Balm
Glycyrrhiza glabra
Labiatae
Labrador Tea
Lavender
Lemon Balm
Levisticum officinale
Licorice
Lovage
Ludum glandulosum
Melissa officinalis
Sweet Balm
Lavender Labiatae
Lavender is a shrubby plant that grows in the mountains of the areas around the Mediterranean, and has been naturalized elsewhere. There are many different kinds of Lavender, including English Lavender and Spike Lavender, and while they have similar properties, there is a variation in their appearance.
Medicinal: Lavender tea made from the blossoms is used as an antidepressant. It is used in combination with other herbs for a remedy for depression and nervous tension and stress. It is also used as a headache remedy. It also can be used to aid digestion and calm nerves.
Other Uses: A wad of cotton moistened with Lavender will keep moths away and freshen a room. Also used to repel insects such a flies and mosquitoes.
Magical: Lavender is used in purification baths and rituals. It is used in healing incenses and sachets. Carrying the herb will enable the carrier to see ghosts. The essential oil will heighten sexual desire in men. Lavender water sprinkled on the head is helpful in keeping your chastity. The flowers are burned to induce sleep, and scattered throughout the home to maintain peaceful harmony within. Carrying lavender brings strength and courage.
Growing: Lavender likes light sandy soil and full sun. It grows to 2-3 feet tall 3 feet wide. It should be mulched in colder climates for winter protection for this perennial. Lavender is of fairly easy culture in almost any friable, garden soil. It grows best on light soil - sand or gravel - in a dry, open and sunny position. Loam over chalk also suits it. It requires good drainage and freedom from damp in winter.
The plant flourishes best on a warm, well drained loam with a slope to the south or south-west. A loam that is too rich is detrimental to the oil yield, as excessive nourishment tends to the growth of leaf. Protection against summer gales by a copse on the southwest is also of considerable value, as these gales may do great damage to the crop by causing the tall flower-spikes to break away at their junction with the stem. Lavender also is liable to injury by frost and low-lying situations and those prone to become weather bound in winter are to be avoided.
Lemon Balm Melissa officinalis
aka: Sweet Balm, Balm
The Lemon Balm root is short and perennial, and the stem is square and branching, up to 3 feet high. The leaves mint like, hairy, are either ovate or heart shaped, which have a lemony smell if bruised. They have a lemon flavor as well. The leaves are light green in color. The flowers are white or yellowish, in loose bunches, from the axils of the leaves. The flowers bloom from June to October.
Gather all parts above the ground from early summer to mid fall, hang, and dry out of the sunlight. Only gather it from areas that are clean. The leaves are also edible.
Medicinal: Lemon Balm is used in treating headaches, colds, and nervous or upset stomachs. It is a simple sedative. Externally the crushed leaves can be applied to wounds and insect bites to speed healing. Carminative, diaphoretic and febrifuge. It induces a mild perspiration and makes a pleasant and cooling tea for feverish patients in cases of catarrh and influenza. It is useful when used for menstrual cramps. To make the tea, pour 1 pint of boiling water upon 1 oz. of herb, infuse 15 minutes, allow to cool, then strain and drink freely. If sugar and a little lemon peel or juice be added it makes a refreshing summer drink. It is also a thyroid inhibitor.
Balm is a useful herb, either alone or in combination with others. It is excellent in colds attended with fever, as it promotes perspiration .
Used with salt, it used to be applied for the purpose of cleansing sores and easing the pains of gout.
Magical: Lemon Balm is used in spells to bring success, and in healing spells. It is often used in spells to find love and friendship.
Other: Lemon Balm is an insect repellent and can be rubbed into the skin for this purpose.
Growing: Lemon Balm is a perennial that can reach up to 3 feet high. It needs full sun and rich soil with regular watering. Plant where you can enjoy the lemon scent of the leaves from a porch, deck, or open window. Balm grows freely in any soil and can be propagated by seeds, cuttings or division of roots in spring or autumn. If in autumn, preferably not later than October, so that the offsets may be established before the frosts come on. The roots may be divided into small pieces, with three or four buds to each, and planted 2 feet apart in ordinary garden soil. The only culture required is to keep them clean from weeds and to cut off the decayed stalks in autumn, and then to stir the ground between the roots.
