Growing Hermione's Garden

Syzygium aromaticum - Clove

2012-05-28T13:35:00.001-04:00

Syzygium aromaticum - Clove, also know as Eugenia caryophyllata, Eugenia aromatica, Caryophyllus aromaticus, Oleum Caryophylli. The spice is the dried, unopened, nail-shaped flower bud of this lovely aromatic evergreen tree. The generic name, Syzygium, comes from a Greek word meaning “yoked together” and refers to the union, in some species, of the petal tips into a cap that covers the stamens. The word clove is believed to come from either the French "clou" or the Latin "clavus" both meaning "nail" in reference to the shape of the clove bud. The genus name, Eugenia, is named after Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663-1736).

Syzygium aromaticum is a triangular shaped evergreen tree growing about 40 feet tall with smooth gray bark and 5-inch-long, glossy opposite leaves that resemble bay leaves. The attractive red and white bell shaped flowers bloom year round in 1/4-inch clusters at the ends of the branches and have four tiny petals surrounded by a long, four-parted calyx (the “stem” of the clove) and numerous stamens. The buds are pink, but the calyx changes from yellow to deep red-pink after the stamens fall. The fruit, called mother-of-cloves, is an edible purple berry about 1 inch long and 1/2 inch across. The entire plant is extremely aromatic.

Clove oil is an important ingredient in dental medicine. It has a long history as a folk remedy for toothache, relieving both pain and inflammation of the gum tissues. As an antiseptic, dentists use the clove's principal constituent, eugenol, mixed with zinc oxide as a temporary filling for root canals. Laboratory studies show that its other constituents, kaempferol and myricetin, can inhibit the growth of bacteria associated with gum disease.

Other laboratory studies have confirmed that eugenol inhibits the growth of fungi, including those that cause yeast infections and athlete's foot. Animal studies have shown that it is also a strong antioxidant and protects against cardiovascular disease.

Clove tea, used along with other herbs and spices such as allspice, bay, cinnamon and marjoram, has been used to relieve bronchitis, asthma, coughs, infection, tuberculosis, altitude sickness, nervous stomach, nausea, diarrhea, flatulence, indigestion, dyspepsia, gastroenteritis, side effects of lobelia, and depression. A few cloves added to other herbal teas is often used to alleviate mild depression and nervous irritability.

In Pakistan cloves are among many herbs used in folk medicine to treat the common cold, cough and flu to more serious conditions such as asthma, jaundice and heat stroke. Europeans use clove tea as a digestive aid, traditional Chinese medicine uses cloves to treat fungal infections, diarrhea, hernia, hiccups, indigestion, intestinal parasites, impotence, ringworm, and kidney disorders.

During the Middle Ages, cloves were used to cure the plague and were also considered an aphrodisiac due to the similarity in shape to the human penis. The medieval herbalist Hildegard of Bingen recommended cloves in the treatment of gout. Cloves were also used as an insect repellent.

Cautions: Aside from using clove oil as an emergency toothache treatment, don’t self-treat with the oil or its constituents. They can be toxic in small amounts when used internally or absorbed through the skin. Eugenol has been found to be a weak tumor promoter in laboratory tests, making clove one of many healing herbs with both pro- and anti-cancer effects. Scientists are still not sure which way the balance tilts. Until they are, anyone with a history of cancer should avoid using medicinal amounts of clove.

Anti-Fungal Powder: To make a powder that reduces sweating and retards fungal growth, use one cup of dried sage leaves and one teaspoon of whole cloves. Make sure the sage leaves are thoroughly dried. Place the ingredients in a coffee grinder or blender and process until finely ground. Sprinkle this powder in socks or on feet daily.

"Her breath is like honey spiced with cloves, Her mouth delicious as a ripened mango." ~ Srzgarakarika

The first references to cloves are found in Oriental literature of the Han period in China under the name "Chicken-Tongue Spice". Cloves were brought by Javanese traders from the island of Ternate to the Imperial Chinese court of the Han dynasty about 2,500 years ago. Arab traders brought cloves to Europe 400 years later and the Portuguese were trading cloves in the Moluccas by 1511. The Chinese used cloves extensively for cooking, medicines, and for deodorizing bad breath. The Chinese emperor was so offended by the bad breath of foreign envoys, that he decreed every visitor must chew on a clove before addressing him.

When the Europeans finally found the clove producing Moluccas islands in the 17th century, they used extreme measures to take control of the spice supply, (read The Notorious Nutmeg for more on this bloody history). Clove trees grew on many islands, but the Dutch destroyed all clove trees except those on a single island which they controlled. In 1625 alone, 65,000 clove trees were cut down. The Dutch held the monopoly on cloves for about 150 years. During this period, any unauthorized person caught growing or carrying cloves or seedlings would be put to death.

The French finally managed to smuggle some clove tree seedlings to Mauritius, an island east of Africa in the Indian Ocean; by the 1800s clove trees were being cultivated on a number of islands in the Indian Ocean and in the New World. They are now grown commercially in Madagascar, Tanzania, Jamaica, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Réunion, the Seychelles, and the Comoro Islands. Zanzibar and Pemba islands, off the east coast of Africa that are part of Tanzania, produce about 90 percent of the world’s cloves.

