STRAWBERRY - HISTORY AND MEDICINAL USES: STRAWBERRY AND CUCUMBER SALAD EASY RECIPE

STRAWBERRIES, FRAGARIA x ANANASSA

It’s strawberry and cream time again, although in Pakistan strawberries (also called the same in Urdu) they are a burgundy colour rather than the red of European strawberries. To me they are irresistible, although some people are allergic to them and so are others if they eat too many of them at a sitting. They can bring out a red rash on sensitive skins, so eat them in moderation.

  Wild strawberries, Fragaria vesca, grow in many parts of the world, and these have a very different taste from the common or garden strawberry that is ubiquitous today. Fragaria in Latin means fragrant, which aptly describes this fruit. This should not be surprising as they are members of the rose family of plants. Strawberries are delicious for tortoises and green snakes, as I know from first-hand experience. The tortoise I had as a child once frightened me because its mouth was red and I thought it was bleeding, but on closer inspection it had been gorging on strawberries in the garden and was covered in their sweet red juice. In Greece little green snakes, which are not particularly venomous, tend to gather in strawberry fields, so be careful.

  The strawberry we know today was developed early in the 18^th century after a Frenchman took seeds from Fragaria chileonensis, the South American variety, back to Europe and successfully crossed these with the Virginian strawberry which was imported from North America into Europe. This hybrid is the strawberry we have today, although there are now many cultivars.

  The strawberry is the only fruit so far discovered which has seeds on its exterior, and they can contain as many as 200 seeds. They are rich in vitamins and minerals as well as containing amino acids. Beta-carotene is also present in strawberries so they are a valuable, as well as delicious, fruit to include in our diets. They have a high sugar content, though so are not so good if you are trying to lose weight. Among other things they contain vitamins A, C, E, K and the B-complex vitamins, and are a good source of calcium, iron, potassium, phosphorous, manganese, copper and zinc with a little selenium too. The vitamins and minerals present in strawberries have potent antioxidant properties so they are very good for our health. They are also rich in bioflavonoids and some of these can reduce the rate of reproduction of cancerous cells, although not all phytonutrients and bioflavonoids in the strawberry have been identified, it is believed.

  They are good for us as cosmetic preparations too, as if you cut a strawberry and apply it to your face, it will remove a slight sunburn and whiten the complexion. If it is a bad sunburn you should apply strawberry juice to the affected area and leave it on for half an hour before rinsing it off with warm water. Try to avoid using soap to wash it off though as this may cause irritation.

   Strawberry roots have been traditionally used in medicine to make a tisane, as have the leaves which is said to stop diarrhoea and dysentery. Take a handful of fresh leaves to a cup of boiling water and allow them to steep for 10 – 15 mins before straining and drinking a few cups a day.

   Strawberries are wonderful on their own, but you could try this salad with a difference.

STRAWBERRY AND CUCUMBER SALAD

Ingredients

½ kilo fresh strawberries

1 cucumber, peeled and cut into slices

freshly ground black pepper

Method

Halve the strawberries and mix with the cucumber slices.

Grind black peppercorns over them to taste.

This might sound a little strange, but the pepper really brings out the flavour of the strawberries. You can use the cucumber peel as a skin toner and place a slice of it over each eye to get rid of puffiness.

This has Taste and is a Treat.

BANABA TREE - INFORMATION: MEDICINAL BENEFITS AND USES OF BANABA TREE: HOW TO MAKE BANABA LEAF TISANE

BANABA TREE, PRIDE OF INDIA, LAGERSTROEMIA SPECIOSA

The Banaba Tree or Pride of India has many other names including Queen’s Flower and Crape Myrtle.  It is native to the Indian subcontinent where it grows wild and cultivated, and to the Philippines, South East Asia, Indonesia and Australia. It has been introduced into parts of tropical Africa, Jamaica and the USA. At the beginning of the year it starts to lose its leaves which have turned bright red or orange by that season. It can reach heights of up to 25 metres and is fast-growing (so is used as a nurse tree for slower growing saplings) with an extensive root system so is useful to stop soil erosion. It is also used as a living fence, and various items are made from its wood, including poles, decorative items and furniture. It is also used for construction and cut down for fuel by local people, who also use it for charcoal. Its bark produces a yellow dye too. However since its medicinal properties have been recognized by the West it is now an important medicinal plant and has been used for thousands of years in the Indian subcontinent as well as the Philippines and the rest of South East Asia to treat diabetes and low blood sugar levels.

