold-blooded animals. Sixteen drops of the oil, taken by a girl of fifteen, caused unconsciousness, followed by spasms and convulsions, with subsequent stomachic irritation. It causes great flatulence and distension of the stomach.
Magical: Cedar chips used in rituals or burnt attracts money, and is also used in purification and healing. It is a symbol of power and longevity. Hung in the home it will protect against lightning. Juniper can be used in place of cedar.
Growing: There are many types of cedars that grow throughout the world. Check with your local nursery for varieties best suited to your area. Cedars are evergreen perennials that are attractive in any landscape.
Common Chamomile Anthemis nobilis
German Chamomile Matricaria chamomilla
aka: Manzanilla, Maythen, Wild Camomile (German Chamomile), Chamomile
Chamomile has been used medicinally since at least the time of the ancient Egyptians.
Common Chamomile is a low growing plant, creaping, its leaves and flowers a in tufts up to a foot high. The root is perennial, jointed, and fibrous, and the stems are hairy and branched. The plant has a feathery appearance. It blooms from July to September, with the blooms on single long erect stalks. The flowers resemble tiny daisies. The whole plant is downy and greyishgreen in color. he fresh plant is strongly and agreeably aromatic, with a distinct scent of apples. It was from this trait that it gets its name, from the greek kamai melon meaning, literally, "on the ground - an apple". The entire plant is used.
Medicinal: Use the tea for nerves and menstrual cramps. The tea is also useful for babies and small children with colds and stomach troubles. Also used to calm the body for inducing sleep in insomniac conditions. It is also a good wash for sore eyes and open sores. Chamomile is Tonic, achic, anodyne and antispasmodic.
The infusion, made from 1 OZ. of the flowers to 1 pint of boiling water and taken in doses of a tablespoonful to a wineglass, known popularly as Chamomile Tea, is an old-fashioned but extremely efficacious remedy for hysterical and nervous affections in women and is used also as an emmenagogue. It has a wonderfully soothing, sedative and absolutely harmless effect. It is considered a preventive and the sole certain remedy for nightmare. It will cut short an attack of delirium tremens in the early stage. It has sometimes been employed in intermittent fevers.
Chamomile Tea should in all cases be prepared in a covered vessel, in order to prevent the escape of steam, as the medicinal value of the flowers is to a considerable extent impaired by any evaporation, and the infusion should be allowed to stand on the flowers for 10 minutes at least before straining off.
Combined with ginger and alkalies, the cold infusion (made with 1/2 oz. of flowers to 1 pint of water) is used as an effective stomachic in cases of ordinary indigestion, such as flatulent colic, heartburn, loss of appetite, sluggish state of the intestinal canal, and also in gout and periodic headache, and is an appetizing tonic, especially for aged persons, taken an hour or more before a principal meal. A strong, warm infusion is a useful emetic. A concentrated infusion, made eight times as strong as the ordinary infusion, is made from the powdered flowers with oil of chamomile and alcohol and given as a stomachic in doses of 1/2 to 2 drachms, three times daily.
Chamomile flowers are recommended as a tonic in dropsy complaints for their diuretic and tonic properties, and are also combined with diaphoretics and other stimulants with advantage.
An official tincture is employed to correct summer diarrhea in children. Chamomile is used with purgatives to prevent griping, carminative pills being made from the essential essence of the flowers. The extract, in doses of 10 to 15 grains, combined with myrrh and preparations of iron, also affords a powerful and convenient tonic in the form of a pill.
Besides their use internally, Chamomile flowers are also used by themselves, or combined with an equal quantity of crushed poppy-heads, as a poultice and fomentation for external swelling, inflammatory pain or congested neuralgia, and will relieve where other remedies have failed, proving invaluable for reducing swellings of the face caused through abscesses. Bags may be loosely stuffed with flowers and steeped well in boiling water before being applied as a fomentation. The antiseptic powers of Chamomile are stated to be 100 times stronger than sea-water. A decoction of Chamomile flowers and poppy heads is used hot as fomentation to abscesses - 10 parts of Chamomile flowers to 5 of poppy capsules, to 100 of distilled water.