The Spanish liked cacao very much and they added water to it,

plus other condiments including cinnamon,

cane sugar and cloves.

~ Paul Gepts

In Moluccan folklore, villagers treated blossoming clove trees like a pregnant woman. No man could approach them wearing a hat, no noise could be made near them and no light or fire could be carried past them at night for fear they would not bear fruit. Some Moluccans still plant a clove tree at the birth of a child, with the belief that if the tree flourishes, so will the child.

Cloves also have a rich history in magical folklore and are a main ingredient in various spells. To stop slander, malicious gossip and lies, a person would burn a red candle studded with cloves. It was also used to attract luck with money by either burning as an incense or using it as a gambling charm in a "money bag" along with silverweed, cinnamon and Irish moss. In neopagan magic, cloves are used to banish evil spells cast against you, while they also purify and protect. Worn as an amulet it will drive away negativity and hostility, stop gossip, comfort mourners, attract riches and the opposite sex.

The spice is also popular with artists in basketry and hand-crafted jewelry, and clove oil can be used to help keep oil paints fresh and moist for several weeks.

We smoked a lot of cloves.

~ Method Man

Although cloves originated in Indonesia, it is there that more than half the world's supply is imported for use in cigarettes. Clove cigarettes, kretek, (currently banned in the USA) which crackle while burning, are extremely popular; their sweet, incense-like aroma pervades nearly every aspect of Indonesian life. But as a spice, the clove is not used very much in Indonesian cuisine except in some sweets.

Only the highest quality cloves are used as a culinary spice throughout the world. The rest, along with the dried flower stalks and leaves, are processed to extract the essential oil, which is used not only to flavor foods, but also in cosmetics, dentistry, medicine, and as a clearing agent in microscopy. About 85 percent of the oil is eugenol, which is also a component of the essential oils of cinnamon, bay laurel, basil, nutmeg, and hyssop, among other familiar herbs and spices.

Cloves contain manganese, vitamins C and K, magnesium, calcium, and fiber. The flavor of ground cloves seems to last forever, whereas the flavor of most other ground spices fades rapidly. Clove is used to make vanillin, which is artificial vanilla.

Nose, nose, jolly red nose, who gave thee this jolly red nose?

... nutmegs and ginger, cinnamon and cloves

~ Francis Beaumont

In cooking, cloves can enhance so many kinds of food: fruits, baked goods, ham, beets, green beans, winter squash, pea soup. They are an essential ingredient in Sri Lankan cooking, Chinese five-spice powder, Indian garam masalas, American pickling spice, and spiced teas. They are extremely popular in the Middle East and North Africa where they are used in meat dishes and to aromatize rice. In Ethiopia, coffee is roasted with some cloves in a traditional coffee ceremony.

Cloves are less popular in Europe, where their strong flavor is not appreciated. They are used for special types of sweet breads, but mostly with stewed fruits (along with cinnamon). Plain rice is often flavored with one or two cloves. In France, cloves often go into slow cooked meat stews or a hearty meat broth. In England, they are popular in pickles.

Cloves are often used to enhance the flavour of game, especially venison, wild boar and hare. They are used in a number of spice mixtures including Ras el hanout, curry powders, mulling spices and pickling spices. Cloves also figure in the flavour of Worcestershire sauce.

"Cloves must always see the sea in order to survive"
~ Ancient Legend

A vintage image of clove plantation...

Clove trees require a warm, humid climate with 50 to 70 inches of rainfall annually and a minimum temperature of 59°F; well-drained, fertile loam; and a position in full sun or part shade. Most clove plantations are located within 10° of the equator and close to the ocean. Commercial growers shade the young trees and protect them from wind, sometimes growing them under other trees such as mangoes or jacarandas. Trees may be propagated by sowing seeds in spring or rooting cuttings in summer. The trees flower for the first time when eight or nine years old. Under favorable conditions, trees may live 100 years or longer.

...not much has changed.

The unopened flower buds are harvested by hand when they reach full size and are just turning pink. In Indonesia, women and children pick the clusters closest to the ground, while men either clamber into the branches or climb ladders to gather the higher clusters. Later, the buds are snapped off the flower stalks and placed on leaf mats to dry in the sun. After three days, they will have turned dark brown and weigh only one-third of their weight when first picked. A tree may yield as much as 75 pounds of dried cloves, but the crop fluctuates from year to year.

Resourses include:

Wikipedia
Wikimedia
McCormick Science Institute
The Epicentre
Emily Doyle: Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony
The Herb Companion
Botanical Museum, Beja, Portugal
Purple Sage Medicinal Herbs

A long time coming....

2012-04-02T16:02:00.001-04:00

I have planned and prepped some preliminary work on a few articles which I will be posting very soon.

This year I will not be working on a garden due to time constraints. Instead, I will be visiting some botanical gardens and arboretums and write more articles about interesting herbs. Last year I visited two gardens during the fall season and will be posting about them soon as well.

National Arboretum, Washington DC
copyright SHD 2011

I visited the National Arboretum in Washington DC in September, (where I dropped and broke my digital camera! Ack!). It's an absolutely beautiful place and if you live within a 3-4 hour drive of DC you should take the time to go there. It's worth a road trip, and it's free because your tax dollars pay for it.