Licorice Glycyrrhiza glabra and others
The root is the part used medicinally. Licorice plants are shrubs from Europe and Asia. The plants have light pinnate leaves, giving a feathery look. The flowers are small blue, violet, yellowish, white, or purple and appear on flower spikes or racemes. The fruiting pod looks similar to peas.
Medicinal: Licorice Root is a great source of the female hormone estrogen. It is used for coughs and chest ailments. It is an important herb to use when recovering from an illness, as it supplies needed energy to the system. Used as a remedy for stomach and heart problems, indigestion, and most respiratory ailments. Helps to normalize and regulate hormone production. Should not be used by pregnant women as it can sometimes lead to high blood pressure with prolonged use. The action of Licorice is demulcent, moderately pectoral and emollient.
It is a popular and well-known remedy for coughs, consumption and chest complaints generally, notably bronchitis, and is an ingredient in almost all popular cough medicines on account of its valuable soothing properties.
Magical: Licorice root was buried in tombs and caskets to help the soul pass easily into the Summerland. Chewing on a piece of the root will make you passionate. It is added to love sachets, and an ingredient in spells to ensure fidelity.
Growing: Licorice is a perennial that reaches 3 to 7 feet tall. Hard freezes will kill it, so it grows best in warm sunny climates.
Lovage Levisticum officinale
Lovage is a stout perennial with a 5-6 inch root that is thick and fleshy. The leaves are similar to those of a carrot or celery, and these are on stalks. In June and July, there are yellow flowers that are followed by very fragrant small yellowish brown fruits. The entire plant is aromatic. The root, leaves, and seeds are used medicinally. The plants can be eaten as a vegetable.
Medicinal: Lovage root eases bloating and flatulence. It is also used with other herbs to counteract colds and flu. Magical: Lovage is added to baths to clean the psychic portion of the mind. Added to baths with rose petals will make you attractive to the opposite sex. The decoction drunk three or four times a day is effectual in pleurisy. An infusion of the root was used for jaundice and urinary troubles.
Growing: Lovage is an easy to grow perennial that grows 3 - 7 feet tall. It is adaptable to many conditions, and does best in full sun. Propagation is by division of roots or by seeds. Rich moist, but well-drained soil is required and a sunny situation. In late summer, when the seed ripens, it should be sown and the seedlings transplanted, either in the autumn or as early in spring as possible, to their permanent quarters, setting 12 inches apart each way. The seeds may also be sown in spring, but it is preferable to sow when just ripe. Root division is performed in early spring.
Labrador Tea Ludum glandulosum and groenlandicum
aka:
Trapper's Tea
The plants may differ a little in appearance. This is a low growing bush, with woody widely spaced branches. The bark is gray, brownish tan, and red brown. The leaves are oval and pointed, alternate, clustering around the ends of the branches. The flowers bloom in May to June, and are white or cream, in terminal clusters, numbering from 5-15 per cluster. Labrador Tea can be confused with Mountain Laurel, which grows in similar areas. The bush is evergreen and hardy.
Gather the leaves in the summer and fall, break off the leaf tips, and dry loosely in a paper bag. For tinctures, try gathering the leaves in the spring to early summer.
Medicinal: The tea is very good tasting, and several posts can be made from the same leaves. It is mildly laxative, yet it soothes diarrhea. It is slightly expectorant and will help dry the sinuses. A cup or two of tea is great for treating the stomach, particularly after vomiting. It is a sedative and is slightly narcotic, so avoid large quantities. The tincture can be used to kill scabies, lice, chiggers, and fleas.
Other: The leaves and flowers are fragrant and can be used as a potpourri or sachet.
Growing: The seed can be sowed in a shady part of the greenhouse in February or March, or in the fall in the beds. Germination is variable and can be quite slow. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and grow the pots on in a shady frame for 18 months before planting them out into their permanent positions.