WATER FIGWORT OR WATER BETONY: HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF WATER FIGWORT

WATER BETONY, WATER FIGWORT, SCROPHULARIA UMBROSA AND SCROPHULARIA AURICULATA 

These plants are actually, it would appear, not the same, as the genus names are both accepted. The plant was called water betony because the leaves were very similar to those of wood betony, although the two plants are not related. Water figwort and water betony are in the figwort family of plants, the Scrophulariaceae and seem to have been used for the same purposes in medicine. Water Betony S. umbrosa, can be found in Europe, and temperate Asia as well as some parts of North Africa, while it would appear that S. auriculata is not a native of temperate Asia. It is however native to the British Isles and Ireland. Both plants have other synonyms but the names here are the accepted ones.

  Water figwort and water betony, then, have much the same properties as the common figwort, although it would seem that Nicholas Culpeper writing in his herbal of the 17^th century, thought that they had different properties. He doesn’t write as much about the water betony as he does about the common figwort, and ends his description of it with a small diatribe regarding distilled waters:-

  “Government and virtues. Water betony is an herb of Jupiter in Cancer, and is appropriated more to wounds and hurts in the breast than wood-betony, which follows; it is an excellent remedy for sick hogs. It is of a cleansing quality: the leaves bruised and applied are effectual for all old and filthy ulcers: and especially if the juice of the leaves be boiled with a little honey, and dipped therein, and the sores dressed therewith; as also for bruises or hurts, whether inward or outward; the distilled water of the leaves is used for the same purpose; as also to bathe the face and hands spotted or blemished, or discoloured by sun burning.

I confess I do not much fancy distilled waters, I mean such waters as are distilled cold; some virtues of the herb they may haply have (it were a strange thing else;) but this I am confident of, that being distilled in a pewter still, as the vulgar and apish fashion is, both chemical oil and salt is left behind, unless you burn them, and then all is spoiled, water and all, which was good for as little as can be, by such a distillation in my translation of the London dispensatory.”

Culpeper also calls this plant brownwort and says that in Yorkshire it was called Bishop’s leaves.

  The plants are attractive to wasps and bees, and grow in shady places along river banks and close to water. It was used as Culpeper mentions for cosmetic purposes by the old herbalists and also as a vulnerary and detergent for old sores and wounds. For skin problems a decoction or infusion was made and taken orally; this was used to cure eczema, psoriasis and other skin ailments.

  The root of this plant was used in a decoction to rid the intestines of worms. The leaves can be harvested in June and July when they reach their peak and dried for later use. They can be applied fresh to wounds and skin rashes or cuts, or used in an ointment. For this purpose they used to be boiled with fat, usually lard.

  Scrophularia auriculata has proved in tests to have anti-inflammatory properties and to contain iridoid glycosides which promote wound healing, so the ancient herbalists once again seem to have known what they were doing.

 The plant should not be used by people with heart conditions as it affects the pulse rate, and is a relation of the foxglove, eyebright, mullein, snap dragon, brahmi and toadflax, to name just a few of its relatives.

COMMON MILKWEED - KAPOK SUBSTITUTE: HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF COMMON MILKWEED

COMMON MILKWEED, ASCLEPIAS SYRIACA 

The common milkweed is native to North America, and has been introduced to Europe, where it was cultivated as a bee plant. It certainly has very fragrant flowers, to attract these insects. It was formerly class in the Asclepiadaceae family, with relatives which included Indian sarsaparilla and aak, although not it is in the Apocynaceae or dogbane family along with the devil tree and bitter oleander, among others. A synonym for this species is Aslcepias cornutti.

  It has been used for medicinal purposes by Native American tribes, and the root, combined with cuckoo pint, was used by Mohawk women for temporary infertility. The leaves and stem contain latex which was applied to rheumatic joints to bring pain relief. This latex was also used for cancer and tumour treatments. In the past the edible seeds were used to treat asthma, to disperse kidney stones and to treat STDs among other diseases. The root possesses diuretic properties too and can also promote sweat during bouts of fever.

  The Cherokee used the plant for backache, stones and gravel in the body’s organs and for STDs.