Temple University Ambler
copyright SHD 2011

Over the Thanksgiving weekend I stopped by the gardens belonging to Temple University in Ambler, PA. Again, it was the dead of winter (albeit a mild one), but as you can see, it promises to be a pleasant experience for the spring and summer and should prove to be a fun future article.

I would like to say "Hello!" to all my new followers, and "Thank You!" to everybody who bothers to read what I write, and especially thanks to those who make comments. I appreciate your attention and I hope that I will justify it in the future.

The Notorious Nutmeg - Myristica fragrans

2011-12-10T20:44:00.016-05:00

Myristica fragrans - Nutmeg, also known as mace, magic, muscdier, muskatbaum, myristica, noz moscada, nuez moscada, and nux moschata, is an evergreen tree indigenous to the Banda Islands in the Moluccas (Spice Islands) of Indonesia. The nutmeg tree is important for two spices derived from the fruit: nutmeg and mace. The name nutmeg comes from Latin, nux muscat, meaning musky nut. The genus name Myristica derives from the Greek 'myron' meaning balm or ointment. The species name fragrans refers to the good smell of the plant. Nutmeg is the actual seed of the tree, and roughly egg-shaped and about 1 inch long by 0.7 inch wide, and weighing approximately 0.4 oz dried, while mace is the 'lacy' reddish covering of the seed.

Myristica fragrans grows to about 35 feet high, has a smooth grayish-brown bark, with oblong, dark green, glossy leaves of 4 to 6 inches long. The small, bell-shaped yellow flowers give off a pleasant aroma. The fruit is light yellow with red and green markings, resembling an apricot or a large plum. The outer fleshy covering (which is candied or pickled as snacks in Malaysia) bursts open to reveal the seed. The seed is covered with red membranes called an aril, which is the mace portion of the nutmeg. The nut is then dried for up to 2 months until it rattles inside the shell. When the aril is fresh it is a brilliant scarlet, when dry it is brittle and yellowish-brown in color. The seed, or nutmeg is firm, fleshy, and white with reddish-brown veins.

International trade in nutmeg originated with the Arabs, during the middle ages, they sold nutmeg in Venice for very high prices, but would never reveal the exact location of their source. The small Banda Islands in Indonesia were, until the mid-19th century, the world's only source of nutmeg and mace.

The early European spice trade was remarkable for its competitive ferocity. European nations struggled with each other, with deadly consequences, for control of the lucrative Spice Island market. The seemingly insignificant nutmeg was once fought over by Venice, Genoa, the Netherlands, Portugal and England, to the point where the inhabitants of the Banda Islands were wiped out.

European traders were unable to discover the location of nutmeg's source until Portugal sent ships to conquer Malacca in 1511, which at the time was the hub of Asian trade. In November of that year, after having secured Malacca and learning of the Bandas' location, Portugal then sent an expedition of three ships to find them. Malay pilots were either hired or forced to guide the Portuguese to Banda, arriving in early 1512, where they filled their ships with nutmeg, mace, and cloves. However, the Portuguese were not able to control the trade of nutmeg and they continued trading, but without a foothold in the islands themselves.

In 1621, the Dutch waged a bloody war in order to control nutmeg production in the East Indies, including the massacre and enslavement of the inhabitants of Banda. The Banda Islands were then run as a series of plantation estates, with the Dutch sending out annual expeditions to destroy all Myristica fragrans planted elsewhere. In 1760, the price of nutmeg in London was kept artificially high by the Dutch who voluntarily burned full warehouses of nutmegs in Amsterdam.

As a result of the Napoleonic Wars, the English took temporary control of the Banda Islands from the Dutch and transplanted Myristica fragrans to their own colonial holdings in Zanzibar and Grenada, where it became the national symbol and is proudly emblazoned on the country's flag. The Dutch continued to hold control of Banda until World War II.

In eailier history, Roman author Pliny speaks of a tree bearing nuts with two flavors in the first century A.D. In the the sixth century, nutmegs were brought by Arab merchants to Constantinople. In the 12th century, Emperor Henry VI had the streets of Rome fumigated with nutmegs before his coronation. And nutmeg is one of the ingredients of a magical perfume described in 'The Key of Solomon the King.' The Arabs themselves used nutmeg as an aphrodisiac as well as to treat digestive problems. In India it was used to treat asthma and heart problems, and is still used as a sedative.

A legend states that the nutmeg's musky scent is so overpowering when ripe, that it causes birds of paradise to fall to the ground. Nutmeg was believed to possess magical properties and is still used throughout Great Britain as a lucky charm. The belief that carrying nutmeg in the pocket could cure various complaints has been recorded from various parts of that country. In Yorkshire it was thought to relieve rheumatism, in Lincolnshire it was used to cure backache and in Devon it was eaten to clear up boils. It was also believed to be a lucky charm for gamblers. In The Colbert Report's 2008 Christmas special, "A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All," recording artist John Legend, sings about how much he loves nutmeg, in his eggnog.

Nutmeg was once used for disorders related to the nervous and digestive systems and in Elizabethan times, it was believed to ward off the plague. This caused it's popularity and price to increase to where just a few nutmegs could secure someone financial independence for life.

Used in small dosages nutmeg can reduce flatulence, aid digestion, improve the appetite and treat diarrhea, vomiting and nausea. But in large doses, raw nutmeg has psychoactive effects. It's intoxicating properties are very well known, but it has never been a significant psychoactive substance due to its very uncomfortable side effects.

