THAPSIA GARGANICA OR DRIAS PLANT - WITH GREEK ORIGINS: HISTORY, USES AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF THAPSIA GARGANICA

DRIAS PLANT, FALSE FENNEL, THAPSIA GARGANICA

This plant is native to the Mediterranean area and is called Thapsia because it is said that it was found on the island of Thapsos, although it grows throughout Greece including in Attiki. It is a member of the Apiaceae or Umbelliferae family of plants so is related to carrots, lesser burnet saxifrage, caraway, dill, fennel, sweet Cicely and cow parsley to name but a few of its relatives.

  It grows to around 4 feet tall or 1.2 metres and looks a lot like fennel. It flowers in July and August, bearing fruit in autumn.

  The ancient Greeks called it “the deadly carrot” as any cattle eating it would die, although it is related that indigenous cattle kept away from it - only imported ones were foolhardy enough to eat it. In Algeria it is said to have killed unwary camels within a few days of ingesting it.

  Theophrastus and Dioscorides, the ancient physicians used it and it is related that the Emperor Nero used it mixed with frankincense to heal bruises. It was used as a counter irritant to rheumatic pains, but as it causes burning and a rash along with itching, its use is not recommended. The idea was that the pain caused by its use would stop the feeling of the original pain. In much the same way the Romans are said to have used nettles to restore feeling to numbed limbs on their campaign in Britain in 55 BC.

  The root is emetic and purgative, and resin can be extracted from the root bark. It is poisonous to some animals and best not touched. A preparation of the root was used for lung problems, in folk medicine.

  Scientists have managed to extract phenylpropanoids from the fruit which were “found to be potent cytotoxins” according to a study in Phytochemistry Vol.67 (4) pp 2651-56 by Huizhen Liu et al.

  This research led to other studies and the thapsigargins found in the resin of this plant have been developed as an anti-cancer treatment. Specifically the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are conducting phase one trials on a select group of prostate cancer patients and it is hoped that the treatment will prove to be as effective at killing cancer cells in humans as it was in the lab. However it will be some time before the treatment can be deemed safe as trials usually consist of three phases in human subjects.

  Unfortunately it has not yet proved possible to grow this plant in greenhouse conditions, so the species is in danger of becoming extremely rare as the search for thapsigargins continues.

FIELD RESTHARROW: HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF FIELD RESTHARROW

FIELD RESTHARROW, LAND WHIN, GROUND FURZE, ONONIS ARVENSIS 

Field Restharrow has a tough weedy stem which could halt the harrows used to till soil, hence its name. The ancient herbalists used this plant to treat bladder and kidney stones and as a diuretic. It is a native of Europe and found in Britain. It flowers in July and August and has pink or purple flowers. It is a member of the Fabaceae (pea family) and the flowers look a little like those of a small sweet pea which is commonly grown in British gardens. It is related to chickpeas, green beans, borlotti beans, lentils, indigo, kudzu or pueraria, senna, alfalfa, carob, broom, lupins, and peanuts to name but a few. It’s more exotic relatives include the Indian coral tree, the ashoka tree, the Monkey Pod tree, dhak, jhand, the pongam tree and the butterfly pea.

  It is endangered and protected in Finland and has been used for culinary and medicinal purposes. The tender young shoots can be pickled or used as a vegetable when cooked, and are said to refresh the breath and disguise the smell of alcohol.

  This plant contains essential oils, flavonoids, glycosides and tannins, with the root being the part employed in traditional systems of medicine in Europe. The root is harvested in September and October, and dried for later use. It is used to stop bleeding from fresh wounds, for headaches, rheumatism skin problems, infections of the urethra and piles. It has been in the official Pharmacopoeias of the former Soviet Union states, the Czech Republic, Serbia and Austria.

  A decoction of the root was used for skin problems as an external wash and an infusion was used incases of delirium.

  Currently research is being carried out into its flavonoid contents 

ARROWLEAF DOCK, KHATTI BUTI: HISTORY AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF AROWLEAF DOCK

ARROWLEAF DOCK, KHATTI BUTI, RUMEX HASTATUS  

Arrowleaf dock is called khatti buti in Urdu which means sour wheat. It is a member of the Polygonaceae or buckwheat family of plants and related to Yellow dock, Common dock, Red dock, sorrel and rhubarb. The Arrowleaf dock is native to the Indian subcontinent and is used both as a vegetable, like spinach, in saag dishes, although the water is changed several times during the cooking process as the older leaves are bitter. The leaf is used in chutneys and pickles as well as to flavour some dishes.