Magical: Chamomile is used in prosperity charms to attract money. Added to incense, it will produce a relaxed state for better meditation. Burned alone it will induce sleep. Added to a ritual bath, it will attract love. Sprinkle it around your property to remove curses and bad spells.
Growing: Chamomile is an annual that adapts to most soils, likes lots of water and full sun. It grows up to 20 inches tall. Chamomile requires a sunny situation. The single variety, being the wild type, flourishes in a rather dry, sandy soil, the conditions of its natural habits on wild, open common-land, but the double-flowered Chamomile needs a richer soil and gives the heaviest crop of blooms in moist, stiff black loam.
Propagation may be effected by seed, sown thinly in May in the open and transplanting when the seedlings are large enough to permanent quarters, but this is not to be recommended, as it gives a large proportion of single-flowered plants, which, as stated above, do not now rank for pharmaceutical purposes as high as the double-flowered variety, though formerly they were considered more valuable.
The usual manner of increasing stock to ensure the double-flowers is from 'sets,' or runners of the old plants. Each plant normally produces from twelve to fourteen sets, but may sometimes give as many as from twenty-five to fifty. The old plants are divided up into their sets in March and a new plantation formed in well-manured soil, in rows 2 1/2 feet apart, with a distance of 18 inches between the plants. Tread the small plants in firmly, it will not hurt them, but make them root better. Keep them clean during the summer by hand-weeding, as hoeing is apt to destroy such little plants. They will require no further attention till the flowers are expanded and the somewhat tedious process of picking commences.
Chickweed Stellaria media
aka: Starweed, Star Chickweed, Passerina
Chickweed is found all over the world. The stem is week and branched, growing quite long on the ground, and it is juicy, light green and a little swollen at the joints. It has a line of hairs that runs up the stem only on one side (this will identify the plant from other similar species). The leaves are succulent, oval, about a half inch long and a quarter inch wide, with a short point. They are light green and smooth. The flowers are small, white, like little stars, and occur singly near the upper leaves. The flowers open in the morning, and close in the evening, though they won't open on cloudy or rainy days. The young leaves can be used as a spinach substitute, and are quite good tasting. The whole plant is used medicinally.
Medicinal: Chickweed is an excellent source of many B vitamins and various minerals. It is used to treat bronchitis, pleurisy, coughs, colds, and as a blood builder. Externally it is good for skin diseases, and the tea added to the bath is good for soothing skin irritations and rashes. Chickweed is Demulcent, refrigerant. he plant chopped and boiled in lard makes a fine green cooling ointment, good for piles and sores, and cutaneous diseases. It has also been employed as an application for ophthalmia.
A decoction made with the fresh plant is good for constipation, and an infusion of the dried herb is efficacious in coughs and hoarseness. The dose of the fluid extract is 10 to 60 drops.
Magical: Chickweed is carried and/or used in spells to attract love and to maintain a relationship.
Growing: This annual spreading plant is usually hated as an obnoxious weed by the typical gardener. It is found throughout temperate areas of North America and of Europe, the plant's native homeland. It prefers full sun, average to poor soils, and infrequent watering.
Cinnamon Cinnamomum zeylanicum
It grows naturally in Ceylon, and is found in the near Asian area. It is cultivated in Brazil, Jamaica, and India. The bark is the part used. Grows best in almost pure sand, requiring only 1 per cent of vegetable substance; it prefers a sheltered place, constant rain, heat and equal temperature.
Medicinal: Add cinnamon to remedies for acute symptoms, as this herb is a stimulant to other herbs and the body, enabling herbal remedies to work faster. It is also a blood purifier, an infection preventer, and a digestive aid. Do not ingest cinnamon oil. Cinnamon is Carminative, astringent, stimulant, antiseptic; more powerful as a local than as a general stimulant; is prescribed in powder and infusion but usually combined with other medicines. It stops vomiting, relieves flatulence, and given with chalk and astringents is useful for diarrhea and hemorrhage of the womb.