Common effects include an excited and confused state with headaches, nausea and dizziness, dry mouth, bloodshot eyes and memory disturbances. That's the good part, the other effects are visual, auditory, and tactile hallucinations, sudden and uncontrollable convulsive attacks, delusions, paranoia, vomiting and seizures. These effects and after-effects will last for several days. Some people have also experienced abnormal personality changes, abdominal spasms, insomnia, gagging, sensations of hot and cold, and blurred visions after taking a high dosage of nutmeg.

Because nutmeg intoxication takes four to six hours before maximum effect is reached many people risk poisoning themselves by taking more, thinking they did not take enough initially. Nutmeg poisoning is characterized by nausea, vomiting, collapse, tachycardia, dizziness, anxiety, headache, double vision, hallucinations and irrational behavior, all requiring medical treatment. Abnormal heart rhythm, dehydration, skin irritations and fever could also appear as other side effects.

Despite this, it has been used on occasion, by prisoners and soldiers, when other substances were unavailable or unaffordable. In 1946, before his conversion to Islam, Malcolm X used nutmeg while in jail when his supplies of marijuana ran out. The high which this spice produces is not taken as a pleasant experience by everyone. Most dislike ingesting it mainly because of its horrid taste.

In cooking, nutmeg goes great with many foods including leafy green vegetables like broccoli, spinach, and cabbage. It is also great on custards, eggs, cheese, fruits, pasta, potatoes, rice, sausages, squashes, lamb, and veal. Mace and nutmeg are very similar, though many people differ as to whether one is more potent in flavor than the other. Both spices are strongly aromatic, resinous and warm in taste. Mace is a lighter color and can be used in light-colored dishes where the darker flecks of nutmeg would be undesirable. Some beverages improve with a little mace, especially chocolate drinks and tropical punches.

Nutmeg quickly loses its fragrance when ground; so grating only what you need to use from a whole nut is recommended. It's freshness can be maintained longer if stored in an airtight container. Keep away from heat, moisture, and direct sunlight. These elements hasten the loss of flavor and aroma. Avoid storing over the stove, dishwasher, sink or near a window. Nutmeg should not be stored in the freezer. Freezing does not extend the shelf life of regularly used dried spices. If stored in the freezer, and repeatedly removed for use, condensation will form in the container and accelerate loss of flavor and aroma.

Second-rate nutmegs are used for the oil, which is used in the perfume, food, and pharmaceutical industries. The oil can be colorless or light yellow, and is used as a natural food flavouring in baked goods, syrups, beverages, and sweets. It is also used in toothpaste, and as a major ingredient in some cough syrups. Broken nutmegs that have been infested by pests are referred to as BWP grade (broken, wormy and punky). BWP grade nutmegs must be used only for distillation of oil of nutmeg and extraction of nutmeg oleoresin. However, sometimes they are ground and sold illegally. For the very real danger of molds on BWP nuts, consumers should buy their nutmegs whole and grind it themselves.

Myristica fragrans prefers the rich volcanic soils and hot, humid conditions of the tropics. Plenty of water in a well-drained soil, along with a constant temperature above 55F is needed along with protection from dry conditions, direct sun, strong winds and pollution.

Grafting is the preferred method of propagation since Myristica fragrans is dioecious, meaning there are female and male plants. Both are required for fertilization, the optimum situation for production being one male for every ten females. There is no method of determining the plant's sex before it's eighth year, and propagation by seedlings will yield 50% males, which are unproductive. Myristica fragrans does not bloom until it's ninth year, and reaches its full potential after 20 years. It continues to produce fruit for up to seventy-five years without attention. And one hundred pounds of nutmeg will produce only one pound of mace.

Resources include:

Wikipedia
About.com Home cooking
The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Substances
Rajib Singha
Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages
The Epicentre
Trade Winds Fruit

Yamasaki Plant Photo Gallery

Leaves Of Three, Let It Be - Toxicodendron radicans - Poison Ivy

2011-11-04T13:50:00.012-04:00

Toxicodendron radicans - Poison Ivy, also know as Rhus radicans or Rhus toxicodendron, is a poisonous North American plant that is well known for its production of urushiol, a clear liquid compound found within the sap of the plant that causes an itching rash in most people who touch it. The plant is not a true ivy (Hedera).

Toxicodendron is from the Latin toxicum, 'poison', and the Greek dendron, 'tree'; hence "poison tree". Rhus may come from the Greek reo, meaning 'to flow' indicating the spreading nature of the plant. Radicans is from the Latin for radiating, thus a plant with radiating stems which will form additional roots.

The leaves are alternate and compound, with three pointed leaflets; the middle leaflet has a much longer stem than the two side ones, often the two side leaflets appear stem-less. The stems will sometimes appear to be 'hairy,' but not always. Sometimes there will be only a few rootlets appearing on the stems.

The leaflet edges can be smooth, toothed or sometimes lobed, they can vary from stiff and leathery to thin, and from hairy beneath to no hairs at all. The leaves vary greatly in size, from 0.31" to 2.16" in length. They are sometimes reddish and glossy when they emerge in the spring, turn a dull green during the summer, and become various shades of yellow, orange or red in the autumn.

