Achillea millefolium
Artemisia absinthium
Black Cherry
Bloodwort
Cartenter's Weed
Colic Root
Common Walnut
Common Wormwood
Curled Dock
Devil's Nettle
Dioscorea Villosa
European Willow
Green Ginger
Hamamelis virginiana
Juglans nigra
Milfoil
Nose Bleed
Old Man's Pepper
Prunus serotina
Pussy Willow
Rheumatism Root
River Willow
Rumex crispus
Salix alba
Sanguinary
Snapping Hazelnut
Spotted Alder
Virginian Prune
Walnut
White Willow
Wild Cherry
Wild Yam
Willow
Winterbloom
Witch Hazel
Wormwood
Woundwort
Yarrow
Yarroway
Yellow Dock
Walnut Juglans nigra
aka: Common Walnut
The common walnut is a large tree with strong boughs. It grows to 40-60 feet,
with a large top and thick trunk. The flowers of both sexes are on the same
tree, and appear before the leaves in the spring. The seeds are encased in a
fleshy fruit. The leaves and bark are the parts used medicinally. The leaves
should be cooled out of the sun. Leaves should be stored in air tight containers
and kept in a dry place. The dried leaves will keep their color. The bark is
dried the same way. The green husks of the fruit are boiled to make yellow dye.
The leaves yield a brown dye which is an insect repellant. Leaves should be
collected in June and July, in good weather, in the morning after the dew has
dried off.
Medicinal: Walnut bark is used to treat dysentery and skin diseases. The nut is
used to promote strength and weight gain. The hull of the nut is used to treat
skin diseases, herpes, head and body lice, and internal parasites. Walnut leaf
is used to treat eczema, hives, and boils. Walnut leaves and bark are
alternative, laxative, astringent, and detergent. The unripe nut is a vermifuge.
The bark, dried and powdered and used in an infusion, is a gurgative.
Magical: The nut still in its shell is carried to promote fertility. To discover
if a Witch is in your midst, legend has it that you should drop a walnut still
in its shell into the lap of the person suspected, and if that person is truly a
Witch, they will be unable to rise from a sitting position as long as the walnut
is in their laps.
Growing: Walnuts are trees that grow to 60 feet tall. They prefer full sun, deep
and well-drained soil, and regular water. They grow well in areas such as the
eastern and midwestern United States.
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Wild Cherry Prunus serotina
aka: Virginian Prune, Black Cherry
The tree grows from 50 to 80 feet tall, and is 2-4 feet thick. The bark is black
and rough. The wood is fine grained and beautiful. Leaves are 3-5 inches long
and about 2 inches wide. The white blooms occur in May. The fruit is about the
size of a pea, purple black, in a globular drupe. They are edible but bitter,
and ripen in August and September. The bark of the root, trunk, and branches is
used medicinally, with the root bark being the best.
Medicinal: Wild Cherry Bark is a very good expectorant. It is therefore useful
for all ilnesses that have related lung congestion. The bark is boiled down into
a syrup, which is safe to use even for children. The bark is also astringent,
tonic, and sedative.
Magical: Cherry brands make excellent wands.
Growing: Wild Cherry grows throughout North America in moist areas, and along
riverbanks. It is either a tall shrub or small tree, depending upon Growing
conditions of the area.
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Wild Yam Dioscorea Villosa
aka: Colic Root, Rheumatism Root
The plant is a perennial, twining plant, with long knotty root stocks. The root
is woody and has no odor.The roots are the part used medicinally, and should
only be used from the first year plant.
Medicinal: Wild Yam is helpful to the liver and the endocrine system. It is also
used in regulation of the female system, particularly during menopause and
menstrual distress, as well as used in treating infertility. Used with chaste
berry and dandelion it is an effective treatment for morning sickness. It is
antispasmodic, and used for hiccups.
Growing:Usually found wild in the eastern half of North America, it is a
perennial plant that is a low creeper, and occupies average to poor soils and
full sun.
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Willow Salix alba
aka: European Willow, White Willow, Pussy Willow, River Willow
There are many types of willow, each with the same properties in varying
amounts. The bark is usually grayish, and is the part used medicinally,
especially the inner bark, or cambium.
Medicinal: Willow works like aspirin. In fact, aspirin was derived from willow
bark. It is also used to cleanse and heal eyes that are infected or inflamed. It
is safe to use, and is mild on the stomach and leaves no after-effects. The bark
is tonic, antiperiodic, and astringent.
Magical: Willow trees are planted near the home as a guard. Its branches have
been used for the bindings on a witch's broom, and as healing wands. It is also
used to bring the blessings of the moon into your life.
Growing: Willows prefer damp, low spaces, as a long rivers and streams, or areas
that receive regular water. They grow throughout North America. It grows to 70
feet or more.
