H 

Bottle Brush
California Hedge Nettle
Cassilago
Christ's Thorn
Common Henbane
 Corylus americana
 Crataegus oxyacantha
Dutch Rushes
 Equisetum arvense
 Equisetum hyemale
 Equisetum sylvaticum
Gazels
Haw
Hawthorn
Hazel
Hazels
Heather
Henbane
Hedge Nettle
Hoarhound
Holly
Holm
Holy Tree
Hops
Horehound
Horsetail
Hulm
 Humulus Lupulus
Hulver Bush
 Hyoscyamus niger
Hyssop
 Hyssopus officinalis
 Ilex aquifolium
Jupiter's bean
 Marrubium vulgare
Mayblossom
Paddock Pipes
Pewterwort
Shave grass
 Stacys rigida
White Horehound
Whitethorn
Woundwort

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Hawthorn Crataegus oxyacantha (douglasii, columbiana, etc.)
aka: Mayblossom, Whitethorn, Haw, Hazels, Gazels

The dried haws (fruit) are the part used. This tree is familiar to most people. It blooms in May, and can grow to 30 feet, but is more commonly 10-15 feet tall. It is willow-like, with a few large trunks.  There can be a variation between species of Hawthorn.  The bark is rough and gray brown.  The leaves are bright green, 1-2 inches in length. The fruit, or haws, are similar to tiny little red apples, finally turning black, in irregular clusters. The stems and branches of hawthorn have short spines, normally less than an inch long.  The blooms have an unattractive aroma.  Hawthorn grows mostly near rivers, in moist canyons, and near the edges of meadows.

Gather the flowering branches in the spring, bundle them together and dry out of direct sunlight. For dried herb, after the branches are dry, remove the leaves and flowers, throwing away the twigs.  Hawthorn can also be collected in the fall, when the haws are ripe.

Medicinal:  Hawthorn is usually used in tea and tincture. Hawthorn is effective for curing insomnia. Hawthorn is used to prevent miscarriage and for treating nervousness. Hawthorn has been used for centuries in treating heart disease, as regular use strengthens the heart muscles, and to prevent arteriosclerosis, angina, and poor heart action. Cardiac, diuretic, astringent, tonic. Mainly used as a cardiac tonic in organic and functional heart troubles. Both flowers and berries are astringent and useful in decoction to cure sore throats. A useful diuretic in dropsy and kidney troubles.  It is one of the best herbal heart tonics, strengthening the muscles of the heart.  It can be helpful for individuals where the blood pressure and pulse are low, or arrhythmias.  It is also useful for rapid heartbeat, or tachycardia.

Magical: The leaves are used to make protection sachets. They are also carried to ensure good fishing. In Europe, Hawthorn was used to repel witchcraft spells. Bringing branches of it into the home is supposed to portend death. It is incorporated into spells and rituals for fertility. It will protect the home from damaging storms.

Growing: Hawthorn is a deciduous tree or shrub, that can reach 40 feet tall. It grows throughout North America. It is tolerant of most soils, but prefers alkaline, rich, moist loam. Consult a nursery for the best species to use in your area. The fruit is the part used in healing. A very easily grown plant, it prefers a well-drained moisture retentive loamy soil but is not at all fussy. Once established, it succeeds in excessively moist soils and also tolerates drought[200]. It grows well on a chalk soil and also in heavy clay soils. A position in full sun is best when plants are being grown for their fruit, they also succeed in semi-shade though fruit yields and quality will be lower than in a sunnier location. Propagation is by seed, in a cold frame, as soon as the fruit is ripe, then moved in the spring after the seeds have germinated.

Other:  The ripe fruit is good tasting and is edible.  In quantity, it is useful in pie or jelly. 

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Hazel  Corylus americana

Not to be confused with Witch Hazel, this is a type of beech tree.

medicinal: The tar (oil of the nuts) is stimulating and antiseptic, used internally as a stimulating expectorant in chronic bronchitis, or externally as an application in various skin diseases.

magical: Hazel's forked branches are used for divining, and the wood makes wonderful wands. Hazel nuts hung in the house will bring luck, and can be carried to cause fertility. Eaten, the nuts bring wisdom.

