Tag Archives: Gladstar

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Lemon Balm

Name:  Lemon Balm

Latin:

Other Common Names:  Melissa

Family:

Parts Used:

Vitamins/Minerals:

Used for:  Can be used for improving memory and focus.  Can also help to relieve depression.  It is also anti-viral and anti-bacterial, and can be used to clear infections and congestion.  Good for assisting with nerves, both pain and anxiety.  It also tastes lovely, which means it makes a wonderful mixer for teas involving any of it’s attributes.  Classified as a nerve tonic, meaning that it rehabilitates and strengthens the nervous system over time.

Use in tandem with:

Directions & Warnings:

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Cayenne (Capsicum)

Name:  Cayenne

Latin:  Capsicum

Other Common Names:

Family:

Parts Used:

Vitamins/Minerals:

Used for:  Cayenne is one of the “miracle herbs,” falling into the same category of niftiness as garlic and turmeric.  It is good for your digestion, and quite an assist to the circulatory system as well.  It helps to regulate your heart and blood pressure.  Used in conjunction with ginger, it can help to clear your sinuses and bronchial tubes; garlic increases the effects on blood pressure.  It helps to mitigate shock, and can help with clotting (internally).  It can also be used as a liniment for headaches and muscle aches.  It is also an intensifier when used with other herbs and spices, making them more effective.  Cayenne can also stimulate salivation, which can help with dry mouth.  It also increases metabolism, making it a good thing to include in foods when working on weight loss.  And rolling on through the myriad effects of cayenne, it is a healthier stimulant than caffeine, doing so through nutrition and a systemic revitalization rather than agitation.  The way in which it acts as a stimulant can also help with the emotional responses to stress.

Use in tandem with:  Garlic, Ginger, Turmeric

Directions & Warnings:

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Rosemary

Name:  Rosemary

Latin:  Rosmarinus officinals

Other Common Names:

Family:  Mint

Parts Used:

Vitamins/Minerals:

Used for:  Anti-bacterial.  Circulatory system tonic.  Can be used in preparations to improve memory, focus, and concentration.  Also a known anti-inflammatory.   Can be used as a gentler stimulant than most, without agitating the system or exacerbating stress.  If you do not mind a more savory tea, and appreciate the flavour of rosemary, this can also be used to ameliorate some of the nastier medicinal herb flavours.

Use in tandem with:

Uses for Pets:

Directions & Warnings:

Edibility:  Use as a spice for meats and garlic.  Also makes a nifty tea on its own, or a nice addition to lemon/limeade.

Growing:  Rosemary is a naturally drought tolerant plant.  One of the easiest ways to kill it outdoors is over watering or overly rich soil.  Rosemary actually prefers sandier, well drained soil.  However, when in a pot it cannot sprawl its roots out as it prefers.  You must keep the soil for a potted rosemary plant moist.  If it dries out entirely, there is little chance of salvaging it.  It is reported that it also really loves seaweed water.

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Marshmallow (Althea officinalis)

Name:  Marshmallow

Latin:  Althea officinalis

Other Common Names:

Family:

Parts Used:  Root

Vitamins/Minerals:

Used for:  Marshmallow is one of the most effective mucilaginous herbs.  It is good for acid problems of the digestive tract (ulcers, irritation, stones, and infections.)  It is also useful for respiratory ailments, as it both calms the throat, and helps to expel mucous.  It can be used as a poultice on sprains.  It can also be used as a tea to increase the flow of milk when breastfeeding, and to enrich the milk.  The mucilage also acts as a soothing and protective agent for inflamed and damaged nerves.

Use in tandem with:

Directions & Warnings:

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Aloe

Name:  Aloe

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Used for:  This is another one of the “magic” plants that can be used for a number of things, and does them all quite well.  It can be used both internally and externally.  It is one of the best things to use as a salve on burns, including sunburns.  If mixed into juice or drunk it promotes internal healing and eases digestive issues.

Use in tandem with:

Directions and Warnings:  When using aloe preparations, make sure that there is neither alcohol nor lanolin in the mixture.  They inactivate many of its useful compounds.  Do not use aloe on a staph infection, aloe can seal the infection in and give it a better environment to multiply.