  In the US and Canada the plant is well-known as it provides sustenance for the Monarch butterfly’s caterpillars, but we can eat it too. The flower buds, unopened, can be cooked and eaten like kachnar buds, (these are said to taste like garden peas or broccoli) and the open flower clusters can also be eaten in the same way as elder flowers. The tender young shoots are considered a delicacy by some and are used as an asparagus substitute, while young leaves and shoots can also be cooked as spinach. However it is best to use a plant for culinary purposes that is under 20 cms. tall. The flower clusters can also be boiled down to brown sugar, and should be harvested for best results in the early morning when dew is still clinging to them.

  The young tender seed pods (around 3 centimetres long) can also be cooked and are said to taste like okra. The seeds themselves can be eaten raw or cooked but are best used before the floss forms on them, although this is also edible. The latex in the stem and leaves can also be chewed like gum.

  You can also eat sprouted seeds and oil for culinary purposes may be obtained from them.

  The common milkweed also has other uses: a gum may be made from the latex and can be used to adhere gemstones to settings in jewellery. It is also possible to make rubber from the latex.

  The seed floss has been used as a substitute for kapok, which was not available during the Second World War. Schoolchildren all over the Midwest were recruited to gather thousands of pounds of this floss so that it could be used as stuffing for life-preservers for the armed forces. Today it is used instead of down for insulating jackets and comforters by a firm in Nebraska, and it is said to be much better than down for insulating purposes, of course it is cheaper too as down is imported.

  The plant was studies in the 1990s as a possible source of biofuel, and scientists are renewing their interest in the common milkweed now that technology has further advanced, as production methods are becoming more cost-effective that they were in the past.

DOGBANE, APOCYNUM CANNABIUM: HEAL:TH BENEFITS AND USES OF DOGBANE

BLACK INDIAN HEMP, DOGBANE, APOCYNUM CANNABINUM 

Black Indian hemp or Dogbane is native to North America, where it is also known as wild cotton, milkweed, which is actually Asclepias syriaca now in the same Apocynaceae family, and American hemp. Other relatives of this dogbane are aak, the devil tree, bitter oleander and oleander.

The plant can grow to heights of around six feet, but is more generally seen at heights of around 4 feet.
 It gets its genus name, Apocynum from the ancient Greek, apo away and cyanus dog, and it was Pliny who wrote that the plant was fatal to dogs, although he was writing of one of the European dogbanes. Dogbane is also a name given to Aconitum Cynoctonum, and there are also three European dogbanes in the Apocynum genus, according to William Salmon, a botanist and herbalist who was writing in 1710. He named these as Apocynum angustifolia, Apocynum latifolium non repens and Apocynum folia angusta. The climbing dogbane he says was a curiosity at the time in Europe and planted as an ornamental.

  Native Americans used the plant for many purposes. The stem bark provides strong fibres which were used to make fishing nets and fishing lines as the fibre remains strong in water. It can also make twine and so be woven into other items, including cloth. It can be used as a flax substitute. It was because of the ability to utilize this plant’s fibres that it has the same name as cannabis, not because it is a drug.

  It was also employed in medicine, but the root has cardio-active glycosides in it, making it slow the pulse rate and it is reported to have sedative and hypnotic properties. It is best to treat this plant with extreme caution and only use it under the supervision of a physician. In some ways it is similar to digitalis, (found in the foxglove). However it was used for syphilis, rheumatism, intestinal worms, fever, diarrhoea and dysentery, as well as for coughs as an expectorant, and various other ailments.

  The edible seeds can be eaten raw or cooked and ground to a powder and then used for flour. However some report that the whole plant is poisonous containing toxins which can blister the skin. The latex from the plant, like that of milkweed can be used for chewing gum and it may be possible to produce rubber from it.

  The root is bitter and so the plant is sometimes referred to as bitter root. Its flowering season is July and August and you can identify it by its red-purple stems.