Growing: Hazelnut trees do best when planted in a well-drained, fertile, slightly acid soil. They do best where the winter temps are above -10.  It is easy to grow, and it succeeds in most soils including chalk, but is in general more productive of seeds when grown on soils of moderate fertility. It does well in a loamy soil.  It is propagated by seed, though it can be done by division of the suckers as well.  Stored seed should be pre-soaked in warm water for 48 hours and then given 2 weeks warm followed by 3 - 4 months cold stratification
 

Other:  The nuts are quite edible, and good when cooked into breads. 

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Heather   Calluna vulgaris

Medicinal: A tea made of heather blossoms is used to suppress coughing, and as an aid for sleeplessness. It is a good urinary antiseptic and diuretic, disinfecting the urinary tract and mildly increasing urine production.  Flowering shoots are also antiseptic, astringent, cholagogue, depurative, diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, and mildly sedative. An infusion of the flowering shoots is used in the treatment of coughs, colds, bladder and kidney problems.  It has been used in the treatment of rheumatism, arthritis and gout.

The flowering stems are collected in the fall and dried.

Magical: Heather is carried as a guard against rape and violent crime. In potpourri, it adds protection. When burned with fern, it will bring rain.

Growing: Heather prefers rocky or sandy soils and full sun. It is an evergreen shrub that grows 1 -2 feet tall.  Seed - sow as soon as it is ripe or in February in a shaded part of the greenhouse.  When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter, planting them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.

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Henbane Hyoscyamus niger
aka: Common Henbane, Jupiter's bean, Cassilago

This plant is poisonous!

It is related to potato, tobacco, and tomato plants.

Medical: Henbane stops pain, and lessens perspiration. Henbane is very toxic, so it should not be used by pregnant women or the weak or children, and should be used in only extremely small amounts for external use only, and not on a regular basis. A poultice of leaves is used briefly to remove pain from wounds. Antispasmodic, hypnotic, mild diuretic. The leaves have long been employed as a narcotic medicine. It is similar in action to belladonna and stramonium, though milder in its effects.

The drug combines the therapeutic actions of its two alkaloids, Hyoscyamine and Hyoscine. Because of the presence of the former, it tends to check secretion and to relax spasms of the involuntary muscles, while through the narcotic effects of its hyoscine it lessens pain and exercises a slight somnifacient action.

Its most important use is in relief of painful spasmodic affections of the unstriped muscles, as in lead colic and irritable bladder. It will also relieve pain in cystitis.

It is much employed to allay nervous irritation, in various forms of hysteria or irritable cough, the tincture or juice prepared from the bruised, fresh leaves and tops being given in mixtures as an antispasmodic in asthma.

Combined with silver nitrate, it is especially useful in the treatment of gastric ulcer and chronic gastric catarrh.

It is used to relieve the griping caused by drastic purgatives, and is a common ingredient of aperient pills, especially those containing aloes and colocynth.

In small repeated doses Henbane has been found to have a tranquillizing effect upon persons affected by severe nervous irritability, producing a tendency to sleep, not followed by the disorder of the digestive organs and headache, which too frequently result from the administration of repeated doses of opium, to which Henbane is often preferred when an anodyne or sedative is required. The comparatively small amount of atropine present does not give rise to the excitation and delirium occasioned by belladonna. It is, therefore, used in insomnia, especially when opium cannot be given. Except for this, it acts like atropine.

A watery solution of the extract applied to the eye has a similar effect to that of atropine, in dilating the pupil and thus preparing the eye for an operation, or assisting the cure of its internal inflammation. This dilution leaves no injurious effect afterwards.

In the form of extract or tincture, it is a valuable remedy, either as an anodyne, a hypnotic or a sedative, and will take effect when other drugs fail. When used for such a purpose, it is the active principle, Hyoscine, that is employed. This is very powerful - only a very small amount is used, from 1/200 to 1/70 of a grain of the Hydrobromate of Hyoscine. This drug comes under Table I of the Poisons Schedule. In poisonous doses Henbane in any form causes dimness of sight, faintness, delirium, and sometimes death.

Hyoscine, in combination with other drugs, has of late come into use in the treatment known as Twilight Sleep. This is on account of its sedative action on brain and spine, causing loss of recollection and insensibility. Hyoscine is also used to a considerable extent in asylum practice, for the treatment of acute mania and delirium tremens.

