EUROPEAN ROCK ROSE - SOURCE OF BALM OF GILEAD? HISTORY OF USES AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF THE EUROPEAN ROCK ROSE

EUROPEAN ROCK ROSE, CISTUS (INCANA) CRETICUS

The European rock rose is a native of the Mediterranean and grows profusely on the Greek island of Crete. It is a member of the Cistaceae family and is a relative of frostwort. It is an evergreen shrub growing to heights and breadths of one foot, in rocky habitats. The flowers, which can be lilac-mauve, pink and white, bloom in June and the seeds ripen in August. The flower only lasts for a single day, but there are so many buds on the plants that they are constantly in flower during their blooming period.                                             

  The plant is also known as Gum Cistus and Balm of Gilead, although it is not the oil of the ancient persimmon tree. Some, however, say that it is the oleo-resin from this plant that was the Biblical Balm of Gilead. Whatever the case, the resinous substance from the European rock rose has been used since antiquity as incense and for medicinal purposes, along with myrrh and frankincense. It has also been used to purify the air as well as used in religious ceremonies.

  It was one of 16 other ingredients in Kyphi, an incense preparation used by the ancient Egyptians, for religious and medicinal reasons, according to Plutarch, who also says that it was used as “a potion and salve”. It is also part of Neriko, an ancient Japanese incense blend which has been in use since the 7^th century.

  This oleo-resin from the European rock rose is called Ladanum or labdanum (not laudanum which was an opium based tincture). It was much-[prized in the ancient world and was gathered in a rather strange way. Goats were taken to graze where the European rock roses grew, and the oleo-resin would stick to their long hair and beards. They would be shorn and the hair boiled in water, as the resin in non-soluble in water, so as it rose to the top, it would be skimmed off. There are some who still gather it in this way on the island of Crete. Reportedly it still is gathered in this way there. However there are now modern methods of harvesting the precious oleo-resin which is used in perfumery and in the food industry.                                                                          

  This rock rose even figures in some of the Minoan frescoes found on Crete, like this one which features blue birds. The rock rose is at the top left hand corner.

  This oleo resin comes from the glandular hairs on the leaves of the plant, and is viewed as an acceptable alternative to ambergris which is no longer legally obtainable in viable amounts for the perfume and cosmetics industry. The mauve-flowered  plant produces the most labdanum of all and this is at its peak for harvesting purposes in the hot summer months.

  The resin is used for its antibiotic effects and the leaves and resin are used as an expectorant, in cases of catarrh and for diarrhoea, and for regulating the menstrual flow. Just one cup a day of rock rose leaf tisane is said to boost the immune system and protect the cardio-vascular system. This no doubt is due to its potent antioxidant properties- said to be more than those of green tea.

   The balsamic nature of the resin makes it a good wound healer, and the crushed fresh leaves may be placed on wounds to heal them and clean them. Labdanum is good for skin problems and it also has antimicrobial and antifungicidal properties.

YELLOW RATTLE: NO LONGER USED IN MEDICINE: HISTORY OF YELLOW RATTLE

YELLOW RATTLE, CRIVELL MELYN IN WELSH, RHINANTHUS MINOR

Yellow rattle or yellow rattle grass, gets its name because the flowers are yellow and when ripe, the seeds rattle in their husky pod. In the past this was named Rhinanthus crista-galli which once again is evidence of the imagination of our ancestors. The Rhin part of the genus name means nose and anthus is flower, so it is the nose flower, because of the protruding top part of the flower. Crista-galli, means cock’s comb and Pliny tells us that it was thought that the hairs and leaves of the plant looked liked a cock’s crest. However now it is just the minor or lesser nose flower!

  It grows to heights of around two feet and is native to Europe, including Britain and the USA and Canada, although perhaps it has naturalized there. The stems of the plants are spotted with purple which makes it easy to identify.

  The seed pods are flattened, and round, which is probably why the 16^th century English herbalist John Gerard referred to it as “Pennygrass.”                             

  It is a hemiparasite and lives partially off grass, so if you want to give other plants more room to grow and to get rid of unwanted grass, this is the plant for you. Experiments are underway to discover just how this plant can help agriculturists and the soil.