Magical: Burned in incense, cinnamon will promote high spirituality. It is also used to stimulate the passions of the male. It should also be burned in incenses used for healing. The essential oil is used for protection.
Clover Trifolium pratense
aka: Red Clover, Trefoil, Purple Clover
Clover is generally abundant on meadow land of a light sandy nature, where it produces abundant blossom. Several stems 1 to 2 feet high, arising from the one root, slightly hairy. Flowers are red to purple, sweet smelling, and globular.
Medicinal: Red Clover is used as a nerve tonic and as a sedative for exhaustion. It is used to strengthen those children with weak systems, and is used with children for coughs, bronchitis, wheezing, as it is mild to their systems. It is often used in combination with many other drugs in the treatment of cancer. It is also used for skin eruptions (acne). The fluid extract of Trifolium is used as an alterative and antispasmodic. An infusion made by 1 OZ. to 1 pint of boiling water may with advantage be used in cases of bronchial and whooping-cough. Fomentations and poultices of the herb have been used as localapplications to cancerous growths.
Magical: Clover brings luck, prsperity, and health. Carrying a three-leaf clover gives you protection. Worn over the right breast it will bring you success in all undertakings.
Growing: Grow clover as you would lawn grasses. Clover is an excellent cover crop, planted in fallow areas and turned under in the fall, it makes an excellent fertilizer for poor soils.
Cloves Eugenia caryophyllata
A small evergreen tree, pyramidal, trunk soon divides into large branches covered with a smooth grayish bark; leaves large, bright green, and in pairs. The flowers have a strong refreshing odor. If the seeds are allowed to mature, most of the pungency is lost. Each berry has only one seed. The trees fruit usually about eight or nine years after planting. The whole tree is highly aromatic.
Medicinal: Clove oil will stop a toothache when it is applied directly to the cavity. It is very warm and stimulating to the system, and is very useful with people who have cold extremities. Cloves will promote sweating with fevers, colds, and flu. It is often used in remedies for whooping cough. Cloves are also safe and effective for relieving vomiting during pregnancy. The most stimulating and carminative of all aromatics; given in powder or infusion for nausea emesis, flatulence, languid indigestion and dyspepsia, and used chiefly to assist the action of other medicines. The medicinal properties reside in the volatile oil. The oil must be kept in dark bottles in a cool place. If distilled with water, salt must be added to raise the temperature of ebullition and the same Cloves must be distilled over and over again to get their full essence.
The oil is frequently adulterated with fixed oil and oil of Pimento and Copaiba. As a local irritant it stimulates peristalsis. It is a strong germicide, a powerful antiseptic, a feeble local anesthetic applied to decayed teeth, and has been used with success as a stimulating expectorant in phthisis and bronchial troubles. Fresh infusion of Cloves contains astringent matter as well as the volatile oil. The infusion and Clove water are good vehicles for alkalies and aromatics.
Magical: Cloves worn in an amulet will drive away negativity and hostility, and stop gossip. It is often carried to stimulate the memory, and can be added to attraction sachets. Clove oil is also worn as an aphrodisiac, and the buds when eaten are said to stir up bodily lusts. It is placed in sachets with mint and rose to chase away melancholy and to help one sleep soundly. Carried, it can also bring comfort to the bereaved and mourning.
Coltsfoot Tussilago Farfara
aka: Coughwort, Hallfoot, Horsehoof, Ass's Foot, Foalswort, Fieldhove, Bullsfoot, Donnhove
Coltsfoot grows abundantly in waste places and in poor soil, in both wet and dry locations. It has long-stalked, hoof-shaped leaves, about 4 inches across, with angular teeth on the margins. Both surfaces are covered, when young, with loose, white, felted woolly hairs. The root is spreading. The flowers are star like and golden. Leaves, flowers, and roots are used medicinally. The leaves are collected in June and early part of July.
Medicinal: Used to treat respiratory problems, and is soothing to the stomach and intestines. Combine with horehound, ginger, and licorice root for a soothing cough syrup. Coltsfoot is demulcent, expectorant and tonic. One of the most popular of cough remedies.
