Bird's Nest
Brandy Mint
Broad-leafed Plantain
Corn Rose
Corn Poppy
Cuckoo's Bread
Daucus carota
Englishman's Foot
Mentha piperita
Mentha Pulegium
Paeonia Alba
Papaver Rhoeas
Patchouli
Peony
Peppermint
Periwinkle
Plantago major
Plantain
Pogostemon patchouli
Poppy
Pudding Grass
Queen Anne's Lace
Ripple Grass
Snakeweed
Vinca major
Waybread
Waybroad
White Man's Foot
Wild Carrot
Patchouli Pogostemon patchouli
Patchouli is a fragrant herb, having opposite, egg shaped and soft leaves and
square stems. It grows to 3 feet. The flowers are whitish tinged with purple.
Medicinal: Patchouli is used to treat dysentery, diarrhea, colds without fevers,
vomiting, and nausea. It can sometimes cause the loss of appetite and sleep.
Magical: Patchouli is a powerful oil worn to attract the opposite sex. It is a
sensual oil, and it can ward off negativity and evil. It is also burned in
incenses to aid divination and clairvoyance.
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Pennyroyal Mentha Pulegium
aka: Run by the Ground, Pudding Grass
Pennyroyal is the smallest species of mint. There is more than one type of
pennyroyal. The leaves are small and have hairs, from 1 to 1 1/2 inches long by
1/2 inch broad. The flowers are in whorls, redish purple to lilac blue, blooming
in July and August. The see is light brown, small, and oval. The herb is usually
dried for medicinal use.
Medicinal: Pennyroyal herb removes gas from the digestive system. It is also
used as a tea, taken a few days before menstruation to aid a suppressed flow. It
is used in treatments for clods, upset stomach, and to stimulate blood flow to
the pelvis area. It's strong minty smell makes its essential oil useful for
externally repelling insects such as mosquitoes, fleas, and flies. It should not
be taken or used by pregnant women. Large internal doses have been known to
cause convulsions and coma. Pennyroyal oil is an effective insect repellant.
Pennyroyal oil should NEVER be taken internally! Its action is carminative,
diaphoretic, stimulant and emmenagogic. It is also good for spasms, hysteria,
flatulence and sickness, being very warming for the stomach.
The infusion of 1 OZ. of herb to a pint of boiling water is taken warm in
teacupful doses, frequently repeated, and the oil is also given on sugar, as
well as being made up into pills and other preparations.
Magical: Pennyroyal placed in a shoe will prevent weariness on long walks and
hikes, or journeys. It is also added to protection and exorcism incenses. It
aids in making favorable business deals. It is given to arguing couples to cease
their fighting and restore harmony in the relationship.
Growing: Pennyroyal is a perennial that grows to 1 1/2 feet high. It tolerates
most soils, and prefers direct sun. Grow as you would any member of the mint
family. It grows easily from seed.
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Peony Paeonia Alba
Medicinal: Peony root treats menstrual cramps and irregularities. It is also
used in combination with other herbs to ease emotional nervous conditions.
Magical: Dried Peony roots are carved and/or made into bracelets and necklaces
for protection, as well as for breaking spells and curses. Peonies planted
outside the home guard against storm damage and demons. A chain of beads cut
from the dried root was worn as a protection against illness and injury, and to
cure insanity.
Growing: Peonies are a perennial shrub-like plant, Growing 2 - 4 feet high. They
prefer rich, humousy, well-drained soils, and full sun.
Peppermint Mentha piperita
aka: Brandy Mint
Peppermint grows wild along stream banks and in waste areas. The leaves are on
short stalks, 2 inches long, 3/4 to 1 1/2 inches broad. The margins are finely
toothed. The stems are 2 feet, sometimes up to 4 feet tall, sometimes purplish,
and strongly 4 sided. The flowers are in whorls and are reddish violet, in the
axils of the upper leaves. The entire plant smells of mint, and is used
medicinally. The herb is cut just before flowering, from late July to August. It
should be done on a dry sunny day, late in the morning after any dew has dried
off.
Medicinal: Peppermint cleans and strengthens the body. It acts as a sedative on
the stomach and strengthens the bowels. It is also mild enough to give to
children as needed for chills and colds. Used with bitter herbs to improve their
taste. It is anti-spasmodic, stimulating, stomachic, and carminative, valuable
in dyspepsia, flatulence, and colic. It is useful for other pains and cramps in
the belly, and for cholera and diahrrea. It sooths nausea and is good for colds
and flus. An infusion of 1 ounce of the dried herb to a pint of boiling water
being employed, taken in wineglassful doses; sugar and milk may be added if
desired. For colds, it is often combined with Elder Flowers for colds.
Peppermint tea is used to treat palpitation of the heart.
For insomnia: 1 OZ. Peppermint herb, cut fine, 1/2 OZ. Rue herb, 1/2 OZ. Wood
Betony. Well mix and place a large tablespoonful in a teacup, fill with boiling
water, stir and cover for twenty minutes, strain and sweeten, and drink the warm
infusion on going to bed.