   It contains corosolic acid, ellagitannins (in the fruit and leaves), triterpenoids, amino acids and flavonoids. Extensive studies of the leaves made in Japan confirmed the use of extracts from the leaves for diabetes. The corosolic acid lowers blood pressure and has insulin-like properties as do some of the amino acids, and this is what makes it so attractive to researchers. The leaves contain the minerals manganese and zinc among others, and it has been discovered that one of the side effects of banaba is very positive as it helps reduce weight and so banaba can be found in many weight control formulae in the US. Extracts obtained from the seeds (said to be narcotic) have powerful antioxidant properties and the ellagic acid compounds in banaba are being researched to discover if they can help in the treatment of HIV. Banaba may have antibiotic properties too. In fact it might provide a few “wonder drugs” after more research has been done into its properties and their effects on people. The whole plant can be used medicinally but not all parts have been researched as yet.

BANABA LEAF TISANE

Ingredients

1 cup chopped banaba leaves

2 cups boiling water

Method

Boil the leaves in water for 30 mins.

Strain and drink.

This has Taste and is a Treat(ment).

  

KINOW MANDARIN OR KINO - INFORMATION: HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF KINOW MANDARIN

KINOW MANDARIN CITRUS RETICULATA

Kinow or kino mandarins (pronounced keen-oo) are a relative newcomer to the citrus fruit family, although the parent plants from which they come have a very long history. In the 15^th century in the Indian subcontinent, citrus trees were only grown in the Mughul emperors’ gardens or in those of the ruling élite as in those times they were considered luxury crops. The King Orange or Shahi sangtara grew in the emperors’ gardens and along with the “willow leaf” orange, was a parent of the kinow. The name comes from king and willow. The first kinows were produced in 1951 by H.B. Frost, a citrus breeder, at the Citrus Research center at the University of California. By 1958 kinow mandarins were being grown in Pakistan and are now largely grown in the Sarghoda and Bhalawal districts in Pakistan’s Punjab province.

  Kinow have loose skins which are easily peeled, and the peel is used in various sweet dishes. It contains essential oil which is used in the perfume industry and in skin care preparations.

   Kinow mandarins contain beta-carotene which has powerful antioxidant properties and helps the skin resist damage caused by the sun. It also contains limonene which is believed to be a potent anti-cancer agent which also has the ability to lower cholesterol levels. Apart from these constituents it also has vitamin A and a high vitamin C content as well as the minerals iron, calcium and phosphorous. They have a high juice content and this is good with carrot juice-the combination provides us with a lot of vitamin A which is beneficial for the eyesight as it can help prevent macular degeneration. Just one kinow provides more than the recommended daily amount of vitamin C so it is a powerful little fruit, and a very tasty one. We have been eating them since November and they will be with us until (hopefully) the end of May.

  Pakistan is one of the biggest producers of the world’s supplies of kinow although it has been threatened recently with a greening disease. Citrus fruits have been grown in the subcontinent and other parts of Asia since around 4,000 BC, and they spread to Europe via North Africa and the Arab traders. The kinow has the same roots as the lemon although it is a new fruit. Soon a seedless variety will hit the supermarket shelves in Europe and the Middle East, having been developed by researchers in Pakistan.

BIRCH TREE - POETS' MUSE: HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF THE BIRCH TREE

WHITE BIRCH, SILVER BIRCH, BETULA ALBA, BETULA PENDULA

The white or silver Birch tree is a common sight in Europe, and native to many European countries including the British Isles, growing from the Italian island of Sicily through to Iceland, and it is also a native of  Northern Asia. Betula was the Latin name for this tree, and pendula refers to the way the branches of birch trees tend to droop, while alba means white. The name birch may have come from Sanskrit bhurga and then it would mean the “tree whose bark was used for writing on” as birch bark can be used for this purpose. It also derives from the Anglo-Saxon, beorgan which of course is closer to the Sanskrit word and means ‘to protect or shelter.’

   It has been used for centuries for a variety of ailments and researchers are currently investigating the properties of betulin and betulinic acid obtained from the bark of the tree to discover if they have anti-tumour properties in people as they have demonstrated such properties in the lab. It is also thought that betulinic acid might help in the treatment of HIV.

  Apart from its uses in medicine the young branches and twigs are used in Scandinavia after saunas to promote blood circulation. These were also used in the past as rods by schoolmasters to chastise children. They were also used as whips and the phrase to “give someone the birch” means to use the branches of this tree to whip someone.  Shakespeare alludes to this use of the birch in his play “Measure for Measure.”

  The birch has also inspired poets, both in Europe and North America. Robert Frost’s poem, “Birches” is perhaps the most famous: _

    “When I see birches bend to left and right

     Across the lines of straighter, darker trees,

     I like to think that some boy’s been swinging on hem

                 ………………

     One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.”