  In Mediaeval times this yellow rattle was thought to have similar medicinal properties to Eyebright, and was thought to be very efficacious in eye problems. This is how Nicholas Culpeper, the 17^th century English herbalist describes its medicinal use in his Herball:-

“The yellow rattle, or cock's comb, is held to be good for those that are troubled with a cough, or dimness of sight, if the herb, being boiled with beans, and some honey put thereto, be drank or dropped into the eyes. The whole seed being put into the eyes, draws forth any skin, dimness or film, from the sight, without trouble, or pain.”

 It is currently in the Orobanchaceae family (so it is a relative of the parasitic Common broomrape) having being recently moved from that of the Scrophulariaceae which formerly made it a relative of mullein and figwort. 

  However it is another of the ancient herbs that are no longer used.

DAME'S ROCKET OR SWEET ROCKET - SYMBOL OF DECEIT: HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF DAME'S ROCKET

DAME’S ROCKET, SWEET ROCKET, HESPERIS MATRONALIS

Dame’s rocket has an interesting history in terms of its names. It was called the Vesper-flower, because it emits its perfume in the evening, and this is how the genus got its name “Hesperis” means evening; “matronalis” means of the mother and the mother in question is probably Eve, who was a symbol of deceit, having tempted Adam to eat the apple which lead to the Fall from grace and the Garden of Eden. Writing in the 17^th century, the English herbalist, Nicholas Culpeper calls this plant Eveweed, and says rather disparagingly that gardeners of his time called it double rocket.

  Dame’s rocket can grow to heights of more than 3 feet and is a native of Europe and Asia. It has naturalized in North America and is invasive in several states. In Britain it has been cultivated for centuries, and so has become naturalized in some places being a garden escapee.

   This plant is also called night-scented/dame’s/queen’s/rogues’ gillyflower and hardly surprisingly is a symbol of deceit in the Language of Flowers. It is also called damask violet, dame’s violet, summer lilac and the evening/ winter gillyflower.

  The young leaves are edible and best used raw in salads although you shouldn’t eat too many of them as they can cause vomiting. The flowers which may be lilac, pink, white or blue are also edible. The seeds of this plant contain 50 per cent essential oil which is used in the perfume industry. The flowers may be cut and will give the room in which they are placed a clove-like smell.

  The seeds were also once steeped in vinegar and then used to get rid of freckles. In Mediaeval times they were considered good antidotes for insect stings and snake bites.

   The plant is a member of the Brassicaceae or Cruciferae family making it a relative of mustard, savoy cabbage, red cabbage, broccoli, kale, kohlrabi, brussel sprouts, flixweed or fluxweed, collard or spring greens, swede, cauliflower, turnips, garden cress, watercress, lady's smocks, Shepherd's purse, and a whole host of others.

  Its leaves are rich in vitamin C so like scurvy-grass it was a useful antiscorbutic and cultivated partly for this purpose. It grows well as a companion plant to foxgloves and clary sage, and would have grown with them in Mediaeval monastery gardens.   

  This is what Culpeper has to say about the uses of this herb:-

“Government and virtues. It is a plant of Mars, yet it is accounted a good wound-herb. Some eat it with bread and butter on account of its taste, which resembles garlic: Its juice, taken a spoonful at a time, is excellent against obstructions of the viscera: it works by urine. In some places it is a constant ingredient in clysters.” (enemas)

THE TAMARISK TREE: HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF TWO TAMARISKS

Tamarix gallica

TAMARISK TREE, TAMARIX GALLICA AND TAMARIX APHYLLA 

There are around sixty tamarisk trees (farash in Urdu) in the world, and the two I have chosen to write about are the French tamarisk tree which is a native of the Mediterranean region and the one that is indigenous to the Middle East, North Africa and the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka. The latter is the tallest in the genus- Tamarix aphylla.