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Witch Hazel Hamamelis virginiana
aka: Spotted Alder, Winterbloom, Snapping Hazelnut
This is a shrub or tree with several crooked branching trunks coming from the
same root, each up to 4-6 inches in diameter and about 12 feet tall. The bark is
smooth gray, and the leaves 3-5 inches long and about 3 inches wide. The yellow
flowers appear in September and October, in clusters, followed by nuts, black.
The seeds are oily and edible. The dried bark, and the leaves both fresh and
dried, are used medicinally.
Medicinal: Witch Hazel is used externally for insect bites, burns, bleeding
wounds, hemorrhoids, and varicose veins. Internally it will stop bleeding from
internal organs, treats bronchitis, flu, and coughs as well as promotes healing
of stomach ulcers. It is often used as a mouthwash for conditions of the mouth
and throat, and for bleeding gums. Witch Hazel is astringent, tonic, sedative,
and good for both internal and external bleeding. It has been used by Native
Americans in poutices for swellings and tumours. A tea of the leaves can be
freely used for ulcers. An ointment is made with 1 part fluid bark extract to 9
parts of simple ointment.
Magical: The forked twigs of the Witch Hazel are used for divining. It will help
heal a broken heart and cool passions when carried.
Growing: Witch Hazel is a shrub or small tree that grows 5 - 15 feet. It ranges
throughout the eastern half of North America. It prefers full sun, and average
soils.
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Wormwood Artemisia absinthium
aka: Common Wormwood, Green Ginger
The root is perennial, and leafy stims arise from it. The flowering stem is 2 to
2 1/2 feet tall and white. The leaves are also whitish from the hairs. The
flowers are globular and are greenish yellow, blooming from July to October. The
whole herb is used medicinally.
Medicinal: Wormwood is used for all problems within the digestive system, as
well as liver and bladder ailments. It promotes menstruation and will help with
menstrual cramps. Do not give to small children, and use only in very small
quantities for very short periods of time, as the FDA considers this a poisonous
plant. Wormwood is a nervine tonic, stomachic, febrifuge, and anthelmintic. Tea
is made by infusing 1 oz of the herb in 2 cups boiling water for 10-12 minutes.
The dried and powdered flowers are good as a vermifuge.
Magical: Wormwood is burned to raise your spirits to a higher level, enabling
easier divination and clairvoyance. Thrown on the fire at Samhain, it will
protect from the spirits that roam that night.
Growing: Wormwood grows mainly in temperate regions of the eastern portion of
North America. It is a perennial shrub that reaches to 4 feet tall, and prefers
full sun and average to poor soils.
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Yarrow Achillea millefolium
aka: Milfoil, Old Man's Pepper, Woundwort, Nose Bleed, Bloodwort, Cartenter's
Weed, Sanguinary, Devil's Nettle, Yarroway
The stem is angular and rough. The leaves are alternate, 3-4 inches long by 1
inch wide, and appear feathery. the flowers appear from June to September and
are white or pale lilac, looking like tiny daisies. The whole plant is used
medicinally.
Medicinal: Yarrow is used to stimulate and regulate the liver. It acts as a
blood purifier and heals the glandular system. It has been used as a
contraceptive, and as a part of diabetes treatment, as well as treating gum
ailments and toothache. Also is used in formulas for treating colds, flus, and
fevers. It arrests internal and external bleeding during childbirth. It is used
to stop the bleeding of external wounds.Pregnant women should avoid this herb.
Yarrow is diaphoretic, astringent, tonic, stimulant and aromatic. Yarrow tea is
good for bad colds. An infusion is made by pouring 2 cups boiling water over 1
oz dried herb, drank warm in half cup doses. It can be sweetened with honey or
sugar.
Magical: Since Yarrow has the ability to keep a couple together for 7 years, it
is used in love sachets as well as a gift to give to newlyweds. When worn it
wards off negativity, and if held in your hand it repels fear. Yarrow added to
the bath protects from harm.
Growing: Yarrow is a perennial, and its various varieties range from 8 inches to
3 feet tall. It prefers full sun, and average to poor dry soils.
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Yellow Dock Rumex crispus
aka: Curled Dock
A plant of waste places, the leaves curling at the edges. The roots are 8-12
inches long and about 1/2 inch thick. They are reddish brown outside and white
inside. The stem can grow to 3 feet, and the leaves are 6-10 inches long. The
roots are collected in March.
Medicinal: Yellow Dock is a powerful blood purifier and astringent. It is used
in treating all diseases of the blood and skin It is very high in iron, making
it useful for treating anemia. It nourishes the spleen and liver, detoxifies the
liver, and cleanses and enriches the blood. The root is used as a laxative,
alterative, and mild tonic. A syrup can be made by boiling a half pound of the
crushed root in 2 cups of syrup, and is taken by tsp doses. The infusion is
standard; pouring 2 cups boiling water over 1 oz of the powdered root. It is
used in treatment of cancer. It is also good for using the crushed green leaves
on stinging nettle rashes, to remove the sting.