Top Ten Medicinal Plants

[TeeDee]

Something (else) my knowledge is sadly lacking in , what are the Top ten plants for Medicinal Uses that you have used and continue to use for its effectiveness to cure or treat ailments and suchlike??

I'd like 'real' experiences if possible with an objective appraisal.
I know Toddy has made a point of filling her garden with interesting plants , so which are the most useful and effective??

 

[locum76]

VALERIAN ROOT - works for me as a supber but gentle sedative.
FEVER-FEW - Even the wimpier young folk I work with find this an effective headache cure
WILLOW BARK - worth chewing if you have a toothache
RASPBERRY LEAF - A tea of these leaves seemed to help swmbo in the late stages of pregnancy
TANSY - A renowned reliever of period cramps
EYE-BRIGHT - shop bought tinctures of eye-bright have helped me with my infamously conjunctivitis
CLARY SAGE/ SALVIA - another good sedative#
LAVENDER - a good calming herb with antiseptic properties to boot.
ALOE VERA - good for just about everything starting with healing graizes and minor burns all the way to releaving indigestion when taken in a drink.
CALENDULA - good for lots of skin issues and smells amazing. makes a lovely salad to boot.

 

[TeeDee]

Anymore from anyone else??

 

[craeg]

How about good old dandelion?
Good for kidneys, liver, blood. Great coffee too

 

[British Red]

Teedee...I use stacks. Green willow bark is superb for a poultice, senna is good (in pod form) after a rat pack or two - but rhubarb is good there too, mustard has it uses in poultices (remember mustard plaster?).

I'm not into the silly voodoo but there is good scientific evidence on a number of herbal remedies.

I'm no expert, but happy to show my herbary (fresh and dried) and share my limited knowledge

 

[Nagual]

CLARY SAGE/ SALVIA - another good sedative#

Is this the same thing as Salvia Divinorum?

Plantain, helps with cuts, bruises, aches and pains, baldness and mortality. Okays, maybe not quite, but it has many many reputed qualities. Not only that, but having chewed up a leaf to apply to a small bite, it doesn't actually taste too bad either. Could be used as a green.

 

[TeeDee]

I'm not into the silly voodoo but there is good scientific evidence on a number of herbal remedies.

I'm no expert, but happy to show my herbary (fresh and dried) and share my limited knowledge

Please do BR , objectiveness is what I'm after , not mumbo-jumbo.
Share away.

 

[iamasmith]

Sorry, it's not exactly native but Tea Tree is bloody useful when the Berry Bug is active. Soap made up with this calms down those itchy bites and seems to keep the blighters away too. I'm wondering if birch tar might have the same sort of effect...?

 

[British Red]

Don't know about birch tar, but I use pine tar to make a soap which I blend with tea tree and rosemary. It seems fairly effective - its not Deet but it helps.

I prefer citronella, tea tree and rosemary as pine tar is a pig to mould (it traces too fast).

I'll do some piccs Tee Dee. As a useful primer, Jamie Wong's "grow your own drugs" is a great place to start

Oh, peppermint is great for upset stomach (indeed given in BUPA hospitals after gynie surgery which involves gas in the abdomen). Grow in a container though - its horribly invasive

Culinary and healing are not mutually exclusive - garlic is another great example

 

[R.Lewis]

Comfrey- good for sprains, swelling bone injurys
Plantain- for cuts and grazes
Cayenne pepper- aids in stopping bleeding wounds. and chilli is good for muscle pains applied externally
Milk thistle- poisoining, liver function, improves well being, hangover!
self- heal- Sore throats, conjuctivitus, lowering nlood pressure, antibiotic.
Blackberry leaves- Diarrhoea, hemorrhoids
Lavender- Antibacterial, antifungal, antiseptic, calming, sleep problems. Insect repellent
Garlic- Ear infections (put a clove in your ear and what ever is causing your ear grief will walk)

 

[R.Lewis]

Oh and I nearly forgot...

Grapes, well fermented cures most ailments....

 

[TeeDee]

Anyone used,experimented with Yarrow?

 

[harlequin]

Yep,
I've used dried powdered yarrow as a styptic.
Never seen a more effective styptic. Left on for a day to reveal a very clean wound once pelled off.
Peel may be the wrong word but it came of in one piece to revael a remarkably clean wound.
Edit:
Just to add I'm sure it has more medicinal properties but I only had it on for that day whilst bleeding and the wound healed very cleanly.
It was a cut on the second thumb knuckle and as it always quite mobile and prone to opening.
There was no...new (?) blood appearing in the wound and it could be dressed normally once back to civilisation but I forwent this for more applications of dried yarrow.
Medicine of choice now due to my own experiences.
Always a vial of it in my FAK.

 

[R.Lewis]

Yarrow also makes a very effective insect repellent. In US trials was more effective then DEET.

 

[TeeDee]

Yarrow also makes a very effective insect repellent. In US trials was more effective then DEET.

Thats very interesting. Have to do some field studies of that.

 

[sandsnakes]

Comfrey.

Also known in some books a knitt-bone or all heal. The root contains a steroid which can be crushed and applied topically as a poultice for just about anything. Stems and leaves as a poultice, cooked the leaves are nice for various stomach ailments. The dried root used to be used for ulcers until someone took about 20 times the reccomended dose for a year and not surprisingly got very ill. Now banned for internal consumption, which is surprising as alcohol at 20 times the reccomended dose daily is not... hmmm double standards and taxation again!

 

[TeeDee]

I don't think anyone has mentioned using Hops as a sedative and sleep enhancer yet?? Just watched a bit on Youtube reff this and it looks like good stuff, especially applicable to those of us who work various anti circadian shift patterns.

So , anyone used Hops for sleep?

 

[_mark_]

There are many natural pain killers, hugely effective and important to our ancestors but, alas, now illegal because of their narcotic effect.

 

[BushEd]

Finding this thread really interesting, but i'd love some more detailed information about how exactly these plants are used.

So, all you guys who seem to know a lot more about this all then me - where did you find out all this stuff...

Is it just through trial and error, or is there some really good books out there that i have yet to stumble upon?!?! (besides the one BR recommended which i am going to check out now )

thanks!!!

 

[_mark_]

Plants of the Gods - Their Sacred, Healing and Hallucinogenic Powers. By Richard Evans Schultes and Albert Hoffman.

I recommend it for anyone who is skeptical of herbal medicine and thinks all herbal remedies inert.

Also the work of Richard Spruce, a naturalist who spent seventeen years exploring the Amazon Rainforest from 1850 onward.