Flowers are yellowish to greenish in color and grow in small branching clusters in the axils (where the leaf stem joins the main branch). The flowers are approximately 1/8 inch in diameter, and bloom from May through July. They are whitish, with a waxy look. Poison ivy fruit matures from August through October. They form in a cluster of smooth, round berries of approximately 3/16 inch in diameter. They are pale green to grayish white in color with a waxy look.

There are a lot of myths about Poison Ivy, and I hope to dispel most of those for you. So, here are some good solid facts to help if you should ever come into contact with it.

The plant produces Urushiol oil, which is responsible for the rash. Although some people may seem to be immune, 90% of people in the USA are allergic to urushiol oil. Sensitivity to urushiol can develop at any time, the more you are exposed to it, the more likely you will develope an allergic rash. It's just a matter of time.
For the first time sufferer, it takes longer for rash to show up, usually in 7 to 10 days.
Direct contact is needed to release urushiol oil. However, fire and machinery can cause the oil to become airborne, so stay away from forest fires, direct burning, lawnmowers, and trimmers.
Urushiol oil stays active on any surface, including dead plants, for up to 5 years.
Solutions or cures for the rash are those that annihilate the urushiol oil.
Breaking the blisters does not release and spread urushiol oil, but your wounds can become infected and you may make the scarring worse. In very extreme cases, excessive fluid may need to be withdrawn by a doctor.
Rubbing the rash won't spread Poison Ivy to other parts of your body (or to another person). You spread the rash only if urushiol oil has been left on your hands.
Although Poison Ivy and Poison Oak have 3 leaves per cluster, so do many other plants. Learning to identify Poison Ivy is important.
It can cause a rash during any season and every part of the plant, including the roots, can cause a rash.

Identification of the plant can seem confusing, but with a little bit of attention, anyone can become a good identifier of poison ivy. Besides, this is one lesson in life that you do want to pay attention to and play on the safe side. Poison Ivy varies in size, shape and color. It can be found growing in any of the following three forms:

as a trailing vine that is 4-10 inches tall,
as a shrub up to 4 feet tall, and
as a climbing vine that grows on trees or some other support.

The woody vine can trail, straggle, or scramble over rocks. It can climb high due to aerial rootlets on its stems. These climbing vines have fibrous, hair like rootlets that attach to tree bark or other objects and look like fuzzy ropes.

My own personal "fast and dirty" method of identifying Poison Ivy is a simple two-step approach (or non-approach as it were).

Check for the three leaves, making sure that the middle leaf has a longer stem than the other two, and
Check if the stems are hairy.

If those two things are present, its a safe bet that you've discovered Poison Ivy. If the stem does not appear hairy, look a little more closely at the plant, if you see ANY aerial rootlets appearing anywhere on any of it's stems, its probably Toxicodendron. I also routinely assume that any vine climbing up a tree is Poison Ivy until I can prove otherwise.

Poison Ivy climbing on tree and among shrubs
copyright SHD 2011

Methods and treatments for urushiol exposure do vary, but one product that most agree should never be used to treat poison ivy or the resulting rash, is bleach. Just don't use it. (What's our motto, kiddies? That's right, Don't Be Stupid.) You will only make matters worse for yourself.

What you should do, if you know you have come into contact with Poison Ivy, is to rinse the affected area with lots of cold water, like with a garden hose. You have about 20 minues to an hour before the oil bonds with your skin. Do NOT try to rince the urushiol oil off with hot water, you will only cause your pores to open up and the oil will enter your skin faster. (However, if you already have a rash, using hot water can relieve the itching for a while.)

There are lots of over the counter remedies, including special soaps and wipes to wash off the urushiol oil immediately after exposure. Corticosteroid skin creams or ointments may help reduce inflammation after rash occurs. Always follow the instructions carefully when using these products. There are lots of other OTCs to relieve the rash, they all seem to work differenty for each individual. If the rash is extremely bad, or persists longer than a week, you may need to see a doctor.

Another method to prevent the rash immediately after exposure is to rub juice from the broken stem of jewelweed on the affected area. Plantain species also helps.

Hairy rope? Don't be a dope!
copyright SHD 2011

Poison ivy grows throughout most of North America, including eastern Canadian, all U.S. states east of the Rockies, and in the mountainous areas of Mexico. The first European to describe this plant was Captain John Smith in 1609. It was he who coined the name "Poison Ivy." Ever since then, there has been confusion regarding this plant and its cousins. There are no native European Toxicodendron species but, Toxicodendron radicans (Eastern Poison Ivy) was introduced to Europe as an ornamental in the 1600s.

Two different vines...which one is Poison Ivy?
The one on the right. Copyright SHD 2011

The word Urushiol is derived from 'urushi', a Japanese name for lacquer. The Japanese take the toxic sap from the trunk of the Chinese Lacquer Tree (Toxicodendron vernicifluum, formerly Rhus verniciflua). The sap is then filtered, heat-treated, or coloured before applying onto a base material that is to be lacquered. Curing requires "drying" it in a warm, humid closet and takes 12 to 24 hours where the urushiol polymerizes to form a clear, hard, waterproof surface. Once hardened, reactions are possible but less common.