  Arrowleaf dock is also used in traditional medicine systems to treat a number of ailments. One treatment is ½ a kilo of the fresh roots and 250 grams of the bark of an oak tree (Quercus incana) boiled for one or two hours in 4 litres of water until only a litre of liquid is left. The liquid is then filtred and 250 grams of sugar and one kilo of sooji (semolina a wheat product) flour, 250 grams of desi ghee (fat) are added to it and this is cooked for ten to fifteen minutes to make halwa. It is given to people with asthma, coughs or fever.

  This plant can grow up to about 2 feet tall and has pink flowers which bloom throughout March to August. The fruit is also pink and has a one seed. Its leaves are edible and are also used as fodder. It is found in Northern Pakistan, north eastern Afghanistan and south west China, as well as in India.

  In traditional medicine the leaves and young shoots are said to be diuretic, and cooling. Its roots are used in Ayurvedic medicine and other folk medicine systems for rheumatoid arthritis, diarrhoea and dysentery, for wound healing and jaundice among other ailments. The juice of the plant is used to lower and regulate blood pressure and the leaves have laxative properties as well as being used for upset stomachs and bilious attacks, skin diseases, piles and bleeding of the lungs. They are also made into a general tonic for weak animals. The fresh tuber is chewed to relieve a sore throat, and it is believed that this plant is good to treat STDs including the HIV/AIDS.

  Arrowleaf dock has been the subject of several clinical trials and has been found to be effective in the treatment of diarrhoea in lab rats (“Evaluation of Antioxidant activity of extract from roots of Rumex hastatus (Family: Polygonaceae) on experimental animals” Shakuntala et al., Journal of Applied Pharmaceutical Science 1 (6): 2011 pp. 182-5).

  In the Journal of Medicinal Plants Research Vol. 5 (13) pp 2755-2765, Sumaira Sahreen et al July 2011, “Phenolic Compounds and antioxidant activities of Rumex hastatus D. Don. Leaves” found Rumex hastatus leaves “can be used as a good source of potential antioxidant or functional food material due to the presence of sufficient amounts of phenolic such as luteolin and kaempferol.”

  The plant has bioflavonoids and phenolic compounds which need further screening to discover just how beneficial they can be for us and our health. The studies have so far centred on the traditional uses of this plant and have tried to identify the substances which are responsible for its reported actions.

COMMON POLYPODY, FERN WITH TRADITIONAL MEDICINAL USES: HISTORY AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF COMMON POLYPODY

COMMON POLYPODY, POLYPODIUM VULGARE 

Common Polypody is a fern of the Polypodiaceae family and is native to Britain and all other parts of Europe through to the Mediterranean region, temperate Asia and the eastern parts of North America. It is found in shady, moist places and on old walls and rocks. It grows from a creeping rhizome which has been most frequently used in traditional herbal medicine in Europe.

  It is a British native fern along with bracken, moonwort, hart’s tongue, adder’s tongue and spleenwort. It was a familiar sight when I was growing up in south Wales. The ancients believed that it grew on the roots of the European oak, which was the Druid’s sacred tree imbued with potent power, as was mistletoe which grew on it and also common polypody. Now we call another fern the Oak Fern, Gymnocarpium dryopteris. However at one time this was known as the Oak Fern, Polypody of the oak, and also Wall fern, and Brake root among other names. The genus name, Polypodium means many footed in Greek.

  The rhizome is best when harvested in autumn, in October or November and used fresh or dried. The European Medicines Agency published a report on its traditional use in 2008 and as it has been safely used for more than thirty years as a mild laxative it is considered to be safe, although not recommended for use by children under twelve years old or during pregnancy or breastfeeding. It has been used for a number of purposes including for jaundice and hepatitis, indigestion and stomach upsets, to promote appetite, for respiratory problems, as a diaphoretic, diuretic and expectorant, although it should be remembered that it does have mild laxative problems. The EMA recommend that it should not be taken for longer than a week. It may cause a rash so is not recommended for external use and it can sometimes cause a rash which is not harmful when taken internally. (Assessment Report on Polypody vulgare, L., Rhizoma EMA, London 6^th November, 2008)

spores

  Traditionally the root has been used as a poultice for rheumatic swellings, for hives, sore throats and stomach upsets. In the past a tisane or infusion was used to drive away melancholy and for scurvy (vitamin C deficiency); when it was combined with the common mallow or the marsh mallow it was used for hardness of the spleen and pains in the side (stitches). It has also been used over a period of time for skin diseases.