 

  

PILI NUT AND PILI TREE: HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF PILI

PILI NUT TREE, CANARIUM OVATUM   

The pili nut tree is native to the coastal areas of South East Asia, although the pili nuts are only commercially produced at the moment in the Philippines. It is a member of the Burseraceae family of plants so is a relative of Commiphora myrrha, which produces myrrh, and Commiphora wightii which is the Indian Bdellium or guggul producer, and to Boswellia serrata, from which we get frankincense. The Pili tree also produces a resin which is soft like honey and is known as breabianca or Manila elem. This is used in the manufacturing of perfumes, plastics and printing inks, but is also used externally for swollen legs in Philippines traditional folk medicine.

  The oleoresin is also used as a stimulant and counter-irritant in traditional medicine. It is used in ointments for sores and abscesses on the skin too.

  The tree itself can grow to heights of 35 metres in primary forests, although the cultivars in the Philippines and Hawaii only reach about 20 metres. It has white flowers which give way to the fruit which contains a hard-shelled triangular seed, known as the pili nut. The smooth glossy fruit is green when immature, but when ripe turns purple black. It has a pulp which is yellow or brown, and which can be cooked and is said to have a texture similar to that of a cooked sweet potato. This pulp is considered to have much the same nutritional value as an avocado.

  The young shoots of the tree are also edible and can be used in salads. The pulp oil is high in protein and can be used as a cotton seed oil substitute in many food products, so it has great commercial prospects. It is also being investigated as a source of biofuel for the future.

  The stony outer shells of the pili nut may be used as fuel or as growing material for some orchids, so gardeners say. That means that all of the fruit has some value, although at the moment it is not being used to its full capacity, which may or may not be a good thing for the preservation of the pili nut tree.                             

  The pili nuts are used in baked goods and feature in one type of Chinese “moon cake” which are eaten on special occasions and at festival times. They are used for chocolate, ice-cream and eaten raw, when they are said to taste like roasted pumpkin seeds. When roasted they are said to taste like almonds.

  At the moment the nut producing industry is in its infancy as was the Australian macadamia nut thirty years ago. Perhaps soon we will all know what these mineral-rich nuts taste like.

COTTON AND COTTON SEEDS: HISTORY, HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF COTTON PLANTS

COTTON, KAPAS, GOSSYPIUM GENUS 

Cotton originated in the African and Asian continents, and has been used for textile making for thousands of years. Fragments of cloth from the Indus Valley Civilization in Pakistan show that the people living there around 3500BC knew how to weave cotton into cloth. The first written mention of cotton was in the Rig Veda written around 1500 BC.

Modern medical science has found that parts of the cotton plant may have potential use in the treatment of HIV and cancer.It has been found in one study to have the ability to inhibit cancerous growths in head and neck

cancers. (2004 Dr. Christopher Oliver published in the Journal of Clinical Cancer Research.)

   At one time it was thought that it could be used as a male contraceptive, but this has not been proved conclusively and the cotton seed oil industry has tried to play this down. In the States, cottonseed oil is touted as a good cooking and salad oil, and is finding its way into a variety of foodstuffs as it ‘enhances’ the flavour of fried foods, it is claimed because it has no taste of its own. It is also claimed to be a healthy oil, with manufacturers rightly saying that it doesn’t have any cholesterol. However it is not as healthy as some other plant oils notably olive oil, and there are concerns about its effect on male fertility.

  The seed oil contains vitamin E and so is used in the cosmetics industry as this vitamin helps retain the elasticity of ageing skin and helps to prevent wrinkles.

   The root bark has been used by women for centuries to induce abortion (useful after being raped by cotton farmers), to promote menstruation and to ease childbirth and menopausal symptoms.

   Chewing the root bark of the cotton plant is supposed to stimulate the sex organs and it has a reputation for being an aphrodisiac. In Ayurvedic medicine and other traditional medicine systems in the Indian subcontinent cotton plants and their parts are used to improve blood circulation, for ear problems, colds, diarrhoea and gout as well as a whole host of other ailments. (India and Pakistan are two of the top cotton-producing countries in the world.)

  The seeds and leaves are used in South East Asia and the subcontinent to treat a variety of health problems, and are used both internally and externally for skin problems and injuries. Powdered cotton seeds mixed with milk are given to those with headaches, and an infusion of the seeds and leaves is said to be useful for cases of dysentery. Cotton seeds or the expressed juice from the leaves are used to treat skin problems, while the leaves can be made into a poultice for sprains or painful areas of the limbs. The seeds are ground and made into a paste with water and ginger for burns, and an infusion, a mixture of the seeds and leaves and perhaps also mustard seeds is used for snake bites and scorpion stings.

