HAZEL TREE - DIVINING RODS FOR WATER AND THIEVES: HISTORY, LEGENDS, USES AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF HAZEL TREE

HAZEL TREE, CORYLUS AVELLANA

The hazel is a common sight in British woodlands and in old hedgerows as its young shoots are pliable and lend themselves to coppicing. It is a member of the Betulaceae family of the order Fagalis and related to the birch tree, native to Europe and western Asia. It was a source of food for prehistoric people and was utilized for making small hunting spears for rabbits and hares and for making thatch; it could be bent into U shapes and was useful to hold down thatch on roofs. It has been used to make barrel hoops and to make shepherds crooks and walking sticks. Hazel rods were the wands of the Druids and it is said that Saint Patrick used a hazel rod to banish the snakes from Ireland. The rods were used as symbols of authority by the ancient Celts, and there are many legends surrounding the hazel tree which was one of the sacred trees of the Druids, along with the Mountain Ash and the Oak. Hazel trees are often found in woods of oak and beech.

  Shepherds’ crooks were also made from hazel but they were shaped while still growing on the tree. Fishing poles and spits for roasting over a fire were also made from hazel branches.

  There are many old legends about the hazel tree which was the Tree of Knowledge for Celts. One is about the Irish hero Finn mac Cumhaill who is said to have gained his prophetic abilities and wisdom after his encounter with a Salmon of Wisdom. The Celts believed that there was a well in the Otherworld, or perhaps at the source of one of several rivers in Ireland. This was the Well of Wisdom in which swam the sacred salmon (sacred to the Druids). Around the well were the Nine Hazel Trees of Wisdom and these sprouted nuts, flowers and leaves at the same time. The nuts dropped into the well and produced bubbles which spread out into the worlds and the waters and bubbles from the well were drunk by poets, artists and other creative people. The nuts were eaten by the salmon, which had brown spots on its skin, which recorded how many nuts it had eaten. The salmon with the most spots was the wisest, and Finn’s tutor had caught the wisest salmon. He put Finn to watch it while it cooked, and some of the hot stock fell on his thumb, so of course he put it into his mouth to ease the pain, and thus acquired his wisdom and powers of prophecy.

male and female flowers

   The hazel nut symbolized the path of wisdom for the Druids, as they believed that knowledge came from within, and the nut has to be cracked in order to get at the sweet meat inside it.

  The hazel has also provided water divining rods and at one time in Ireland these rods were used (up until the 16^th century) to detect thieves. The young branches can be woven into baskets, and were made into collars for horses to protect them from malignant faeries. The wattles (young stems) were used to make huts and houses and were the wattles of wattle and daub structures. There is evidence of this use as early as 6,000 BC.

  In ancient Irish laws, a half shell of a hazel nut was the smallest measure of liquid, used to measure blood paid to victims in compensation for the crimes they had suffered. The half shell was said to be a measure of five drops of blood.

male flowers, catkins

  In traditional medicine, the leaves of the hazel tree can be made into an infusion to purify the blood, and pollen from the flowers was used to treat epilepsy. Decoctions of the bark were used for skin problems, either internally or externally, applied directly onto the skin. Sap from the branches was used directly on the skin to treat eczema, ringworm and other skin problems.

  W.B. Yeats, (1865-1939) the Irish poet and playwright, wrote these lines at the beginning of his poem, “Mongam Thinks of His Past Greatness When a Part of the Constellations of Heaven”: -

   “I have drunk ale from the Country of the Young

    And weep because I know all things now:

    I have been a hazel tree and they hung

    The Pilot Star and the Crooked Plough

female flowers

    Among my leaves in times out of mind.”

  The nuts are food for squirrels, wood mice and dormice and the tree produces both male and female flowers. The male ones are the catkins or “lamb’s tails” that hang from the branches, while the female ones look like small red buds, and it is these which develop into nuts. The male flowers sprout in late October / early November but don’t release their pollen until February – April. The flowers appear before the leaves, but these are the first to appear in spring and the last to fall in autumn. They have been used as cattle fodder in the past.

 

HAZEL LEAF TISANE

Ingredients

2 oz fresh hazel leaves, shredded

250 ml boiling water

Method

Put the shredded leaves into a cup and pour the boiling water over them.

Leave them to steep for 10-15 minutes, then strain and drink.

You may want to add a little honey to sweeten the tisane.

This has Taste and is a Treat(ment).