A sedative application for external use is prepared by macerating Henbane leaves in alcohol, mixing the strong tincture with olive oil and heating in a water-bath, until the alcohol is dissipated. A compound liniment of Henbane, when applied to the skin, is of great service for relieving obstinate rheumatic pains.

The fresh leaves, crushed and applied as a poultice, or fomentation, will similarly relieve local pains of gout or neuralgia. They have been employed also to allay pain in cancerous ulcers, irritable sores and swellings, but their use for this purpose is of doubtful real advantage, and seems only a palliative. The extract, in form of suppositories, is also frequently used to alleviate the pain of hemorrhoids.

In the case of adults, twenty seeds have been proved insufficient to prove fatal, though they induced grave results, the effects being the same as in poisoning by atropine or belladonna, the remedies to be employed being an emetic of mustard, followed by large draughts of warm water, strong tea or coffee, with powdered charcoal; stimulants (whisky, etc.), if necessary; the patient to be roused if drowsy; heat and friction to be applied to the extremities and finally, in acute cases, artificial respiration.

Magical: Henbane is sometimes thrown into the water to bring rain. In olden times, it had many more uses, but is seldom used today due to its poisonous nature.

Growing: Henbane grows wild throughout temperate North Americal. Due to its toxic nature, it is not advisable to grow in the home garden.

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Holly Ilex aquifolium
aka: Hulver Bush, Holm, Hulm, Holy Tree, Christ's Thorn

It is native to Europe and generally grows to 30-40 feet. The leaves are thick and glossy, about 2 inches long and 1 1/4 inch broad, and edged with stout prickles, whose direction is alternately upwards and downwards, and of which the terminal one alone is invariably in the same plane as the leaf. The leaves have neither taste nor odor. The berries, though eaten by birds, are injurious to human beings, and children should be warned against them.

Medicinal: Holly leaves were formerly used as a diaphoretic and an infusion of them was given in catarrh, pleurisy and smallpox. They have also been used in intermittent fevers and rheumatism for their febrifugal and tonic properties, and powdered, or taken in infusion or decoction, have been employed with success where Cinchona has failed, their virtue being said to depend on a bitter principle, an alkaloid named Ilicin. The juice of the fresh leaves has been employed with advantage in jaundice.

The berries possess totally different qualities to the leaves, being violently emetic and purgative, a very few occasioning excessive vomiting soon after they are swallowed, though thrushes and blackbirds eat them with impunity. They have been employed in dropsy; also, in powder, as an astringent to check bleeding.

Magical: Holly is used as a protective plant, and used as decoration during the Yule season. Planted outside the home, it will also afford protection. Sprinkle holly water on newborn babies to protect them.

Growing: Holly likes slightly acid soils, and can tolerate poor, sandy soil. It needs full sun, and grows to about 4 feet tall. he Holly will grow in almost any soil, provided it is not too wet, but attains the largest size in rich, sandy or gravelly loam, where there is good drainage, and a moderate amount of moisture at the roots, for in very dry localities it is usually stunted in its growth, but it will live in almost any earth not saturated with stagnant water. The most favorable situation seems to be a thin scattered wood of Oaks, in the intervals of which it grows up at once. It is rarely injured by even the most severe winters.

Holly is raised from seeds, which do not germinate until the second year, hence the berries are generally buried in a heap of earth for a year previously to being sown. The young plants are transplanted when about a foot or 18 inches high, autumn being the best time for the process. If intended for a hedge, the soil around should be previously well trenched and moderately manured if necessary. Holly exhausts the soil around it to a greater extent than most deciduous trees. At least two years will be needed to recover the check given by transplanting. Although always a slow grower, Holly grows more quickly after the first four or five years.

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Hops Humulus Lupulus

Hops are native to England and have been naturalized elsewhere. The root is strong and perennial. The stem twines and can get very long and flexible. The leaves are heart shaped and loped, on long stalks. The flowers come from the axils of the leaves. Female flowers are cone like.

Medicinal: Hops is a sedative. Therefore, it is useful in treating insomnia and nervous tension. It is mild and safe. It is used in brewing beer and ales. Hops is also used for treating coughs, bladder ailments, and liver ailments. Externally it is used to treat itching skin rashes and hives. It also removes poisons from the body. Hops have tonic, nervine, diuretic and anodyne properties. Their volatile oil produces sedative and soporific effects, and the Lupamaric acid or bitter principle is stomachic and tonic. For this reason Hops improve the appetite and promote sleep.