  The infusion was made with ½ ounce of the crushed roots to one pint of boiling water, left to steep for 10 minutes before straining and using in teacupfuls throughout the day as an expectorant, laxative and to promote appetite. Honey was used to sweeten it if necessary.

  The root has a sweet taste although this is quickly cloying and has been used as a liquorice adulterant. The distilled water of the root was used for fevers as a diaphoretic, to promote sweating.

  The fern fronds are mucilaginous and the mature ones, collected in autumn were boiled with coarse sugar or gur (jaggery) and the resultant liquid was given to children with whooping-cough.

  John Gerard the English herbalsit who translated the works of ancient herbalists has this to say of this fern:-

“Johannes Mesues reckoneth up Polypodie among those things that do especially dry and make thin: peradventure he had respect to a certain kind of arthritis or ache in the joints: in which not one part but many together most commonly are touched: for which it is very much commended by the Brabanders and other inhabitants about the river Rhene and the Maze. Furthermore Dioscorides saith that the root of Polypodie is very good for members out of joint and for chaps between the fingers.”

polypody spores

  A century later, Nicholas Culpeper has this to say in his “Complete Herball”:-“Government and virtues. It is under Jupiter in Leo. With laxatives it gently carries off the contents of the bowels without irritation. By itself it is a very mild and useful purge; but being very slow, it is generally mixed by infusion or decoction with other purging ingredients, or in broths with beets, parsley, ammow, cummin, ginger, fennel and annise. With mucilaginous herbs, as white beet and mallow, it is excellent in cholics. The powder taken to half a drachm daily, and fasting three hours after, is good for the spleen, jaundice, and dropsy, for it is as fine an alternative as can be procured, and will penetrate farther than most other things yet known. Some use its distilled water in a cough, asthma, diseases of the lungs, pleurisies, obstructions of the mysentery, and in whatever cases acrimony is to be subdued. The best form to take it for any complaint of the intestines, is as follows: to an ounce of fresh polypody root bruised, add an ounce and a half of the fresh roots of white beets, and a handful of wild mallow; pour upon these a pint and a quarter of water, boiling hot, and let it stand till next day, then strain it off.” (mesentery is a double fold on the peritoneum wall.)

GIANT PUFFBALL - BIGGEST EDIBLE FUNGUS: HISTORY, USES AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF THE GIANT PUFFBALL

GIANT PUFFBALL, CALVATIA GIGANTEA

The giant puffball mushroom can be found in Europe including Britain, and North America. If you see a mushroom the size of a football in a field or on the edges of woodland then it is probably the giant puffball which was once named Langermannia gigantea. Its correct Latin name is now Calvatia gigantea. They can grow to enormous sizes, with the largest British specimen being 64 inches (162 centimetres) in circumference and a reported on from the US was 1.5 metres across and weighed in at an amazing 20 kilos. However these are giants of the giant puffball world; a 4 kilo puffball is more usual.

  The young immature puffball is edible and has a rich, earthy, nutty taste, although some believe it to be bland, only taking on the flavours of the foodstuff it is cooked with. They are delicious fried in butter and good in an omelette. Some say that they can be used instead of tofu or aubergines, but they are good chopped in any recipe that calls for mushrooms. You should only eat giant puffballs which have no gills and have not formed spores. When this happens they turn a pale yellow colour and as they mature they become yellow-brown. They have to have solid white flesh in their interior for them to be edible. In the UK you can sometimes find them in specialty mushroom shops.

  When they have formed spores and are ready to ejaculate them, a single drop of rain will trigger the spores’ release. Children love kicking them to release the powdery spores, and as they are inedible at this time it isn’t a waste of a mushroom.

  Native Americans used the spores for wound healing as they help blood to coagulate and it is believed that they have antiseptic properties.