WHAT IS ISHQ PECHAAN BAIL? TRUMPET VINE - INFORMATION: BENEFITS AND USES OF TRUMPET VINE

TRUMPET VINES, CAMPSIS GRANDIFLORA AND ISHQ PECHAAN IN URDU

Trumpet vines are quite spectacular when in flower, from May to September in Pakistan. At the moment walls are ablaze with orange flower screens, and at first sight the trumpet-shaped flowers look a little like hibiscus, without the long stamen. These flowers attract honeybees and hummingbirds which feast on their nectar, stored deep inside the flowers, and so help pollinate the plants as the birds and bees get pollen on their heads and backs as they dive into the flower to reach the nectar. Trumpet vines are members of the Bignoniaceae family of plants and these are between 650 and 750 species around the worlds, with about 120 different genera.

  The Chinese Trumpet Vine (Campsis grandiflora) has bigger flowers than other trumpet vines, as its Latin name suggests, and has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for a number of ailments for more than 2000 years. Extracts from the flowers and leaves have been subject to clinical trials and has been found to have antioxidative effects and this may not have come as a surprise to researchers as in traditional medicine it has been used to stimulate blood circulation and to cure diseases caused by sluggish circulation. The flower extract also has an anti-inflammatory action on the skin. Triterpenoids from the flowers may be beneficial in treating diabetes and they may also have cholesterol–lowering effects.

  There is a blue trumpet vine in the Indian subcontinent, although the flowers are not so obviously trumpet-shaped. This one is Thunbergia laurifolia, which, as a non-native species is considered an invasive pest in north and south-east Queensland, Australia, where it is invading the rainforest.

  Trumpet vines grow naturally in sub-tropical zones around the world, and the Campsis radicans is native to the Americas; it has yellow, orange or red flowers, and can grow to a height of 30 feet if it has a tall enough host to climb on. Normally trumpet vines are pruned so that they cover a wide area rather than growing tall. If they don’t have a wall or trellis or tree to climb, they will look like low shrubs. It has aerial rootlets which cling to the plant or structure it is climbing on, rather like Common or English ivy. It is sometimes called “Cow Itch” as both animals and humans can get dermatitis from it if the skin comes into contact with the leaves, in the same way as with Poison ivy, or Yellow Sage (Lantana camara).

  Cape honeysuckle is an African indigenous species and has orange blossoms. This is used in traditional medicine as a pain-killer and to cure insomnia.

  Trumpet vines are pretty to look at, but they can cause irritation to the skin, and modern medical science has yet to prove them effective against any disease. However, it is possible that new drugs can be developed from them.

WHAT IS AMAR BAEL? DODDER: MEDICINAL BENEFITS AND HISTORICAL USES OF DODDER

DODDER, SOME OF THE CUSCUTA SPECIES

Dodder grows just about everywhere and was formerly placed in the Convolvulaceae family of plants, although now it is more often than not grouped in a species of its own, Cuscuta with a sub-group of grammica. You will probably have seen it as it tends to smother other vegetation, as it is a parasite. It has no leaves as such, just vine-like tendrils and stems which take nourishment from the host plant, which is whatever is nearest for it to climb on and cling to when its seeds germinate. It begins life with roots, but when it is firmly clinging to a host plant these die and it is solely nourished by the host. There are more than 150 species of dodder worldwide, and they come in a range of colours from white through to rust-orange, some tinged with red and purple. In Urdu it is called amar bael meaning the vine that lives forever, or everlasting vine.

In the UK alone there are several species among them the Lesser Dodder, Cuscuta epithymium, which was once used as a herbal remedy, and is the most common of the British dodders, preferring to live on gorse. It hides its host more or less completely with its red thread-like stems. The waxy flowers are pink-white and after it flowers, it dies back in winter having released its seeds which will germinate in the following spring.

  The 17^th century herbalist, Nicholas Culpeper favoured the dodder that grew on thyme, because, he thought it took on the properties of the plant on which it grows. He says “…We confess Thyme is of the hottest herb it usually grows upon and therefore that which grows on thyme is hotter than that which grows upon a colder herb, for it draws nourishment from what it grows upon…”

He believed that it helped diseases of the “head and brain” such as “trembling of the heart, faintings and swoonings.” Along with herbalists from other countries including the Chinese herbalists and those from the Indian subcontinent (Cuscuta reflexa Roxb. synonym Cassytha filiforma Linn) he believed that it was also good for the spleen, kidneys and liver. It is a diuretic which is quite potent and an infusion was made of the stems of dodder. These are used in Western medicine, whereas the seeds are more commonly used in Eastern medicine, especially as an aphrodisiac with Cnidium seeds which were believed to cure impotency and other erectile dysfunctions such as premature ejaculation. It is used especially to cure jaundice in these traditional systems of medicine.