The official preparations are an infusion and a tincture. The infusion is employed as a vehicle, especially for bitters and tonics: the tincture is stomachic and is used to improve the appetite and digestion. Both preparations have been considered to be sedative, were formerly much given in nervousness and hysteria and at bedtime to induce sleep; in cases of nervousness, delirium and inflammation being considered to produce a most soothing effect, frequently procuring for the patient sleep after long periods of sleeplessness in overwrought conditions of the brain. An infusion of 1/2 oz. Hops to 1 pint of water will be found the proper quantity for ordinary use. It has proved of great service also in heart disease, fits, neuralgia and nervous disorders, besides being a useful tonic in indigestion, jaundice, and stomach and liver affections generally. It gives prompt ease to an irritable bladder, and is said to be an excellent drink in cases of delirium tremens. Sherry in which some Hops have been steeped makes a capital stomachic cordial.

Magical: Hops is used in healing incenses. Sleep pillows often include hops to induce sleep and pleasant dreams.

Growing: Hops prefers full sun, and will adapt to many soils. It is a perennial vine that reaches to 30 feet in height. The portion of the plant used in healing are the dried flowers.

RECIPES FOR HERB BEERS
Formerly every farmhouse inn had a brewing plant and brew house attached to the buildings, and all brewed their own beer till the large breweries were established and supplanted home-brewed beers. Many of these farmhouses then began to brew their own 'stingo' from wayside herbs, employing old rustic recipes that had been carried down from generation to generation. The true value of vegetable bitters and of herb beers have yet to be recognized by all sections of the community. Workmen in puddling furnaces and potteries in the Midland and Northern counties find, however, that a tea made of tonic herbs is cheaper and less intoxicating than ordinary beer and patronize the herb beers freely, Dandelion Stout ranking as one of the favorites. It is also made in Canada.

Dandelion is a good ingredient in many digestive or diet drinks. A dinner drink may be made as follows: Take 2 OZ. each of dried Dandelion and Nettle herbs and 1 OZ. of Yellow Dock. Boil in 1 gallon of water for 15 minutes and then strain the liquor while hot on to 2 Lb. of sugar, on the top of which is sprinkled 2 tablespoons of powdered Ginger. Leave till milk-warm, then add boiled water gone cold to bring the quantity up to 2 gallons. The temperature must then not be above 75 degrees F. Now dissolve 1/2 oz. solid yeast in a little of the liquid and stir into the bulk. Allow to ferment 24 hours, skim and bottle, and it will be ready for use in a day or two.

A good, pleasant-tasting botanic beer is also made of the Nettle alone. Quantities of the young fresh tops are boiled in a gallon of water, with the juice of two lemons, a teaspoonful of crushed ginger and 1 Lb. of brown sugar. Fresh yeast is floated on toast in the liquor, when cold, to ferment it, and when it is bottled the result is a specially wholesome sort of ginger beer.

Meadow Sweet was also formerly much in favor. The mash when worked with barm made a pleasant drink, either in the harvest field or at the table. It required little sugar, some even made it without any sugar at all.

Another favorite brew was that of armfuls of Meadowsweet, Yarrow, Dandelion and Nettles, and the mash when 'sweetened with old honey' and well worked with barm, and then bottled in big stoneware bottles, made a drink strong enough to turn even an old toper's head.

Old honeycomb from the thatch of an ancient cottage, filled with rich and nearly black honey, when boiled into syrup and then strained, was used in the making of herb beer, while the wax was put at the mouths of the hives for the bees.

Dandelion, Meadowsweet and Agrimony, equal quantities of each, would also be boiled together for 20 minutes (about 2 OZ. each of the dried herbs to 2 gallons of water), then strained and 2 lb. of sugar and 1/2 pint of barm or yeast added. This was bottled after standing in a warm place for 12 hours. This recipe is still in use.

A Herb Beer that needs no yeast is made from equal quantities of Meadowsweet, Betony, Agrimony and Raspberry leaves (2 OZ. of each) boiled in 2 gallons of water for 15 minutes, strained, then 2 lb. of white sugar added and bottled when nearly cool.

In some outlying islands of the Hebrides there is still brewed a drinkable beer by making two-thirds Heath tops with one-third of malt.