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Garlic (Allium sativum)

Name:  Garlic

Latin:  Allium sativum

Other Common Names:

Parts Used:  Bulb

Vitamins & Minerals:

Used for:  Garlic is one of the “magic” plants as far as its health effects and uses.  It mitigates the physical effects of stress.  It can lower high blood pressure.  A tea is good for sore throats, and can be used to lessen inflammation and infection in tonsilitis.  If used as a poultice on your chest (often in conjunction with onion), it can help with bronchitis and other chest ailments.  Along with being capable of lowering blood pressure, it can help to reduce your cholesterol, strengthen your heart, increase immune response, reduce stroke risk, and stabilize blood sugar.  Garlic and its relatives are a source of phytoestrogens, which not only reduce the risk of cancer, they can assist with the passage through menopause.  Garlic also has an antibiotic effect similar to penicillin, with the added benefit of not killing off the beneficial bacteria in the body.    Used in a cold poultice, it can help to lower swelling; as a hot poultice, can be used to help snakebites and wasp or hornet stings.  Crushed and packed in near a tooth, it can assist with toothache.  Most of the folkloric and historic beneficial effects of garlic have been proven scientifically.

Use in tandem with:  Hawthorn and Cayenne

Directions and Warnings:  As garlic is a natural blood-thinner, you should consult with a doctor before increasing the amount of garlic you consume, or using it in supplement form if you are on blood-thinning medication.

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Burdock (Arctium lappa)

Name:  Burdock

Latin:  Arctium lappa

Other Common Names:

Parts Used:  Root

Vitamins & Minerals:

Used for:  This herb is used to cleanse the blood and strengthen the liver.  It is one of the primaries used for detoxification and health for the body’s cleansing systems.  It attracts heavy metals and radioactive isotopes and removes them, if eaten.  It is under research for cancer prevention as it is theorized that it will help to reverse pre-cancerous cell changes.  Burdock is also known as a “cooler” of inflammatory conditions, acting beneficially for arthritis and similar ailments.

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Uses for Pets:  Seborrhea, pyoderma, theumatoid diseases

Directions & Warnings:

Edibility:

Other uses for:

Growing:

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Cramp Bark

Name:  Crampbark

Latin:

Other Common Names:

Parts Used:  Bark

Vitamins & Minerals:

Used for:  This is one of the rarer herbs that can be used for the female reproductive system.  It relaxes the ovaries and uterus, meaning that it can both help to stop a miscarriage, and ease a rough period.  It is also a stimulant to the kidneys, increasing their ability to clean the body.  The relaxant and anti-spasmodic effects are not merely useful for the uterus, so this herb can be used in preparations for other muscular issues as well.  This herb can also be used in pain preparations, as it has rejuvenating effect on the nervous system, strengthening and easing it over time.

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Oats (Avena Sativa)

Name:  Oatstraw

Latin:  Avena Sativa

Other Common Names:

Parts Used:

Vitamins & Minerals:  Silica, B Vitamins, Calcium

Used for:  This is a nutrient rich herb that is quite good used as either a tonic infusion, or as a solid foundation for herbal teas.  It is particularly high in silica, and assists in the assimilation of calcium.  I have found it to have a synergistic effect with other herbs, strengthening their effects.  Due to the action it has on calcium absorption and the amount of silica it contains, it helps to build stronger nails and bones, and makes hair healthier.  Due to the sorts of vitamins it contains, it also has mild anti-depressant effects, and helps to calm anxiety.  As it is also high in calcium, it can assist in relaxing the muscles and nerves.  The combination of nutrients and effects make this herb a nerve tonic, toning and rehabilitating the nervous system over time.  They also have enough mucilage that they function as a nerve cushioner, soothing and healing inflamed nerve endings.  Oats are also a good basis for foods for convalescing.  They are easy to digest, easy to flavor, and are gentle enough that they can usually be eaten following a high fever, a bout of food poisoning, or nasty flus.  Oats are also good for the skin, and a wonderful choice for toiletries.