A decoction is made of 1 OZ. of leaves, in 1 quart of water boiled down to a pint, sweetened with honey or licorice, and taken in teacupful doses frequently. This is good for both colds and asthma.
Coltsfoot tea is also made for the same purpose.
Magical: Coltsfoot is added to love sachets and is used in spells of peace and tranquility.
Growing: Coltsfoot is a perennial that prefers damp, clay soils. It grows 5 to 18 inches high, and likes full to partial sun.
Comfrey Symphytum officinale
aka: Common Comfrey, Knitbone, Knitback, Consound, Blackwort, Bruisewort, Slippery Root, Boneset
The plant is erect in habit and rough and hairy all over. There is a branched rootstock, the roots are fibrous. The leafy stem, 2 to 3 feet high, is stout, angular and hollow. The lower leaves are very large, up to 10 inches long and ovular, covered with hairs that can cause itching when touched. A portion of the stem leaf runs down the stem. The flowers are creamy yellow, though the flowers can be purple or blue. It is native to Europe and naturalized elsewhere. The leaves and roots are used medicinally.
Medicinal: A poultice of comfrey heals wounds, burns, sores, and bruises. It is a powerful remedy for coughs, ulcers, healing broken bones and sprains, and is used in treating asthma. Large amounts or dosages can cause liver damage, but there are no problems with using it externally. Used internally, it is best and safest to use a tea, rather than capsules.
Demulcent, mildly astringent and expectorant. As the plant abounds in mucilage, it is frequently given whenever a mucilaginous medicine is required and has been used like Marshmallow for intestinal troubles. It is very similar in its emollient action to Marshmallow, but in many cases is even preferred to it and is an ingredient in a large number of herbal preparations. It forms a gentle remedy in cases of diarrhea and dysentery. A decoction is made by boiling 1/2 to 1 OZ. of crushed root in 1 quart of water or milk, which is taken in wineglassful doses, frequently.
For its demulcent action it has long been employed domestically in lung troubles and also for quinsy and whooping-cough. The root is more effectual than the leaves and is the part usually used in cases of coughs. It is highly esteemed for all pulmonary complaints, consumption and bleeding of the lungs. A strong decoction, or tea, is recommended in cases of internal hemorrhage, whether from the lungs, stomach, bowels or from bleeding piles -to be taken every two hours till the hemorrhage ceases, in severe cases, a teaspoonful of Witch Hazel extract being added to the Comfrey root tea.
A medicinal tincture, used by homoeopaths, is made from the root with spirits of wine, 10 drops in a tablespoonful of water being administered several times a day.
Comfrey leaves have great value as an external remedy, both in the form of fomentations, for sprains, swellings and bruises, and as a poultice, to severe cuts, to promote suppuration of boils and abscesses, and gangrenous and ill-conditioned ulcers . The whole plant, beaten to a cataplasm and applied hot as a poultice, has always been deemed excellent for soothing pain in any tender, inflamed or suppurating part. It was formerly applied to raw, indolent ulcers as a glutinous astringent. It is useful in any kind of inflammatory swelling.
Internally, the leaves are taken in the form of an infusion, 1 OZ. of the leaves to 1 pint of boiling water.
Magical: Carrying comfrey during travel will ensure your safety. Put some in your luggage to prevent it being lost or stolen. It will also bring luck to the carrier.
Growing: Comfrey prefers well-drained soils and partial shade. It grows from Canada to Georgia, as far west as Missouri, in the wild. It is a perennial that grows to 3 feet high. It can be started from seed, but you will be more successful with cuttings. Once established, it will spread vigorously. Harvest leaves when the flowers bud, and roots in the autumn after the first frost.
Comfrey thrives in almost any soil or situation, but does best under the shade of trees.
Propagation may be effected either by seed or by division of roots in the autumn: the roots are very brittle, and the least bit of root will start growing afresh. They should be planted about 2 1/2 feet apart each way, and will need no further care except to keep them clear from weeds.
As a green crop they will yield largely if well-rotted manure be dug between the rows when dressing for winter.