HOP BITTERS, as an appetizer, to be taken in tablespoonful doses three times in the day before eating, may be made as follows: Take 2 OZ. of Buchu leaves and 1/2 lb. of Hops. Boil these in 5 quarts of water in an iron vessel for an hour. When lukewarm add essence of Winter green (Pyrola) 2 OZ. and 1 pint alcohol.

Another way of making Hop Bitters is to take 1/2 oz. Hops, 1 OZ. Angelica Herb and 1 OZ. Holy Thistle. Pour 3 pints of boiling water on them and strain when cold. A wineglassful may be taken four times a day.

To make a good HOP BEER, put 2 OZ. Hops in 2 quarts of water for 15 minutes. Then strain and dissolve 1 lb. of sugar in the liquor. To this add 4 quarts of cold water and 2 tablespoons of fresh barm. Allow to stand for 12 hours in a warm place and it will then be ready for bottling.

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Horehound Marrubium vulgare
aka: White Horehound, Hoarhound

Horehound is native to Europe and England. The plant is bushy, with many whitish flowers arranged in whorls. The leaves are wrinkled, opposite, about 1" long, and covered by fine white hairs, giving them a woolly appearance. They have a musky aroma. The seeds are burr-like and stick to clothing.  The flowers bloom from June to September. The plant can grow in poor soils or rich soils, and at many different altitudes. The whole herb is used medicinally.

Medicinal: Horehound is used in children's cough remedies, as it is a gentle but effective expectorant. It acts as a tonic for the respiratory system and stomach. In large doses it acts as a laxative. White Horehound has long been noted for its efficacy in lung troubles and coughs.  A tincture can be used, as can an infusion or tea. 

Preparations of Horehound are still largely used as expectorants and tonics. It is a very popular pectoral remedies, being given with benefit for chronic cough, asthma, and some cases of consumption.  It has anti-inflammatory properties. The leaves and young flowering stems are antiseptic, antispasmodic, cholagogue, diaphoretic, digestive, diuretic, emmenagogue, strongly expectorant, hepatic, stimulant and tonic.

Horehound is sometimes combined with Hyssop, Rue, Liquorice root and Marshmallow root, 1/2 oz. of each boiled in 2 pints of water, to 1 1/2 pint, strained and given in 1/2 teacupful doses, every two to three hours.  It can also be combined with passion flower for treating asthma.

For children's coughs and croup, it is given to advantage in the form of syrup, by making a tea then boiling it down until it is strong, and adding honey, and is a most useful medicine for children, not only for the complaints mentioned, but as a tonic and a corrective of the stomach. It has quite a pleasant taste.

Taken in large doses, it acts as a gentle purgative.

The powdered leaves have also been employed as a vermifuge and the green leaves, bruised and boiled in lard, are made into an ointment which is good for wounds.

For ordinary cold, a simple infusion of Horehound (Horehound Tea) is generally very good. The tea may be made by pouring boiling water on the fresh or dried leaves, 1 OZ. of the herb to the pint. A wineglassful may be taken three or four times a day.

Candied Horehound is best made from the fresh plant by boiling it down until the juice is extracted, then adding sugar before boiling this again, until it has become thick enough in consistence to pour into a paper case and be cut into squares when cool.

Two or three teaspoons of the expressed juice of the herb may also be given as a dose in severe colds.

Magical: Horehound is used in incenses for protection. It is also used in exorcisms.

Growing: Horehound likes dry sandy soils and full sun. It is a perennial (except in very cold climates) that reaches to 3 feet tall. It is a vigorous grower and can become a pest if not carefully controlled. It needs little water, tolerates poor soils, and does best in full sun. It blooms during its second year.  White horehound is an easily grown plant that succeeds in most well-drained soils.  It is grown by sowing seeds in April/May or August or September in a cold frame. Germination can be slow and erratic

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Horsetail     Equisetum arvense, Equisetum hyemale, Equisetum maximum, Equisetum sylvaticum
aka: Shave grass, Bottle Brush, Paddock Pipes, Dutch Rushes, Pewterwort

The plant is closely related to the plants that became coal and oil. Stems sprout from a rhizome, and are erect, jointed, brittle, and grooved. They are hollow except at the joints. There are no leaves. The stems contain a large amount of silica, and have been used to polish metal and to scrub pots and pans clean.