  Back in the 1960s a substance named calvacin was isolated from giant puffballs and proved to have anti-tumour properties in vitro. When experiments on animals became increasingly used this substance was tested on lab rats but unfortunately. Although it did kill the cancerous cells and the tumour it had bad side effects and caused anorexia, acute liver failure, muscle inflammation and bleeding from the lungs. Some rats died within two days of being subjects of the experiment.

  However in 2008 new research was conducted into the substances which can be found in these mushrooms and three were found to be present which had not been reported in mushrooms previously: Methyl anthranilate, Methyl N N-dimethylanthranilate and Methyl N-methylanthranilate. (“Volatile Constituents of the Giant Puffball Calvatia gigantea” by John C. Leffingwell and E. D. Alford in Leffingwell Reports Vol. 4 March 2011.)

  Although these mushrooms can be found in most of Europe they are a cause for conservation concern in Norway and are becoming rare in Lithuania and are protected in Poland, so you can’t forage for them there.

  In Britain they have been used as kindling and placed under beehives to make bees sleepy so that the beekeepers can get into the hives. At one time it was thought that they had narcotic effects on bees but this has proved not to be the case.

  Apart from eating them, our ancestors used them for tinder as this piece of information from the 16^th century British herbalist, John Gerard, shows.

  “In divers parts of England, where people dwell farre from neighbours, they carry them kindled with fire, which lasteth long.”

  They have similar nutrition qualities as other mushrooms including morels, chanterelles and the oyster mushrooms.

IRIS OR STINKING GLADWYN - NOT REALLY A STINKER: USES AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF IRIS FOETIDISSIMUS

IRIS, STINKING GLADWYN, IRIS FOETIDISSIMUS

This pale purple iris has a bad name because of the smell it is said to give off, although I have never found it to smell so bad. The bruised or crushed leaves are said to smell like roasting beef, which is how it gets one of its common names in Britain, Roast Beef. However I can’t say that it smells like this to me either. (Perhaps my sense of smell isn’t well developed.) The name “gladwyn” means sword-grass, and the plant does have sword-like leaves, and is said to smell unpleasant, so that’s how it gets the name “stinking gladwyn.”

  In his English translation of Dodoen’s book, “A New Herbal”, Henry Lyte wrote of it as “Stinking Gladin’” whose leaves were “of a loathsome smell or stinke, almost like unto the stinking worme, called in Latin Cimex.”

  The iris was a symbol of life after death for the ancient Egyptians, but probably not this iris. This one is one of only two native to Britain (Yellow Water Flag being the other), although there are many varieties of iris growing around the world. This one is native to Europe, and North Africa, so it could be the one which was sacred to Osirus and Horus, the ancient Egyptian gods. The oil obtained from the iris was used in perfume and in the wrappings of mummies as was the dried flowers.

  For the ancient Greeks, the iris was a source of medicine, and Dioscorides, Pliny and Theophrastus mention it as a remedy for chest complaints such as bronchitis. They used a decoction of the iris, hyssop and honey or liquorice for these ailments.

  It used to be used to draw out arrowheads and splinters in poultices made with the crushed leaves. The dried powdered root was used in an infusion for hysterical outbursts, fainting and so on and to relieve stomach cramps and pains.

  Today it is used as a remedy for migraines, although it has a laxative action and can be as drastic a purgative as its relative the Yellow Water Flag. The infusion is made with one teaspoon of chopped leaves to one cup of boiling water left to steep for 10 minutes before straining and drinking. You can take this three times a day. The plant has also been used, it is said effectively, for ringworm.

  This iris has mild pain-relieving properties, is antiseptic, and a very strong laxative. It has been used in the past to promote women’s periods, and the infusion above can be used for skin problems such as pimples.

  Nicholas Culpeper, the 17^th century English herbalist describes its actions and uses in this way:-