As an ornamental plant, Comfrey is often introduced into gardens, from which it is very difficult to eradicate it when it has once established itself, a new plant arising from any severed portion of the root.
Cornflower Centaurea Cyanus
aka: Bluebottle, Bluebow, Hurtsickle, Blue Cap
The flowers, the part used medicinally, are star shaped and brilliant blue. In the wild condition it is fairly common in cultivated fields and by roadsides. The stems are 1 to 3 feet high, tough and wiry, slender, furrowed and branched, somewhat angular and covered with a loose cottony down. The leaves, very narrow and long, are arranged alternately on the stem, and like the stem are covered more or less with white cobwebby down that gives the whole plant a somewhat dull and grey appearance. The lower leaves are much broader and often have a roughly-toothed outline. The flowers grow solitary, and of necessity upon long stalks.
Medicinal: Juices from the stems of this plant are used externally to treat wounds and cuts. The flowers have tonic, stimulant and emmenagogue properties.
Magical: Cornflower is used to promote and enhance phsychic sight, as well as normal eyesight.
Growing: Cornflower is adaptable to many soils and conditions. It is an annual that grows 1 - 2 feet tall.
Cramp Bark Viburnum opulus
aka: Guelder Rose, Snowball Tree, King's Crown, Dog Rowan Tree, Silver Bells, May Rose, Water Elder, Rose Elder, Red Elder, High Cranberry
It resembles the Common Elder in habits of growth. The large, nearly flat topped heads of snow-white flowers are 3 to 5 inches across. which ripen very quickly, form a drooping cluster of bright red berries, shining and translucent, perhaps the most ornamental of our wild fruits, the tree presenting a very beautiful appearance in August, when they are ripe, especially as the leaves assume a rich purple hue before falling. But although edible, the berries are very bitter when fresh and have a bad aroma. The part used is the bark.
Medicinal: Cramp Bark is one of the best female regulators in the herb world. It is a uterine sedative, aiding in menstrual cramps and afterbirth. It helps to prevent miscarriage, as well as internal hemorrhaging. Damiana is used to regulate the female cycles. It is also used to stimulate the sexual appetite. It is good for urinary problems and nervousness, as well as hypertension.
The bark, known as Cramp Bark, is employed in herbal medicine. It used formerly to be included in the United States Pharmacopoeia, but is now omitted though it has been introduced into the National Formulary in the form of a Fluid Extract, Compound Tincture and Compound Elixir, for use as a nerve sedative and anti-spasmodic in asthma and hysteria.
In herbal practice in this country, its administration in decoction and infusion, as well as the fluid extract and compound tincture is recommended. It has been employed with benefit in all nervous complaints and debility and used with success in cramps and spasms of all kinds, in convulsions, fits and lockjaw, and also in palpitation, heart disease and rheumatism.
The decoction (1/2 oz. to a pint of water) is given in tablespoon doses.
The bark is collected chiefly in northern Europe and appears in commerce in thin strips, sometimes in quills, 1/20 to 1/12 inch thick, grayish-brown externally, with scattered brownish warts, faintly cracked longitudinally. It has a strong, characteristic odor and its taste is mildly astringent and decidedly bitter.
Its constituents are identical with the species of Viburnum that is more widely used and is an official drug in the United States, viz. Viburnum Prunifolium or Black Haw, though Cramp Bark contains 1/3 the resin contained in Black Haw and its similar properties are considered much weaker.
Magical: Damiana is used in infusions to incite lust, and is burned to produce visions.
California Bay Umbellularia californica
aka: California Laurel, Oregon Myrtle, Pepperwood, Mountain Laurel, California Pepper
This tree can appear as a bush of just a few branches, to a full fledged tree a hundred feet tall. The leaves are the same in either case; 3-5 inches long and pointed. (They look much like a bay leaf you'd buy in a store.) The leaves are light green, shiny, and totally flat, with a pronounced central vein. The flowers appear in April, usually light yellowish green, and these produce 2-3 seeds that change from green to brown and brittle when mature. It grows thickly in places on the California, Oregon, and Washington coasts, in shady areas.