Usually my last comments are about how to grow a plant, but for this article I'll discuss how it grows and how to eliminate it. (Unless of course, you are a person who truely wants to grow a poison garden, or are just really sadistic. Either way, you are on your own with this one.)

Propagation is primarily by rhizome. Leafy shoots are produced at basal stem nodes along the multi-branched rhizomes; on some sites, rhizomes may extend up to 7' beyond the parent plant. As a result of this extensive network of rhizomes, Poison Ivy frequently forms thickets under favorable site conditions. These thickets may represent a single clone or several individuals.

Commercial weed and brush killers have a mixed reputation. Some people swear by them, others contend that only the leaves are destroyed while the roots remain to regrown later. Most claim that the only way to get rid of Poison Ivy is to do it the old fashion way, ripping it out by hand. Of course, you'd need to be completely covered and wearing gloves to keep from being exposed to the oil.

There are many sites online that give good solid facts about Poison Ivy, and sadly, there are also a lot of badly written articles that seem to have done a lot of cut and paste and no real research. So, I am going to list a few sites that I felt were worth looking at for more detailed information on Poison Ivy and the treatment of the rash that results from contact with it. Good luck and stay safe.

Resources include:

The Poison Garden

Wikipedia

U.S. Dept. of Energy's "Ask A Scientist"

Poison Ivy, Oak and Suman Info Center

U.S. Nat'l Park Service/Shenandoah

Univ. of Oregon Health Center

Poison Ivy Cure

John Sachs' What Poison Ivy Looks Like

Wildman Steve Brill
Whole Health Now

A quick visit to the Medicinal Herb Garden at The Cloisters

2011-10-24T18:49:00.019-04:00

The medicinal herb garden at The Cloisters in New York City.
Copyright SHD 2011

A cloister (from Latin claustrum, "enclosure") is a rectangular open space surrounded by covered walks or open galleries, with open arcades on the inner side, running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth (yard). The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a warm southern flank, usually indicates that it is (or once was) part of a monastic foundation. According to Walter Horn the cloister formed a continuous and solid architectural barrier... "that effectively separates the world of the monks from that of the serfs and workmen, whose lives and works went on outside and around the cloister."

Cloister from Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa
The Cloisters, NYC copyright SHD 2011

The Cloisters museum and gardens in New York City is a branch of the Metropolican Museum of Art, located in Fort Tryon Park in northern Manhattan.

Located in a beautiful four-acre setting overlooking the Hudson River, The Cloisters was assembled from architectural elements from five medieval cloisters that date from the twelfth through the fifteenth century—Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa, Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, Bonnefont-en-Comminges, Trie-en-Bigorre, and Froville—and from other monastic sites located in southern France.

Three of the cloisters feature gardens that were planted according to horticultural information found in medieval treatises and poetry, garden documents and herbals, and medieval works of art such as tapestries, stained-glass windows, and column capitals.

Cloister from Bonnefont-en-Comminges
The Cloisters, NYC copyright SHD 2011

I visited the Cloisters' gardens on September 13, 2011, to check out the plants in their medicinal herb garden. It is one of the most unique places I've ever experienced, I felt like I'd gone back in time. It is a marvelous place to visit and wander, very authentic and romantic, if you have even the least bit interest in medieval history, and you can't get to Europe, this is the place to see.

(And don't let the entrance fee of $25 deter you, the Met has a "pay what you can afford" policy. Plus, entrance into either the Cloisters or The Met, gets you into the other for no extra charge. When I told the staffer that I was unemployed, and offered to pay only five dollars, he suggested that I could pay as little as one dollar. That helped me even more and allowed me to buy lunch and a few items in the gift shop.)

Take the A train to 190th street subway station, use the elevator to reach the surface and then turn to your right (north). An easy 20 minute walk along a flower strewn path will bring you to the Cloisters, or wait for the M4 bus which lets you off in one stop.

The walk is worth the effort, as the flowers and plants along the path are all derived from the medieval artworks contained in the Cloisters. Take the path and you will feel like you are beginning your travel back in time, and in a very short while you will come upon the ancient looking Monastery at the top of a hill.

The Cloisters, NYC, copyright SHD 2011

The medicinal herb garden at the Cloisters had many plants familiar to most gardeners and a few that were not so familar. I will be doing articles on them soon. One interesting plant that I noticed at the Cloisters was "Pellitory-of-the-Wall" (Parietaria officinalis), also known as Lichwort. They also had Valerian, Betony, Horehound, Clary Sage, Agrimony, Nightshade, Wormwood and Mandrake.

Nightshade
copyright SHD 2011

Resources include:
The Cloisters at The Metropolican Museum of Art
Wikipedia
Walter Horn, "On the Origins of the Medieval Cloister"

Homecoming...

2011-09-18T11:54:00.006-04:00

An eventful week with a trip to NYC, the dentist, and the final trip to the garden.

9/11 Memorial, NYC copyright SHD 2011

I was in New York City on Tuesday, Sept 13, 2011, to visit the 9/11 Memorial. The fountains were open for viewing, the other buildings were not completed.

Memorial Plaza, NYC copyright SHD 2011

The Memorial Plaza surrounding the fountains were lined with more than 400 young swamp white oak trees. The trees were selected and harvested from within a 500-mile radius of the World Trade Center site, with additional trees coming from locations in the Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., areas that were impacted on September 11, 2001.

