TANSY: HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF TANSY AND TANSY TISANE RECIPE

TANSY, TANECETUM VULGARE  

Tansy is native to Europe including the British Isles and has become naturalized in North America where it has become and invasive species in some states. It has been used medicinally for centuries as have its close relatives, feverfew and costmary or alecost.

  It is believed that the name Tanacetum (from athanasia in Greek meaning immortal) refers to either that in legends it was given to Ganymede to make him immortal or because it was used to preserve corpses and prevent from rapidly decaying, or because its odour is long-lasting and was used in perfumes in the ancient world.

  It can grow to around a metre high and is quite a distinctive plant when in flower as it has yellow flowers which are long-lasting. It was used as a strewing herb both for its smell and for the fact that it repels insects especially when mixed with elder leaves (Sambuccus nigra). It belongs to the daisy family of plants the Asteraceae family so is also related to chamomile.

 Young tansy leaves and eggs were once used to make tansy cakes, which were eaten at Easter time as they were believed to purify the bodies’ humours after fasting during Lent. Later they became symbols of the bitter herbs such as horehound which were used during the Jewish Passover meal. The plant was used for fevers and hysterical and nervous disorders and such remedies must have been safer than those which employed Stinking Hellebore or the Christmas rose (Helleborus niger). In cookery it was used as a substitute for the more expensive spices, nutmeg and cinnamon, although I doubt it had the same results!

  The plant and its essential oil can be used - but in small quantities only as it is considered poisonous in large doses, for flatulence and spasms. In some oil from tansy plants thujone is present although it is not present in oil from all tansy plants. The roots were at one time made into conserves with honey or sugar and given for gout. In Scotland the dried flowers and seeds were used for this complaint. The green leaves can be pulverized and used as a poultice for swellings and to relieve pain and the bruised leaves can be applied to skin problems to bring relief.

  Clearly it was in favour as a medicinal herb in the Middle Ages and in the 17^th century as Culpeper writing then in his Complete herbal waxes lyrical on common tansy which he distinguishes from “garden tansy”.

 “Government and virtues. This herb is undoubtedly under the government of Venus. It is an agreeable bitter, a carminative, and a destroyer of worms, for which case a powder of the flowers should be given from six to twelve grains at night and mornings. Worms are often the cause of putrid fevers and epileptic fits, and sometimes bring on a consumption. The medicines usually administered against these are often ineffectual, and many of them very mischievous. Hellebore has brought on convulsions; and ever one knows the danger of mercurials. Besides, it is from these deleterious compounds that half the defective teeth in young people are owing. The flowers are the part to be used, and they should be given in powder, but there requires care in the collecting of them, to obtain all their virtue. Clip off a quantity of Tansy flowers, before they are over blown, close to the stalk. This must be done in the middle of a dry day; spread them on the bottom of a hair sieve turned upside down; shake them often about, and let the wind pass through them, but keep them from the sun, and thus you may have them always. The leaves only are used, and are accounted restringent and vulnerary, good to stop all kind of fluxes and preternatural evacuations, to dissolve coagulated blood, to help those who are bruised by falls: outwardly it is used as a cosmetic, to take off freckles, sun-burn, and morphew; as also in restringent gargarisms. The powder of the herb taken in some of the distilled water, helps the whites in women, but more especially if a little coral and ivory in powder be put to it. It is also commended to help children that are bursten, and have a rupture, being boiled in water and salt. Being boiled in water and drank, it eases the griping pains of the bowels, and is good for the sciatica and joint-aches. The same boiled in vinegar, with honey and alum, and gargled in the mouth, eases the pains of the tooth-ach, fastens loose teeth, helps the gums that are sore, settles the palate of the mouth in its place, when it is fallen down. It cleanses and heals ulcers in the mouth or secret parts, and is very good for inward wounds, and to close the tips of green wounds, and to heal old, moist, and corrupt running sores in the legs or elsewhere. Being bruised and applied to the soles of the feet and handwrists, it wonderfully cools the hot fits of agues, be they never so violent. The distilled water cleanses the skin of all discolourings therein, as morphew, sun-burnings, &c. as also pimples, freckles, and the like; and dropped into the eyes, or cloths wet therein and applied, takes away the heat and inflammations in them.”