Gather the healthiest leaves from April to late summer and dry them in a paper bag. (The fall and winter leaves can be used for cooking, but won't be as valuable, medicinally.) If stored in a plastic bag in a cool dry place, the leaves will be good for about a year.
Medicinal: The crushed leaf acts as a "smelling salt" for someone who is feeling faint. (Inhaling too much can result in a headache.) The tincture, however, is good for treating headaches, especially sinus headaches. In a tea, using hot water, it is very good anodyne and antispasmodic, and will help diarrhea and intestinal cramps, especially due to emotional causes. A strong tea has antimicrobial properties when used as a skin wash, and can be antifungal for such things as athlete's foot.
Other: The leaves can be substituted for store bought Bay leaves, for cooking.
California Bayberry Myrica californica
aka: Pacific Wax Myrtle, California Wax Myrtle, Pacific Bayberry
California Bayberry is a tall spreading shrub with several thick stems from 6-20 feet in height. The crown of the tree is rounded. The bark is light grey to brownish, with a silvery-green mottling. Often, moss and lichens grow on the stem. The trunks are divided into slender branches, greenish in color when they are in new growth. The leaves are 2-4 inches long, shiny green, with some teeth on the edges. The leaves are spicy aromatic when crushed. The male and female flowers appear in the spring as little spikes. The berries are clustered and pitted, an eighth of an inch around, and spicy waxy tasting. The roots are woody and irregular, with a thick red brown bark. Exposed roots are stronger medicinally than other parts. The plant grows along the coast.
Gather the leaves in the spring to early summer, as well as any root bark and wood that is available. Wrap the root bark and wood in a damp cloth to keep it from drying out before you can get it home. (The wood should have a red resin.) Store it in the refrigerator for a couple days. The leaves are dried and are left whole, lasting for a year and a half. The dried bark and wood will last almost a year.
Medicinal: The fresh root can be used in a tincture, as the dried root can be. This is a standard tincture. Powdered bark is used in blends. The tincture, diluted, is a very good treatment for swollen gums, used morning and evening. Bayberry stimulates the vascular system and is a vasodilator, and it can shrink the surface membranes. This makes it very good for inflammations. Bayberry is also astringent. It is used to treat sore throat, as a gargle. Internally, it helps digestion and eases constipation. Used externally, it helps with skin sores. If taken at the first sign of a cold, it can relieve or prevent the cold from taking affect. For this, use 1 teaspoon of the powder to a cup of boiling water, allow to cool a little, then sip. It makes a good tasting and warming tea.
California Buckeye Aesculus californica
aka: California Horse Chestnut
This is a shrub like tree with spreading branches. The leaves are palmate, with 5 or 7 leaflets, each with strong center veins. It grows 10-30 feet tall. The flowers are white and are in flower spikes, appearing in May to early June. The fruit splits in the fall and has a single pear shaped nut that is reddish in color. This tree grows near the coast to almost 4,000 ft elevation.
The leaves are collected in the summer and dried. The nuts are collected when they are ripe or nearly ripe, and are dried.
Medicinal: CAUTION: IN LARGE DOSES, BUCKEYE IS POISONOUS AND HAS AN EFFECT SIMILAR TO STRYCHNINE. In very small doses it is good for hemorrhoids, varicose veins in the upper thigh, pain in the prostate or uterus. For varicose veins, it is used externally as a poultice.
California Mugwort Artemesia douglasiana
aka: Douglas Mugwort
Very simple to common mugwort, this plant forms colonies of up to hundreds of plants, interconnected by underground roots. The leaves are lance shaped, with the lower leaves noticeably cleft and the upper leaves whole. They are dark green on top and silvery on the underside. The flowers are a foot or more tall and come from the leaf axils. They are small like others in the wormwood genus. These plants grow up to 6,000 feet.
California Mugwort is collected in the summer to fall, only collecting the good looking leaves. Hang and dry out of the sun, then when dried, strip off the leaves and flowers and store without crushing.