  “Government and virtues. It is supposed to be under the dominion of Saturn. It is used by many country people to purge corrupt phlegm and choler, which they do by drinking the decoction of the roots; and some to make it more gentle, do but infuse the sliced roots in ale; and some take the leaves, which serve well for the weaker stomach. The juice hereof put up, or snuffed up the nose, causes sneezing, and draws from the head much corruption; and the powder thereof doth the same. The powder thereof drank in wine, helps those that are troubled with the cramps and convulsions, or with the gout and sciatica, and gives ease to those that have griping pains in their body and belly, and helps those that have the stranguary. It is given with much profit to those that have had long fluxes by the sharp and evil quality of humours, which it stays, having first cleansed and purged them by the drying and binding property therein. The root boiled in wine and drank, doth effectually procure women's courses, and used as a pessary, works the same effect, but causes abortion in women with child. Half a dram of the seed beaten to powder, and taken in wine, doth speedily cause one to make water abundantly. The same taken with vinegar, dissolves the hardness and swellings of the spleen. The root is very effectual in all wounds, especially of the head; as also to draw forth any splinters, thorns, or broken bones, or any other thing sticking in the flesh, without causing pains, being used with a little verdigrease and honey, and the great Centaury root. The same boiled in vinegar, and laid upon an eruption or swelling, doth very effectually dissolve and consume them; yea, even the swellings of the throat called the king's evil; the juice of the leaves or roots heals the itch, and all running or spreading scabs, sores, blemishes, or scars in the skin, wheresoever they be.”

ADDER'S TONGUE (FERN) - GOOD FOR WOUNDS: HISTORY, AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF ADDER'S TONGUE

ADDER’S TONGUE FERN, OPHIOGLOSSUM VULGATUM

The adder’s tongue fern resembles the cuckoo-pint and the Arum or Calla lily, but you can see it in the months of June to August only (at least in Britain), as it unfurls a solitary leaf or frond. A spike growing in the middle of the leaf holds this fern’s reproductive spores, which is how it gets the name adder’s tongue. The rest of the year there is only the rhizome underground. Ophios means snake in Greek and glossa is tongue, so that is the meaning of its genus appellation, while vulgatum is Latin for common.

  It is native to Europe, including Britain and has a range which extends from Iceland through to North Africa and north and west Asia. It is related to the other British ferns, polypody, the maidenhair fern, hart’s tongue, bracken, moonwort and horsetail.

  Because the ancient herbalists believed that like cured like, and thought that the spike looked like a snake’s tongue, this fern was used as an antidote to snake bites. (They believed that red herbs and flowers were good for the blood and so on.)

  The leaves of this fern are reportedly edible when cooked and can be used as a green vegetable. The distilled water of the plant was used for eye problems, and the ointment Culpepper describes was know as Green Oil of Charity, made from two pounds (one kilo approximately) of leaves, ½ pint of oil and 1½ pounds of suet all melted together, and boiled until the leaves were crispy, then strained and used for ointment for wounds.

  In Britain the plant doesn’t grow very tall, perhaps to around ten centimetres, so it is difficult to spot it in long grass. It can grow to around 30 centimetres or approximately one foot, and is rare now except in southern England. The central spike can grow to around forty centimetres, with to rows of spores on it. It is thought to be a good indication of places where there were ancient meadows, as are couch grass and the early purple orchid.

  The English herbalist, Nicholas Culpeper, writing his Complete Herball in the 17^th century has this to say of Adder’s tongue: -

  “It is temperate in respect of heat, but dry in the second degree. The juice of the leaves, drank with the distilled water of horse-tail, is a singular remedy for all manner of wounds in the breasts, bowels, or other parts of the body, and is given with good success to those that are troubled with casting, vomiting, or bleeding at the mouth or nose, or otherwise downwards. The said juice given in the distilled water of oaken buds, is very good for women who have their usual courses, or the whites flowing down too abundantly. It helps sore eyes. Of the leaves infused or boiled in oil, omphacine or unripe olives, set in the sun for certain days, or the green leaves sufficiently boiled in the said oil, is made an excellent green balsam, not only for green and fresh wounds, but also for old and inveterate ulcers, especially if a little fine clear turpentine be dissolved therein. It also stayeth and refresheth all inflammations that arise upon pains by hurts and wounds.”

INDIAN CORAL TREE: HISTORY, USES AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF THE INDIAN CORAL TREE

INDIAN CORAL TREE, TIGER’S CLAW, ERYTHRINA VARIEGATA 

The Indian coral tree is as its name suggests native to the Indian subcontinent, and its range extends throughout South-east Asia to Malaysia. It was introduced in ancient times to the Pacific islands and to parts of Africa. The Indian coral tree is a member of the Leguminoseae or Fabaceae family of plants making it a relative of dhak, the pongam tree, ashoka (Saraca indica),the monkey pod tree, jhand, lentils, indigo, the butterfly pea, chickpeas, soya beans and lupins to name but a few.