  Cotton is a member of the Malvaceae family of plants so is related to the common mallow, marsh mallows, hollyhocks, hibiscus, okra, musk mallow, Indian or country mallow, the kapok tree, the red silk cotton tree, the dinner plate tree and the fruit, durian, among others. If left to its own devices, the evergreen shrub can grow to heights of 20 metres, although they are around waist high in fields. There are around fifty species of cotton plant but only four main ones, Gossypium hirsutum and Gossypium barbardense being the dominant crop species and Gossypium arboretum and Gossypium herbaceum being the two older species.                                                                                 

  In the 5^th century BC the Father of History, the Greek historian Herodotus wrote this about  cotton plants describing them: - “trees that bore wool, surpassing in beauty and in quality that of sheep’s wool; and the Indians wear clothing from these trees.” Much later, in the 1600s, explorers from Europe also found cotton growing in North and South America.

  In the Middle Ages this idea of Herodotus’ must have taken a firm hold in the popular imagination as people thought that cotton came from “vegetable lambs” which were to be seen in illustrations hanging from trees reportedly in India. These ‘cotton lambs’ or ‘vegetable lambs’ (fakes of course) even found their way into museums.

  The plant has flowers which start off being creamy white, and then pink as they give way to the cotton boll which is the seed pod. It is hardly surprising that there are twice the volume of seeds as there is cotton fibre, that being the case. The large fibres stick to the seeds, and there are shorter, fuzzy fibres called linters which can be used to make water-soluble polymers and paper. The whole of the plant can be used as the seed oil cake left after extracting the oil provides fodder for animals.

  

CROSSWORT - A BEDSTRAW: HISTORY, HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF CROSSWORT

CROSSWORT, CRUCIATA LAEVIPES 

Crosswort is one of the bedstraw plants and is related to Lady’s Bedstraw or Yellow Bedstraw. In fact it is also known as Smooth bedstraw, with a botanical synonym of Galium cruciata. It is native to Europe including Britain, but not it is believed, native to Ireland. It is also a native plant of western Asia. As a member of the Rubiaceae family of plants it is related to noni fruit, cleavers, sweet woodruff, wild madder, coffee, Kadamb and the cinchona quinine–producing trees.

  Crosswort can grow to heights of four feet, although is more often around two feet high. Its Scots Gaelic name is Luc na croise, which is a reflection of its name in English. The flowers smell of honey and in some areas it is called honeywort. It can be found on the margins of woodland, in hedgerows and roadside verges. Its edible leaves may be added to salads or cooked like spinach.

  It was once valued highly as a wound herb or vulnerary and was also used for rheumatism, dropsy and ruptures, although an old Leechbook of the 9^th  century, now in the British Library, Bald’s Leechbook, states that it was once used as a cure for headaches.

  It has astringent properties due to its tannin content, and has diuretic properties. It was used both internally for ruptures and externally for wounds, cuts and grazes. Nicholas Culpeper writing in his herbal in the 17^th century has this to say of crosswort:-

“Government and virtues. It is under the dominion of Saturn. This is a singular good wound-herb, and is used inwardly, not only to stay bleeding of wounds, but to consolidate them, as it doth outwardly any green wound, which it quickly drieth up and healeth. The decoction of the herb in wine helpeth to expectorate phlegm out of the chest, and is good for obstructions in the breast, stomach, or bowels, and helpeth a decayed appetite. It is also good to wash any wound or sore with, to cleanse and heal it. The herb bruised and then boiled, and applied outwardly for several days together, renewing it often, and in the mean time the decoction of the herb in wine taken inwardly every day, doth certainly cure the rupture in any, so as it be not too inveterate; but very speedily, if it be fresh and lately taken.”