Medicinal: Horsetail is used in treating urinary tract infections. It aids in coagulation and decreases bleeding. It will also help broken bones heal faster, and will help brittle nails and hair, due to its high silica content. It has also been used as part of a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. The plant alone, boiled in water, makes an effective foot soak for tired feet, or for the treatment of athlete's foot. Do not use if pregnant or nursing. Diuretic and astringent. Horsetail has been found beneficial in dropsy, gravel and kidney affections generally, and a drachm of the dried herb, powdered, taken three or four times a day, has proved very effectual in spitting of blood. They are good for kidney and bladder problems, and are emmenagogue in action with a strong decoction. They are also good for hemorrhage, and ulcers in the urinary tract. Externally, they help stop bleeding.

Magical: Whistles made from the stalks of Horsetail are used to call the spirits.

Growing: Horsetail needs swamps and damp places to grow, in full sun to partial shade. It grows to 1- 2 feet tall. The plant itself is used in healing.

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Hyssop Hyssopus officinalis

Hyssop is an evergreen bushy herb that grows about 2 feet tall. The stem is square, and the flowers are arranged in whorls. It is a native to Europe.

Medicinal: Hyssop is used in treating lung ailments. The leaves have been applied to wounds to aid in healing. The tea is also used to soothe sore throats. It has been used to inhibit the growth of the herpes simplex virus. Expectorant, diaphoretic, stimulant, pectoral, carminative. The healing virtues of the plant are due to a particular volatile oil, which is a stimulant, carminative and sudorific. It admirably promotes expectoration, and in chronic catarrh its diaphoretic and stimulant properties combine to render it of especial value. It is usually given as a warm infusion, taken frequently and mixed with Horehound. Hyssop Tea is also a grateful drink, well adapted to improve the tone of a feeble stomach, being brewed with the green tops of the herb, which are sometimes boiled in soup to be given for asthma. In America, an infusion of the leaves is used externally for the relief of muscular rheumatism, and also for bruises and discolored contusions, and the green herb, bruised and applied, will heal cuts promptly.

The infusion has an agreeable flavor and is used by herbalists in pulmonary diseases.

It was once much employed as a carminative in flatulence and hysterical complaints, but is now seldom employed.

A tea made with the fresh green tops, and drunk several times daily, is one of the old fashioned country remedies for rheumatism that is still employed. Hyssop baths have also been recommended as part of the cure, but the quantity used would need to be considerable.

Infusion: a quarter of an ounce of dried hyssop flowers in a pint of boiling water for ten minutes; sweeten with honey, and take a wineglassful three times a day.

Magical: Hyssop is used in purification baths and rituals, and used to cleanse persons and objects.

Growing: Hyssop prefers dry conditions, tolerates most soils, and full sun. It is a member of the mint family. It is a perennial shrubby plant growing to 3 feet tall. It may be propagated by seeds, sown in April, or by dividing the plants in spring and autumn, or by cuttings, made in spring and inserted in a shady situation. Plants raised from seeds or cuttings, should, when large enough, be planted out about 1 foot apart each way, and kept watered till established. They succeed best in a warm aspect and in a light, rather dry soil. The plants require cutting in, occasionally, but do not need much further attention.

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Hedge Nettles grow in colonies, and have prickly branches, opposite leaves.  The flowers are on terminal spikes, and are purple to pink.  The seeds are in strands rather than in bundles or whorls.  The plants have a scent that is almost unpleasant in strength, but is a bit like mint.  They are found in moist areas. 

Gathering is done in summer to fall and is used in tinctures or teas.  Poultices can be used at any time.

Medicinal:  The fresh tincture is standard, and the dry tincture is with 50% alcohol.  Both are taken by the 1/2 to 1 tsp, four times a day.  The infusion is standard.  These are used for painful internal inflammation, migraine, hangovers, headaches from eye strain, joint inflammation, sprains (these last two, both internally and externally), and sore throats.  The plant is haemostatic, astringent, disinfectant, lessens inflammation, and pain.  Combined with Scullcap or Lemon Balm, it is used for nervousness, irritability, and insomnia.  The leaves are disinfectant and stomachic, and infusions of the leaves have been used in the treatment of stomach aches.

Growing: This plant can be grown by sowing the seed in spring in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, put the seedlings into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent locations in late spring or early summer, after the last frosts.

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