  The tree is useful as a nitrogen fixer and helps poor soil increase its fertility. It is panted as an ornamental and a shade tree, and used for this last purpose in coffee and cacao plantations. It is also used as a trellis for vines and climbing plants and is used to support the betel nut (paan) vine, black pepper plants, as well as vanilla and yams.

  The bark of this tree is paper-thin and can be yellow through to brown, and the seed pods contain between five and twelve seeds. The tree can grow to around sixty feet although they rarely grow to heights of more than fifty feet (fifteen metres). Some people in Bangladesh use the seeds, a kidney-shaped bean that looks rather like a red kidney bean, as food, but mostly they are not eaten. The seeds contain oil and it has been suggested that this could be a source of biofuel in the future. The pods grow to between six inches and a foot. The trees have thorns on their branches, but nonetheless the pods are used for fodder. However this means that they make useful living fences to demarcate boundaries and deter animals.

  The bark and leaves of this tree are mainly the parts used in Ayurvedic medicine in the Indian subcontinent, with the juice from the leaves being put into ears to stop earache. The paste made from the tree parts is used for rheumatism and joint pains, applied to the affected areas, and it is also used for wounds as it has antiseptic properties, and for inflammation, including for eye problems. A powder is made to aid digestion, as an aphrodisiac and for erectile dysfunctions. It is also used to get rid of intestinal worms, for blood purification, to regulate menstruation, for infections of the urinary tract such as cystitis, obesity, fevers and externally for skin problems.

  It is believed to support the liver and nerves functions and is anti-inflammatory, analgesic (pain-relieving), and to dilate the blood vessels. An infusion of the bark and leaves is used for coughs as an expectorant. A preparation is also used for insomnia, to promote lactation in breast-feeding mothers, for lower back pain relief and knee pain as well as for rheumatism.

  Clinical studies have found that the isoflavonoids present in this coral tree can help protect bone mass in mice and have anti-osteoporotic effects (2007, Zhang Y. et al. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Vol.109 (1) pp 165-9). However these actions have not been tested on humans.

  In a 2002 study conducted by Tanaka H. et al. the isoflavonoids were found to have antibacterial properties. More studies are underway to discover whether the traditional medicinal uses of this tree have scientific bases.

  

MOTHERWORT - HERB OF ANCIENT USAGE: HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF MOTHERWORT

MOTHERWORT, LION’S EAR, LEONARUS CARDIACA 

Motherwort is a native of mainland Europe, but has become naturalized in the British Isles, as it was commonly grown in gardens for its medicinal properties. It is the only one of the Leonarus genus which grows wild now in the UK. When not in flower it can be mistaken for mugwort.

  It is a member of the Labiatae or Lamiaceae family of plants and as such is a relative of mint, marjoram, basil and Holy basil, oregano, savory, thyme, lavender, lemon balm, bugle and hyssop among many others. It flowers between July and September and is best harvested and dried for later use in August.

  Motherwort has been used in the past to flavour lentil and dried pea soups and a tisane may also be made from its flowering tops. However as Culpeper mentions, it tastes bitter and is best used in a conserve with honey or sugar to sweeten it.

  If you go near the plant be careful as it has sharp toothed edges which can cause injury to the mouths of grazing animals and hands. It has been known to cause dermatitis, and its essential oil can cause photosensitivity. It should be avoided during pregnancy. As its name suggests it has been mainly used as a woman’s herb for labour pains and childbirth, to promote menstruation and for nervous and hysterical disorders (it has a sedative action). Like borage, which tastes much better, it was used to gladden the heart and spirits, and was useful as a nervine and cardiac tonic. It was thought that it could keep evil spirits away, perhaps meaning that a person would not be overcome by melancholy.