  Writing in the 17^th century the English herbalist, Nicholas Culpeper describes the T. gallica in this way:-

“The Tamarisk never grows to be a tree of any great bigness in England, though beyond the seas it will; having a rough dark brown bark. The younger branches are of a chestnut colour, cloathed with very fine tender green leaves, somewhat like those of cypress, but thinner and finer, and not at all hard or rough; the flowers grow in rough spikes at the ends of the younger shoots, an inch or more in length, several spikes growing together, each consisting of a great many small, five leaved, pale red flowers, which are succeeded by small seed, included in a downy substance.”        

T.gallica

 He also says “It is only planted in gardens in England, its native place being Spain, and the southern parts of France. The wood, bark, and leaves are used.”

  He believed that the tree was from Spain because it is generally thought that the word tamarisk comes from the name of a Spanish river, the Tamaris.

   The tamarisk trees are unusual in that they produce a substance called manna, although there is some debate as to whether this is produced by the tree in response to attacks by insects, or whether the sticky sweet substance is produced by the insects. Some say the tree is the source of the Biblical manna which the Israelites of the Bible (Exodus) were sent by God. However this is strongly refuted by many clerics.

T. gallica

  The manna, galls from the trees and the wood have all been used in medicine in a variety of countries.The Tuareg In Niger use the manna to sweeten water.

   The French tamarisk has been used for its astringent qualities, and notably the galls contain 40 per cent tannin, so it has been used to treat diarrhoea and dysentery, to staunch the flow of blood from wounds and speed up the healing process, and as a laxative. It also has antimicrobial properties, so is good for cleaning wounds.

  Extracts have been found to have a positive effect on the liver’s functioning and it seems that the tree possesses anti-inflammatory properties, as traditionally it has been used externally to bring relief from the pains and swellings of rheumatism.                                                                                                   

T. aphylla

  Used internally an infusion is said to boost the immune system so it can ward off colds and flu and other infections.

  This is what Nicholas Culpeper wrote about it in his 17^th century Herball:-

“Government and virtues. A gallant Saturnine herb it is. The root, leaves, young branches, or bark boiled in wine, and drank, stays the bleeding of the hæmorrhodical veins, the spitting of blood, the too abounding of women's courses, the jaundice, the cholic, and the biting of all venomous serpents, except the asp; and outwardly applied, is very powerful against the hardness of the spleen, and the tooth-ache, pains in the ears, red and watering eyes. The decoction, with some honey put thereto, is good to stay gangrenes and fretting ulcers, and to wash those that are subject to nits and lice. Alpinus and Veslingius affirm, that the Egyptians do with good success use the wood of it to cure the French disease, as others do with lignum vitæ or *guaiacum; and give it also to those who have the leprosy, scabs, ulcers, or the like. Its ashes doth quickly heal blisters raised by burnings or scaldings. It helps the dropsy, arising from the hardness of the spleen, and therefore to drink out of cups made of the wood is good for splenetic persons. It is also helpful for melancholy, and the black jaundice that arise thereof. The ancients believed that swine which fed out of a trough made of this wood, would have no milk. The bark is sometimes used for the rickets in children.”

* lignum vitae comes from Guaiacum officinale.

T. aphylla

  Extracts from the tree are used in traditional medicine in Italy to get rid of warts, and in other parts of Europe it was a remedy for ridding the gastro-intestinal tract of worms. Extracts in one study showed that they were a potent chemoprotective agent.

  The small branches and leaves have astringent and diuretic properties and externally a compress of the leaves and twiglets will staunch bleeding.

  As for Tamarisk aphylla, it possesses similar medicinal properties and the flower galls are used in traditional medicine for their astringent properties and as a gargle. A decoction of the bark is used for eczema and other skin complaints.

T. aphylla

  This tree is a good firebreak as it has such a high saline content, so much so that it kills all vegetation which might try to grow under it, and its leaf litter contains so much salt that it doesn’t burn.

  Both trees are used to help to prevent soil erosion because of their deep root systems. They do not take well to trimming however and so are not ideal for a garden hedge.

  Dyes can be made from the galls on the tree, and the wood may be used in general construction, but it is not very strong, and is knotty.

  These are interesting trees which I have found useful to sit under in the shade they provide on Greek island beaches.