The Survivor Tree, Memorial Plaza, NYC
copyright SHD 2011

But the star attaction was the "Survivor Tree." The callery pear tree became known as the Survivor Tree after sustaining extensive damage, but living through the destruction of the twin towers on September 11, 2001.

I had a little time to stop in Central Park and check out the Conservatory Garden and also visited the Cloisters, where I viewed their medieval herb garden. They had nightshade, mandrake, wormwood, and much more. The place was lovely and I'll talk about that more in a future post.

On Thursday my wallet and I both suffered through a root canal, and on Friday I finished cleaning out the garden, digging up the plants I wanted to keep and take home, including the spilanthes, patchouli, and lamb's ear.

Best Laid Plans...

2011-09-03T19:08:00.001-04:00

...Often go awry....

Okay, so July it was the humidity that damaged the garden. August had back to back thunderstorms and then hurricane Irene finished the month off with a real big bang....Oh! And then the earthquake for good measure! Jeese, how could I forget that?

Most of the herbs survived fine, but all the other plants were turned to mush. LOL Ah, well. So it goes....

Now, early September, and I must clean out the garden before the 19th. They are closing early because the park where we are situated will be getting some renovations done during the coming year.

Some of the things I learned from the garden this season? Well, I will definitely go with a smaller space next year. This 30'x30' area was fun, but it was too much for one person to handle, even when I was able to get there 3 to 4 times a week.

What will I do next? Plan much farther ahead. I saw what things worked well and what did only so-so. I will plan next year accordingly. I am also looking into a different community garden.

I will be digging up a few items to take home, the Lamb's Ear, Stevia, Rue, Spiderwort, Blue Verbena, Patchouli, St. John's Wort, Artichoke (which did well, but never produced a flower), Spilanthes (Tooth-ache Plant, which is doing splendidly and is simply a lovely plant), and not much else. The Wolf's Bane all died away, sorry to say.

I was not able to visit any herb gardens or arboretums this summer due to all the extreme weather. I am planning to take some time over the next few months to hit a few places and I will take photos.

I have one visit already planned, On September 13th, I will be going to New York City to see the 9/11 Memorial. I got tickets! If you are interested in going, the tickets are free and you can get them here. I will check what they did with the landscaping and make a report.

I will also be visiting a few other gardens in NYC, one is The Cloisters Museum and Garden at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Cloisters is a branch of The Metropolitan Museum of Art devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe. Just the place for the aspiring herb gardener to check out exactly what types of herbs a witch might have grown way back when. They also have a terrific Blog called "The Medieval Garden Enclosed."

And of course, Central Park, where I always stop by Strawberry Fields to pay my respects to John.

Also in Central Park is The Arthur Ross Pinetum, a four-acre landscape that features 17 different species of pine trees, as well as an Azalea Pond, Conservatory Garden, the Dene and the Gill, a great Naturalist's Walk, the Olmsted Flower Bed, and the Shakespeare Garden.

And last, but not least, there is Steve Brill, the "Wildman of New York." Steve is an environmental educator who gives tours and presentations in Central Park (and elsewhere) that feature a great diversity and abundance of seasonal edible and medicinal wild plants and mushrooms. Gotta see this guy! Can't wait.

Weeds....Ack!

2011-08-03T19:06:00.000-04:00

I went to my garden today to continue my war against the weeds. Pulling them out was pretty easy, the ground is soft from the recent rain, phew, it would have been a nightmare otherwise. I was chased home by more rain, so did not get to finish. Guess I'm going again tomorrow, but glad of it, as the humidity has gone down considerably.

Black Swallowtail Butterfly Caterpillar

While weeding, I discovered something nice. Among my fennel was the caterpillar of a Black Swallowtail Butterfly. If you recall my article on Fennel, the Black Swallowtail lives and feeds exclusively on fennel, laying its eggs on the plant, where it's cute yellow, black and green striped caterpillar hatches, grows, pupates, and transforms into a butterfly.

I hate high humidity

2011-08-01T14:39:00.004-04:00

The article reads: All 50 States See Record Highs in July "No state in the union was safe from July's blistering heat wave, according to data from the U.S. National Climatic Data Center. The horrible July heat wave, lasting weeks in some cities, the entire month in others, affected nearly 200 million people in the United States at some point."

That's my official excuse for not getting to the garden for almost three weeks. I don't feel so guilty any more, it was horrible here in Philly. The streets were nearly deserted, something I usually only see during a winter blizzard. That heat and humidity can really sap your energy.

So, now the weeds have taken a strong hold of the garden, although my plants are still doing well, they're beginning to become hidden among the tall grassy weeds. Heavy sigh. And its still record hot here, even though the humidity has gone down a little bit. I have tons of work at the garden that I simply cannot catch up on by going there in the late afternoons.

Ack. I hate the humidty even more than I hate winter freezes.

Hippophae rhamnoides - Sea Buckthorn

2011-07-21T10:42:00.011-04:00

Hippophae rhamnoides - Sea Buckthorn also known as Sandthorn, Finbar, Seaberry, Sanddorn and Sallow Thorn. The common name is from its habit of growing near the sea, and from the many spines or thorns that are reminiscent of some buckthorn species. Its botanical genus name, Hippophae, literally means, "shiny horse", because the ancient Greeks fed it to their prize racehorses to keep them sleek and healthy. Sea Buckthorn is not related to Buckthorn, they are two completely different plants.