   In more recent medicine it has been found that tansy possesses potent antioxidant properties, probably due to the phenolic compounds and flavonoids in the plant. It has also been the subject of research as an antiviral herb and it may be a treatment for the herpes simplex virus. (Wiley - Blackwell (2011, February 22). Old folk remedy revived: How tansy may be a treatment for herpes. ScienceDaily. Retrieved January 28, 2012)

  The tisane below may be used for colds, stomach pains, cramps, and also it has been used in the past to get rid of children’s intestinal worms, especially effective when combined with wormwood. However that was probably a stronger infusion than the one here. For a stomach ache you can combine tansy with chamomile too.

  The young leaves of tansy yield a green dye while a combination of leaves and flowers produce a yellow one. For medicinal use the leaves and flowers should be collected when the plant is in flower during June through to September, and then dried for later use. The flowers were used to flavour Chartreuse.

TANSY TISANE

Ingredients

1 tsp dried herb, leaves only or leaves and flowers OR

1 tbsp fresh herb

1 cup boiling water

a little honey to taste

Method

Pour the boiling water over the herb and leave to steep for 10 minutes.

Strain, flavour with honey and drink twice a day only for colds and stomach cramps.

This has Taste and is a Treat(ment).

COSTMARY OR ALECOST - ONCE A MUCH-USED HERB IN COOKERY AND MEDICINE: HISTORY AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF COSTMARY

COSTMARY OR ALECOST, BALSAMITA VULGARIS / MAJOR 

Costmary gets its name from the oriental herb Saussuria costus or Indian orris which is an aromatic herb which Theophrastus mentions in regard to its use in perfumes in ancient Greece. Its leaves have a eucalyptus-like aroma which has been alternatively described as being rather like camphor, or like garden mint with hints of balsam. The Latin name costus comes from the Sanskrit, kustha.

  In the past it was known as Tanecetum balsamita which comes from the Greek anathasia meaning immortality which is perhaps a reference to its long-lasting odour. It is a member of the Compositae or Asteraceae family (daisy family) and is a close relative of feverfew and tansy. It is a native of Western Asia, but was commonly grown in British gardens by the 16^th century because of its value as a medicinal, strewing and ale-making plant. It was also added to salads and soups so had culinary value too. The name Alecost was given to it as it was added to ale long before the arrival of hops for beer in Britain at least, as it gave ale flavour and cleared and preserved it.

  Another name for this plant was Bible leaf as it was used as a scented bookmark in colonial times in North America, as was tutsan. The smell from the leaves may have helped to prevent congregations falling asleep during lengthy sermons and chewing on the leaves was believed to temporarily at least assuage the appetite.

  It was used in mediaeval times as a strewing herb not only because of its pleasant smell which masked bad smells, but because it has insecticidal properties. Putting a bruised leaf on an insect bite or stem will help soothe the pain too.

  This semi-evergreen plant is also known as mint-geranium, balsam herb, balsam-mint and balsam-tansy. In France it is herbe Sainte-Marie, or Saint Mary’s herb, another herb of the Virgin Mary.

  It was used in medicine, and Nicholas Culpeper, writing in the 17^th century in his “Complete Herbal” has this to say about its uses:-

“Government and virtues. It is under the dominion of Jupiter. The ordinary costmary, as well as maudlin, provoketh urine abundantly, and moisteneth the hardness of the mother; it gently purgeth choler and phlegm, extenuating that which is gross, and cutting that which is tough and glutinous, cleanseth that which is foul, and hindereth putrefaction and corruption; it dissolveth without attraction, openeth obstructions, and healeth their evil effects, and is a wonderful help to all sorts of dry agues. It is astringent to the stomach, and strengtheneth the liver, and all the other inward parts, and if taken in whey worketh the more effectually. Taken fasting in the morning, it is very profitable for pains of the head that are continual; and to stay, dry up, and consume, all thin rheums, or distillations from the head into the stomach, and helpeth much to digest raw humours that are gathered therein. It is very profitable for those that are fallen into a continual evil disposition of the body called cachexia, being taken, especially in the beginning of the disease. It is a good friend and helps to evil, weak, and cold livers. The seed is familiarly given to children for the worms, and so is the infusion of the flowers in white wine, given them to the quantity of two ounces at a time: it maketh an excellent salve to cleanse and heal old ulcers, being boiled with olive oil, and adder's tongue with it; and after it is strained, to put in a little wax, rosin, and turpentine, to bring it to a convenient consistence.”