  Culpeper states that the dodder which grew on nettles took on their properties and was an excellent diuretic and cured any complaint of the urinary tract. An infusion is made from the whole plant in the usual way for a tisane, with 1 -2 ounces of fresh dodder to one pint of boiling water, which you should allow to steep for 10-15 minutes, to use as a purgative like senna and jamalgota. As it tastes bitter it is best used as a decoction, and boiled with ginger root and allspice to disguise the taste of the dodder.

  The Greater or Common Dodder (Cuscuta europaea) prefers to grow on nettles and thistles, and this one has red or yellow curling stems and has pale orange flowers. There is also Flax Dodder (Cuscuta epilinum), Cuscuta trifolii, which is clover dodder, and Cuscuta Hassiaca which prefers Lucerne to be its host. The plant seems to contain a little chlorophyll in its flower buds, fruits and stems, but doesn’t need it to survive as plants generally do. The dodder fruit has papery walls with 1 – 4 brown or black seeds inside it.

  Japanese dodder is used for a number of different ailments such as for vaginal discharge, diarrhoea, constipation and impotence, for the liver and a general health tonic. For these ailments a decoction is made from the seeds.

   In the Indian subcontinent Cuscuta reflexa Roxb. is used for jaundice as a mild laxative, to boost the immune system, for muscle pains and coughs. It also has useful antioxidant properties. In Chinese medicine Cuscuta chiniensis is used for all kinds of ailments including fever, headaches, oedema, skin problems and paralysis. The seeds are the parts used but they should not be taken over a prolonged period and it is thought that you can overdose on them, so best avoided!

  Very little research has been done into dodder’s possible medicinal properties, although what has been carried out suggests that it can help the liver.

  Dodder has been popular in Arabian medicine for centuries and here is one old remedy (for interest’s sake only).

 "It is for elephantiasis, mange, dandruff, and exfoliation of the skin. It disperses phlegmatic and atrabilious humors, purifies the body, clarifies the complexion, is useful for a red face, pimples, and leprosy.

"One takes ten dirhams each of Indian and Kabul myrobalan* without the stones, five dirhams each of common polypody, Cretan cuscutus, Meccan senna, lavender, and Syrian borage, twelve dirhams each of dry, red raisins without the pips, three dirhams each of seed of endive (meaning chicory the herb rather than the endive vegetable), pulverized seed of fumitory, and stripped licorice root, a dirham of cuscuta seed, a mithqâl of roses without stems and a dirham of fennel seeds. It is all cooked in 400 dirhams of pure water until it is reduced to a quarter. It is sieved. Then there is macerated in it seven dirhams each of cassia and manna. It is filtered again and on it is thrown a dirham of sieved agaric, a quarter of a dirham of salt, and a spoonful of almond oil, and ten dirhams of sugar. It may be used.”

* myrobalan is a cherry plum and can also refer to hareer or Terminalia chebula.

CHINESE LANTERN PLANT - NOT JUST FOR DECORATION: HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF CHINESE LANTERN PLANT

CHINESE LANTERN PLANT, PHYSALIS ALKEKENGI

This plant is aptly named as the calyx which surrounds the small cherry-like fruit looks like a decorative Chinese lantern. It is closely related to the Cape gooseberry and Tomatillo and in the same Solanaceae (nightshade) family as the potato, aubergine, and the Nipple fruit. You usually see it in November as it makes its presence felt in early November, and is used in floral decorations. Most people think that this is all it is useful for, but of course they are wrong. It is also called the winter cherry, but should not be confused with Ashwagandha, and the bladder cherry.

  The plant was first found in Japan, and was adopted into the Chinese medicine system as it has some amazing medical properties. If you want to grow one, it seems that they are relatively easy to grow and prefer to have lily-of-the-valley as companions. Historically they have been used to reduce fevers, help stop coughs, as an expectorant, as a diuretic for gout sufferers and to disperse stones and gravel in the kidneys. They also have anti-inflammatory properties and in Iran they were used to induce labour. The juice from the berries or fruit has diuretic properties, but the whole plant above ground can be used. In traditional medicine in Iran they have been used for centuries to stop constipation, to ease the pain of arthritis and rheumatism, and to inhibit female fertility.

   Modern research has shown that extracts from the plant have antioxidant activities as well as anti-microbial and antifungal ones. In rats they proved to have anti-fertility effects probably because they inhibit the egg from attaching itself to the womb, although this is not conclusive. The husks are a source of zeoxanthin (sadly lacking in Western diets generally) as does cayenne pepper, sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) paprika and dried wolfberries. This helps to prevent the onset of age-related loss of vision, as does lutein. The fruit contains twice as much vitamin C as lemons do.

  So next time you see one of these decorative plants, you will be aware of the medicinal value they have – they are not just easy on the eye.