Magical: Peppermint is used in charms to heal the sick, as well as in incenses
in the sickroom of the patient. It is burned to cleanse the home, and is used in
sleep pillows to aid in getting to sleep. Placed beneath the pillow, it can
bring dreams that give a glimpse into the future. The essential oil is used in
spells to create a positive change in one's life.
Growing: Peppermint is a perennial grown in full sun, is tolerant of most soil
types, and grows to 3 feet tall. It does best in rich well drained soil.
Propagation is usually by root.
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Periwinkle Vinca major
Periwinkles are usually well known. The leaves are evergreen, deep green in
color, and it spreads by long rooting branches. The leaves are opposite on the
stemm, large, egg shaped. The flowers are a deep purplish blue (there is a white
variety), and tube like.
Medicinal: Periwinkle is used made into a tea or salve for external use to treat
skin problems such as dermatitis, eczema, and acne. Periwinkle has astringent
and tonic properties. It is used for menorrhagia and hemorrhages, clearing the
intestines and lungs, diahhrea, congestion, tonsilitis. It can be used as a
gargle. The flowers are gently purgative, but aren't as powerful once they are
dried. A homoeopathic tincture is made from the fresh leaves.
Magical: Periwinkle can help restore memory when it is gazed at or carried. It
is also hung on a door to protect all within, and to prevent a witch from
entering a home.
Growing: Periwinkle is a perennial plant that spreads by putting out runners,
mostly used for a ground cover in partial to full shade. It prefers moist,
well-drained soils.
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Plantain Plantago major
aka: Broad-leafed Plantain, Ripple Grass, Waybread, Waybroad, Snakeweed,
Cuckoo's Bread, Englishman's Foot, White Man's Foot
Plaintain grows from a short rhizome, which bears a number of long straight
yellowish roots. The leaves are large, with a few slender flowered spikes. The
leaves are ovate, blunt, and broad, 4-10 inches long and about 2/3 as wide. The
flowers are purplish green. The Root, leaves, and flower spikes are the parts
most often used medicinally.
Medicinal: Plantain is used to clear mucous from the body, and to neutralize
poisons. As a mild tea it is used to treat lung problems in children, and as a
stronger tea is used to treat stomach ulcers. It is also used for diarrhea,
bladder infections, and for treating wounds. Refrigerant, diuretic, deobstruent
and somewhat astringent, plantain is used for inflammations of the skin, fever,
as a vulnerary, and externally on sores. It is sometimes used for hemorrhage.
A decoction of Plantain was considered good in disorders of the kidneys, and the
root, powdered, in complaints of the bowels.
To prepare a plain infusion, still recommended in herbal medicine for diarrhoea
and piles, pour 1 pint of boiling water on 1 OZ. of the herb, stand in a warm
place for 20 minutes, afterwards strain and let cool. Take a wineglassful to
half a teacupful three or four times a day.
Magical: Plantain is hung in the car to guard against evil spirits.
Growing: Plantains are common weeds, some varieties being annual and some
perennial. They are found in all soil types, and prefer full sun.
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Poppy Papaver Rhoeas
aka: Corn Rose, Corn Poppy
The flowers and petals, and sometimes the seeds, are the parts used medicinally.
The leaves have been used as a vegatable. The plant is mildly narcotic.
Medicinal: Poppy is used for pain, insomnia, nervousness, and chronic coughs.
Magical: Poppy seed pods are used in prosperity charms. The seeds are added to
food to aid in getting pregnant. To find the answer to a question, write it in
blue ink on a piece of white paper. Place the paper inside a poppy seed pod and
put it beneath your pillow. The answer will come to you in a dream.
Growing: Poppies are perennials that like poor to average soils that tend toward
dryness. There are varieties that will grow most anywhere in North America.
Their foliage tends to die off by July, after a spectacular showing of flowers
in the spring, but the foliage begins rejuvenation around September, which waits
until spring to begin Growing again.
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Queen Anne's Lace Daucus carota
aka: Wild Carrot, Bird's Nest
The roots are small and whitish, with a strong carrot smell. The stems are
erect, to 2 feet high, tough, and covered with coarse hairs. The flowers are
white and arranged in a large head. The leaves are carrot like. The whole herb,
seeds, and root are used medicinally.
Medicinal: Queen Anne's Lace is used for treating gallstones and kidney stones,
as well as water retention and strains and sprains. Queen Anne's Lace is a
Diuretic and a stimulant. An infusion of the whole herb is considered an active
and valuable remedy in the treatment of dropsy, chronic kidney diseases and
affections of the bladder. The infusion, made from 1 OZ. of the herb in a pint
of boiling water, is taken in wineglassful doses. Carrot tea, taken night and
morning, and brewed in this manner from the whole front, is considered excellent
for gout treatment. The tea relieves flatulence.
The seeds are carminative, stimulant, fight flatulence, hiccup, dysentery,
chronic coughs. It is used in Jaundice treatment as well.
Growing: Queen Anne's Lace is found throughout most of North America. It is a
wildflower, distinguished by the one red flower in the center of a cluster of
many tiny white flowers. It is a biennial that grows to 3 feet tall.