  It can be made into a tisane with a quarter cup of fresh leaves with five or six whole cloves to one cup of boiling water, left to steep for five to ten minutes before straining and drinking with honey for coughs, colds, catarrh, and stomach cramps.

  Costmary leaves can be added to lemonade and other drinks for the flavour which is actually refreshing. The leaves can also be infused in boiling water and left to steep for a few hours and used in rinse water after washing clothes. Lavender can also be added to this water. The dried leaves may also be added to sleep pillows with dried rose petals, lemon balm and cloves, or to pot-pourri. The leaves are best collected when the flowers are in bloom along with the flowering tops and dried for later use. The plant flowers between July and September.

  In cookery the leaves can be added to stuffing for veal or poultry and can be chopped and used with butter to flavour peas and new potatoes in place of mint. They can be laid on the base of cake tins and cooked with fruit cake and a few- but use sparingly because of their somewhat overpowering taste- may be added to salads.

  Costmary or Alecost is an old-fashioned herb that deserves more consideration in modern times.

THE CHRISTMAS ROSE: HISTORY OF USES AS MEDICINE, NO LONGER USED

THE CHRISTMAS ROSE, BLACK HELLEBORE, HELLEBORUS NIGER 

The Christmas rose is also called the Lenten rose, as some flower in December and January while others are a little tardy and bloom in February or March the period of Lent which begins with Carnival and is a period of fasting until Easter. Black hellebore as the plant is also known, a direct translation of the Latin name of its genus, was once used in medicine as a cardio stimulant in much the same way as digitalis (from the foxglove) is. However it is highly toxic and is no longer used. It is not, as the English name suggests a member of the rose family, although the flower does resemble that of the wild dog rose, but a member of the Ranunculaceae or Crowfoot family, which means that it a relation of the buttercup, marsh marigold, black cohosh, goldenseal and the Lesser Celandine.

  It is a native of south-eastern Europe where it can be found in woods and thickets and sometimes in open grassland.  Its roots have, in the past, been used to get rid of intestinal worms, as a diuretic, emetic and to bring on women’s menstrual flow, but it was principally still used in the Middle Ages and Renaissance for melancholy and madness.

  Pliny the Elder writing in his Natural History says that

  “The fame of Melampus is well known for his skill in divination. One kind of hellebore was named after him and is called Melampodiam. Some relate, that a shepherd of the same name invented it having observed his goats to purge by eating it, and that, by giving their milk to the daughters of Proetius, he cured them of their madness.” Its fame for curing madness then goes back to ancient Greece.

  In 1621 Robert Burton’s “Anatomy of Madness” was first published, (he was an Oxford don) in which are these lines: -

  “Borage and hellebore fill two scenes

    Sovereign plants to purge the veins

    Of melancholy and cheer the heart

    Of those black fumes which make it smart.”

If you feel depressed it would be better to try borage though as hellebore is extremely toxic. The name Hellebore comes from the Greek, elein meaning to injure and bora meaning food, so it is harmful food.

  John Parkinson (1567-1650) wrote that black hellebore is

   “…good for mad and furious men, for melancholy, dull and heavie persons, and briefly for all those with blacke choler, and molested with melancholy.”