  Culpeper writing in the 17^th century has this to say of its medicinal properties: -

“Government and virtues. Venus owns the herb, and it is under Leo. There is no better herb to take melancholy vapours from the heart, to strengthen it, and make a merry, cheerful, blithe soul than this herb. It may be kept in a syrup or conserve; therefore the Latins called it Cardiaca. Besides, it makes women joyful mothers of children, and settles their wombs as they should be, therefore we call it Motherwort. It is held to be of much use for the trembling of the heart, and faintings and swoonings; from whence it took the name Cardiaca. The powder thereof, to the quantity of a spoonful, drank in wine, is a wonderful help to women in their sore travail, as also for the suffocating or risings of the mother, and for these effects, it is likely it took the name of Motherwort with us. It also provokes urine and women's courses, cleanses the chest of cold phlegm, oppressing it, kills worms in the belly. It is of good use to warm and dry up the cold humours, to digest and disperse them that are settled in the veins, joints, and sinews of the body, and to help cramps and convulsions.”

  In more modern times it has found a use in some thyroid treatments, and heart palpitations. The infusion can be made with one ounce of the fresh tops to one pint of boiling water left to steep before draining and drinking in small cupfuls three times a day. The alcohol extract of this plant is said to have an action superior to that of valerian.

  It can be used as a diaphoretic to promote sweating, and in recovery from fevers. The tisane or infusion can help in cases of neuralgia and it was generally regarded as an excellent general tonic. However it is not much used these days.

EUROPEAN PAEONY, LEGEND, HISTORY, USES AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF THE PAEONY

EUROPEAN OR COMMON PAEONY, PAEONIA OFFICINALIS 

The European paeony is native to mainland Europe, with its range extending from France, through to Albania. There is another variety of paeony which is native to Greece.

In Britain there used to be wild paeonies on the island of Steep Holme in the river Severn, close to the Bristol Channel, (interestingly there were none on the neighbouring island of Flat Holme, so they were probably introduced and became naturalized.) but these do not seem to have survived. This wild paeony is single-petalled and a deep pink, and was valued in the Middle Ages for it seeds rather than its flowers, so in paintings on altars in churches from this time, the paeony is portrayed with a ripe seed capsule.

  I grew up with paeonies in the garden and the plants we had were very old, and I know now that these bushy plants are renowned for their longevity. I loved their smell and colour and often tried to capture their beauty in drawings and paintings without much success. You can dry the petals and use them in tisanes which are good for colds, and the flowers can also be cooked and eaten as a vegetable I’m told (as can flowers from the kachnar tree Bauhinia variegata).

  The name paeony is said to have come from the name (Paeos) of a student of the Greek physician Asclepius. This acolyte of the great physician earned his jealous wrath when he cured the god of Hades of his wounds which he had received during the Trojan Wars. He was turned into the plant that now bears his name to escape death at the hands of Asclepius according to one myth. Another is that he cured the gods of Olympus of their wounds with the juice from this plant – although I suppose it would have been the juice from the indigenous Greek paeony which he used, not the European one.

  This wild paeony was cultivated by Benedictine monks in their monastery gardens in the Middle Ages and from these it became common in cottage gardens. John Gerard, writing in the 16^th century, recommends paeony seeds as a way to prevent nightmare and melancholic dreams. The flowers and seeds especially were thought to have the ability to ward off evil, and the seeds were threaded sometimes to make necklaces for this purpose.

  The paeony has a few superstitions surrounding it and it was thought unlucky to dig up the roots, which was unfortunate as these have medicinal properties as well as the seeds.

 Pliny the Elder, probably relating a tale told by Theophrastus (c.327-287BC), relates this piece of cautionary information: you should dig the paeony root up only at night because if you are seen doing so by the woodpecker it will peck out your eyes.

  The seeds can be dry roasted and used as a condiment if ground when still warm and added to soups and stews as a spice. The root should be harvested in autumn and dried thoroughly in the sun for later use. It has antispasmodic properties and has been made into suppositories for intestinal and anal spasms. During the Middle Ages the root was dried, powdered and used to treat epilepsy and lunacy as well as to promote menstruation. No preparations of paeony should be taken during pregnancy.

  The tisane or infusion made from the dried crushed petals can be used as a lotion for varicose veins and piles and taken internally is good for coughs. One ounce of crushed petals to one pint of boiling water drunk in small cupfuls can be taken three times a day.

  In Christian symbolism, again in the Middle Ages, paeonies represented feminine beauty, wealth and healing powers. In medicine during those times the seeds were used in medicines to disperse blockages in the internal organs, especially to get rid of bladder stones, as they have diuretic qualities, for jaundice, stomach pains, diarrhoea and labour pains.

  This paeony is no longer used in medicine except in some homeopathic remedies.