  At one time it was also used as a strewing herb, although it seems that it may not have any insecticidal properties. It flowers between April and June and these yellow flowers are followed by black berries which stay on the plant until late winter, and which resemble small blackcurrants. It could be that it was mistaken for Lady’s Bedstraw and so used in the same way.

COMMON FIGWORT FOR RELIEF OF SCROFULA: HISTORY, USES AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF FIGWORT

KNOTTED FIGWORT, SCROPHULARIA NODOSA

The knotted figwort is so-called because of the knobbly bits that form on its roots. Perhaps it is called figwort because the immature flowers look like tiny figs before they bloom. It is a member of the Scrophulariaceae family which makes it a relative of mullein, toadflax, foxglove, eyebright, snap dragon and brahmi or water hyssop among other plants.

  The name Scrophularia was given to this plant and the members of its family as it was believed that they could effect a cure for scrofula, which in the Middle Ages was known as the “King’s Evil” Morbus Regis in Latin. Scrofula is a tubercular swelling of the lymph glands, but in the 11^th century, in England and France it was believed that the touch of the king could cure the disease. It began with Edward the Confessor, Edward I (1003/4 – 1066) and Philip I (1052-1108) of France. It was believed that the later generations of Kings inherited this royal touch which could cure the disease. When all else failed, I guess, the peasants turned to knotted figwort for a cure.

  During the Renaissance, and perhaps much earlier, it was recommended that this figwort was taken both internally and externally with the tisane of the root or the pounded root placed on the skin to get rid of all abscesses, sores, psoriasis, eczema and any other skin problem. The Romans used it for piles.

  In Welsh it was called Deilen Ddu, the good leaf, which shows the high repute in which this figwort was held. In Ireland it was known as Rose Noble and throatwort. In French it is the herbe du siège referring to the fact that the tuberous roots of this plant were eaten by the people of La Rochelle during the siege of the city by Richelieu’s troops in 1628.

(The roots are edible but do not taste good, so are only utilized as food in extremis.)

  Nicholas Culpeper, writing his herbal in the 17^th century had this to say about the health benefits of figwort:-

“Government and virtues. Some Latin authors call it cervicaria, because it is appropriated to the neck; and we, throatwort, because it is appropriated to the throat. Venus owns the herb, and the Celestial Bull will not deny it; therefore a better remedy cannot be for the king's evil, because the Moon that rules the disease, is exalted there. The decoction of the herb taken inwardly, and the bruised herb applied outwardly, dissolves clotted and congealed blood within the body, coming by any wounds, bruise or fall; and is no less effectual for the king's evil, or any other knobs, kernels, bunches, or wens growing in the flesh wheresoever; and for the hæmorrhoids, or piles. An ointment made hereof may be used at all times when the fresh herb is not to be had. The distilled water of the whole plant, roots and all, is used for the same purposes, and drieth up the superfluous virulent moisture of hollow and corroding ulcers; it taketh away all redness, spots, and freckles in the face, as also the scurf, and any foul deformity therein, and the leprosy likewise.”

  Figwort is native to Europe including Britain, and to temperate Asia. It is best harvested as it comes into flower and then can be dried for later use. It can detoxify the body as it has laxative, mild diuretic and purgative effects, which is why it was taken internally as well as being applied to the skin, in the belief that it purified the blood. A decoction of the root was used to relieve sprains and swellings, inflammation and burns. Bruised leaves were also used on burns and scalds. An ointment was made from the plant, and it was a specific remedy for scrofulous sores and gangrene.

  The plant contains saponins, hesperidin, cardio-active glycosides, anti-inflammatory glycosides, alkaloids, flavonoids, iridoids and other substances which contribute to its actions. Harpagoside, an iridoid, is found in the knotted figwort, which is also present in devil’s claw, and is believed to have anti-inflammatory action of use in the treatment of arthritis.

  Diosmin, a flavonoid glycoside, is also present and this is believed to have a vascular-protecting action. The flavonoids present in the plant mean that it has antioxidant properties, anti-mutagenic actions and anti-inflammatory ones too.

  It is a heart stimulant and has antibacterial and antifungal properties, according to one study. It is believed to have a stimulating effect on blood circulation too, but more research needs to be done into the plant before scientists can positively identify the reasons for its apparent actions.