   Nicholas Culpeper writing his “Complete Herball” in the 17^th century had this to say of it: -

  “Government and virtues. It is an herb of Saturn, and therefore no marvel if it has some sullen conditions with it, and would be far safer, being purified by the art of the alchymist than given raw. If any have taken any harm by taking it, the common cure is to take goat's milk. If you cannot get goat's milk, you must make a shift with such as you can get. The roots are very effectual against all melancholy diseases, especially such as are of long standing, as quartan agues and madness; it helps the falling sickness, the leprosy, both the yellow and black jaundice, the gout, sciatica, and convulsions; and this was found out by experience, that the root of that which grows wild in our country, works not so churlishly as those do which are brought from beyond sea, as being maintained by a more temperate air. The root used as a pessary, provokes the terms exceedingly; also being beaten into powder, and strewed upon foul ulcers, it consumes the dead flesh, and instantly heals them; nay, it will help gangrenes in the beginning. Twenty grains taken inwardly is a sufficient does for one time, and let that be corrected with half so much cinnamon; country people used to rowel their cattle with it. If a beast be troubled with a cough, or have taken any poison, they bore a hole through the ear, and put a piece of the root in it, this will help him in 24 hours time. Many other uses farriers put it to which I shall forbear.”

  John Gerard had no such scruples and writing a century earlier says that the “old farriers” used to “cut a slit in the dewlap and put in a bit of Beare-foot and leave it there for daies together.”

  The root that Culpeper writes about that grows in Britain is that of Stinking Hellebore, Helleborus foetidus while the other hellebore native to the British Isles is Helleborus viridis, the green hellebore.

  The leaves of the plant contain the bioflavonoid compounds of quercetin and kaempferol among others, and the plant contains protoanemoin or ranunculin which is of an acrid taste and can cause mouth ulcers and a burning sensation in the throat, eyes and mouth. The plant reputedly kills parasites such as body lice and fleas, but is dangerous to use because of its toxicity and the fact that it causes irritation to the skin.

  In the past, where the flower grew wild it was used for strewing in houses to ward off evil and witches, although it was also believed that witches used it to make themselves invisible (as bracken seeds could be used).

  There is a legend which says that the flower sprouted from a young girl’s tears as she was crying because she was too poor to buy a gift for the baby Jesus, but took the Christmas roses to him after they had sprouted.

WATER FENNEL - DON'T USE AS HOME REMEDY: HISTORICAL HEALTH BENEFITS OF WATER FENNEL

FINE-LEAVED WATER DROPWORT, OENANTHE AQUATICUM  

Fine-leaved water dropwort is more commonly known as Water Fennel in Britain, as well as, less commonly these days, Horsebane and it also has two other Latin synonyms for its genus, Phellandrium aquatica and Oenanthe phellandrium. Oenanthe means honey-wine flower in Greek, and aquatica, of the water. As its name suggests it grows in wet places and is native to Europe and western Asia.

  Water fennel is a member of the Apiaceae or Umbelliferae family of plants, making it a relative of the carrot, fennel, dill, anise, caraway, angelica, (its odour is similar to that of water fennel), cowparsley, celery and many other plants which have flower heads which are clusters or umbels of flowers, and have fine, feathery leaves. Flowers of this plant have five white petals. In the British Isles the plant flowers from July through to September.

  The leaves are poisonous to grazing cattle as it can cause paralysis, and it is said to contain myristicin which is supposedly a psychotropic substance. However the dried leaves lose this dangerous property. The oil from the fruit it produces only every alternate year contains phellandrine and is used for chronic chest infections such as bronchitis, lung problems, such as consumption, and asthma. This has expectorant properties so can clear phlegm and catarrh.

  You can easily overdose on the fruit of this plant although it is not as dangerous as the consumption of Oenanthe crocata, a close relative. The symptoms will be intoxication, vertigo and other possible narcotic effects.

  In the past the herb was used for intermittent fevers, such as malaria, and as a diaphoretic to promote sweat and so lower the temperature of the body during a fever. Externally the plant was also used to cure ulcers on the skin and internally was taken as a remedy for dyspepsia.

  The roots were sometimes pulverized and used to treat piles but if the root is ingested by accident it could prove fatal.

  This post is for information only as the plant is considered too dangerous for use and should only be used as directed by qualified (and trusted) homoeopathists.