In 1802 the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote “The Picture or The Lover’s Resolution” in which he calls the birch:

    “…most beautiful

    Of forest trees, the Lady of the Woods”

He mentions birches in yet another poem, “The Ballad of the Dark Ladie”:

    “Beneath you birch with silver bark

     And boughs so pendulous and fair,

     The brook falls scattered down the rock

     And all is mossy there.”

Other British Romantic poets also include the birch in their poetry, with John Keats in the fragment we have left of “Calidore” calls it the “delicate tree” and Wordsworth in his Sonnet to “The River Duddon” mentions the colour of the birch trunks:-

   “…ashes flung their arms around;

    And birch trees risen in silver colonnades”

These trees also figure in his poem “An Evening Walk”

    “Where, mixed with graceful birch, the sombrous pine

      And yew-tree o’er the silver rocks recline”

 F.S. Flint in the early 20^th century in his Poems in Unrhymed Cadence has this to say of the birch

  “London, my beautiful,

    it is not the sunset,

    nor the pale green sky

    shimmering through the curtain

    of the silver birch”

In “The Cuckoo Wood” by Edmund Beale Sargant, there are these lines about the birch;-

    “A stranger wood you shall not find!

      Beech and birch and oak agree

      Here to dwell in company.

        .     .     .     .     .      .    .

      Silver birch would you endeavour

      Trembling in your bridal dress

      To win at last a dog’s caress?”

Clearly the tree is beautiful to have inspired such lines.

 In spring the birch flowers appear and hang from the twigs like “lamb’s tails” which is the popular name for these catkins. The young shoots and leaves produce a resinous substance which is used as a laxative, purifier and tonic in spring, and the tree, when tapped exudes a sugary substance which has been made into beer, wine and spirits in Europe for centuries.

   The birch tree is a powerful symbol in Celtic and Scandinavian mythology as they are among the first trees to come into leaf in the spring. They were associated with the Scandinavian goddesses Freya, Frigga and the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, Eoster from whose name the word Easter comes. In Celtic mythology birch trees are symbols of fertility and were used in Beltane (Midsummer) celebrations and Beltane fires in Scotland used to be made from birch and oak branches. They were associated with the White Goddess, who was both the life giver and bringer of death when she appeared in the form of a crone or the carrion eating sow.

   At one time in Britain birch branches were decorated with red and white cloth at Beltane and used to prop shut stable doors to prevent horses being hag-ridden, (it was believed that witches would steal the horses and ride them until they were so fatigued that they could die) or having their manes tangled and knotted by mischievous fairies.

   In the early 19^th century people of the lower classes would consider themselves married if they jumped over a broom made from birch twigs and branches that was held over a threshold.

   At Samhein, the beginning of the Celtic New Year, birch brooms were used to expel the old year and any evil that was left over from the past and clean and purify dwellings.

  Botanists believe that the birch was the first tree to colonize what would have been a very barren landscape after the last Ice Age, as they are a very hardy, resilient tree so regard them as a “pioneer species.”

   Birch branches used to be used in thatching and were the wattles in wattle and daub walls and ceilings. Birch oil has been used in tanning to make leather resistant to mould, and this was used especially in Russia and books bound in what was called “Russia leather” did not decay as fast as other books in the days when they were mainly bound in leather. The oil was also used as an insect repellant and could be used on the skin to stop insects biting. It was good for skin problems as it has astringent properties and is used to treat warts and eczema. A decoction of birch bark can also be made for skin problems as can the tisane.

   The leaves can be made into a tisane and used to treat gout and arthritis as it seems to dissolve the toxic substances which accumulate around the joints. It was also used to disperse kidney stones. A decoction of the inner bark was used to reduce fevers and the spring sap which exudes from the trees was considered a diuretic and excellent spring tonic. This and the bark are believed to have sedative qualities.
  The Physicians of Myddfai had this remedy for impotence: - "For impotency. Take some birch, digest in water, and drink."

  The oil from young birch leaves blends well with oils of jasmine, rosemary and sandalwood and can be used in bath water to relieve muscle pains. It has pain relieving properties as well as being antiseptic and astringent among others and is good for arthritis and rheumatism. It can be used like wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) oil in massage treatment. Birch buds in a decoction or tisane are believed to promote hair growth and get rid of dandruff if used in a rinse. You can also put the bruised leaves or powdered ones in bath water to relieve pains.

  The leaves contain vitamin C and saponins and flavonoids.

BIRCH BARK TISANE

Ingredients

1 tsp birch bark

1 cup boiling water

Method

Pour the boiling water over the birch bark and leave to steep for 15 mins. Strain and drink.

You can drink 2-5 cups a day. It is also good to used externally for skin problems.

This has Taste and is a Treat(ment).