Medicinal: Usually used in a cold infusion, though a standard infusion can be used. The dried herb can last for a couple years. The tea is very good for gastritis and gastric ulcers. It can lessen the amount of stomach acid that is produced. The tea should be taken an hour before dinner, and before bedtime. It is also an antioxidant, and helps lessen cravings for fatty foods. The tea is a diaphoretic and is good for treating fevers, and can be used for loosening and removing mucus from the lungs and sinuses. The tea can also be used externally on sprains, hyperextensions, and bruises. The tea is also antifungal and antimicrobial, and the flowers make a good first aid salve. Do NOT use during pregnancy.
California Poppy Eschscholzia californica
aka: Gold Poppy
This poppy has lime green, lacy leaves. The flowers are on a leafless stalk, and are orange, with 4 petals, blooming from spring until fall. If the petals are yellowish, it is usually the sign that the soil contains minerals such as arsenic, copper, or selenium. It grows in lower altitudes in Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, and California.
The orange flowered plants are gathered when in full bloom, roots and all. Remove any dead leaves, then hang and dry out of sunlight.. If kept in a dark place in an airtight container, the dried plant will last about a year and a half.
Medicinal: It is useful for anxiety and nervousness, and as a sedative...higher doses should not be used if you are driving, operating machinery, or doing anything requiring alertness. It is used to ease the pain of stomach cramps, bruised muscles, and toothaches.
DO NOT take with prescription drugs. Also, the substances in the plant, while being different than those in opiates, are similar enough to result in a false positive when testing for opiates.
California Snakeroot Aristolochia californica
aka: Dutchman's Pipe, California Pipe Vine
Snakeroot is a large vine with alternate large silky leaves that get smaller toward the ends of the vine. The leaves are 2-4 inches long, rounded, triangular shaped. These have a bitter taste. The stems are thick and come from a thick gray brown root. The flowers hang from long stems toward the end of the vine, and are large, inflated, pendulous, greenish purple, from 1 to 1 1/2 inches long. These mature into six winged pods about 2 inches long. The plant grows primarily in Northern California, near the coast.
Gather the roots and main stems in late July to the end of September, after the seeds are ripe. Remove the leaves when gathering. The roots and stems can be used for a standard fresh or dry tincture. For the dry tincture, use 70% alcohol.
Medicinal: Snakeroot is a good tonic, good for aiding the digestive system. It can improve appetite after an illness, and appears to have anti-cancer properties. Avoid large quatities. Do NOT use during pregnancy or if you have liver or vascular disease, since it increases liver metabolism.
California Spikenard Aralia californica
aka: Western Aralia, Western Spikenard, California Ginseng
This plant can grow to 10 feet. It has large leaves, with 5-7 leaflets on stalks. The flowers are in panicles and are yellowish green, blooming in midsummer. The plant prefers shady areas. The crushed leaves have a sweet smell. The berries are about the size of peas and are blue black in color. The roots are brown on the outside, and yellowish tan on the inside. The bark of the root is fairly thick. It can grow at an elevation of more than 5,000 feet, though is more common at lower elevations.
The roots can be gathered at any time, though the spring roots are better as an expectorant or for coughs, and the fall roots are better for tonics. Dry the roots whole or in big pieces. The leaves should be picked in the summer, and dried. The berries are collected in late August and early September.
Medicinal: The fresh root is used in a standard infusion, or as a tincture with 60% alcohol. The leaf tea is used as needed. For the syrup, chop up a cup of the root and put this in 5 cups of honey. Just barely bring to a boil and simmer for 2 hours, remove from the heat, and allow the mixture to stand overnight. Warm it up and strain it. This should give you 5 cups of the syrup. If it does not, slowly boil again until it is reduced to 5 cups. Dosage for the syrup is 1/2 to 1 teaspoon as needed.
Spikenard is a good tonic, and is an expectorant for lung problems, including smoker's cough and colds. The tea and syrup is good for bronchitis. The syrup is also good for throat irritation. This plant has many of the properties of ginseng, and are good for stress reduction. The root is an anti-inflammatory, and the tea or root pulp can be used on herpes erection, rashes in skin folds, eczema, and contact dermatitis.