Sea Buckthorn is a small tree with slender, willow-shaped, silvery-green leaves and sharp thorns that grows in Greece and Eastern Europe and eastwards to Russia, Siberia and Central Asia. Its branches are heavily clustered with soft, juicy bright orange berries that mature in August and September and persist most of the winter.

The plant is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants. The brownish male flowers produce wind-distributed pollen. Plants typically grow 6½-13 feet in height, although some in China have reached 59 feet, and others grow no higher than 20 inches. It is mainly known in North America as an attractive ornamental shrub.

The berries are round to almost egg-shaped, and up to 3/8 inch long. The fruit is usually orange, but yellow and red fruits also occur. Unlike the majority of fruits that fall away from the maternal plant at maturity, the Sea Buckthorn berries remain on the bushes all winter until eaten by birds. The fruits have a distinctive sourish taste and a unique aroma reminiscent of pineapple.

The plant grows naturally in sandy soil at an altitude of 4,000-14,000 feet in cold climates, though it can be cultivated at lower altitudes and into temperate zones. Recently it has been extensively planted across much of northern China, and in other countries, to prevent soil erosion and to serve as an economic resource for food and medicine products.

The Sea Buckthorn berry is featured in the classical medical texts and herbals of Dioscorides and Theophrastus, and even figures prominently in Tibetan Medicine. Its traditional medicinal use centers on disorders of the skin and digestive tract; it's able to speed the healing and regeneration of the skin and digestive mucosa in inflammatory and ulcerative conditions. Russian cosmonauts have used its oil for protection against radiation burns in space. At the Seoul Olympic Games, the official sports drinks of the Chinese athletes were made from Sea Buckthorn berries.

A high-quality medical oil is produced from the fruit of Sea Buckthorn and used in the treatment of cardiac disorders. Applied topically or externally, it speeds the healing of burns, cuts, ulcers and slow to heal wounds; restores and regenerates the gums in gingivitis; and also heals canker sores. Internally, it's taken for various digestive complaints, like reflux esophagitis, acid reflux disease, gastric and duodenal ulcers, and ulcerative colitis.

Biochemically, Sea Buckthorn is so rich in vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that it could be called a vitamin pill in a berry. In terms of vitamin C and flavonoid content, Sea Buckthorn is second only to Rose Hips and Acerola cherries. The berries are also incredibly rich in vitamin A, carotenoids, essential fatty acids, vitamin E and other tocopherols. Phytosterols, along with the above fat soluble nutrients, help lower blood cholesterol, protect the heart, and stimulate the endocrine system. Other vitamins include B1, B2, K and P. Sea Buckthorn berries are also rich in minerals, including phosphorus, iron, manganese, boron, calcium and silicon.

Sea Buckthorn berries are an adaptogen, antiinflammatory, antioxidant, antiscorbutic, aperient, astringent tonic, cholagogue, hepatic, immunomodulatory, lipotropic, restorative, virilific and vulnerary. They help in restoring and improving the eyesight, improving energy, vitality and resistance to stress.

In respiratory and immune functions it improves resistance to colds and flu; lessens systemic inflammation and ulceration and improves health of the mucous membranes. It lowers blood cholesterol and protects the heart, improves digestive health, heals chronic gastric and duodenal ulcers, is a digestive stimulant and gentle aperient laxative in chronic constipation. It is affective in impotence and premature ejaculation. It speeds healing of wounds, bruises, ulcers, sores, protects against eczema, psoriasis, skin disorders, beautifies skin, protects against aging, and speeds healing of cuts and burns.

The fresh Sea Buckthorn berries are exceedingly sour and astringent; and so, they are prepared in various ways to make them more palatable. The berries can be dried and powdered, and either taken by the spoonful and washed down with water, or mixed with honey to make a paste or electuary. The juice of the fresh berries is usually mixed with sweeter fruit juices to make it more palatable. The juice is used as a sweetener for herbal teas and makes pleasing sauces, jellies and marmalades.

When the berries are pressed, the resulting sea-buckthorn juice separates into three layers: on top is a thick, orange cream; in the middle, a layer containing Sea-Buckthorn's characteristic high content of saturated and polyunsaturated fats; and the bottom layer is sediment and juice. Containing fat sources applicable for cosmetic purposes, the upper two layers can be processed for skin creams and liniments, whereas the bottom layer can be used for edible products like syrup.

People were aware of Sea Bucktorn's favorable effect on their health as far back as the Middle Ages when it was used as a blood-staunching healing agent. In England in the 16th century the plant was used to make jam and also as a remedy against sea-sickness. The first written documentation of Sea Buckthorn dates as early as the 8th century in a Tibetan book of healing arts called Sibu Yi Dian. Nearly a third of its pages are devoted to the revered holy fruit.

The Greeks discovered it's healing powers as early as the 12th century when they observed that their sick and aged horses became strong and energetic again after being let loose in areas where the berry grew wild. Genghis Khan powered his army and their horses on Sea Buckthorn for stamina and recovery from combat. Legend has it that this berry was the preferred food of Pegasus, the flying horse, by which he became airborne.

Sow seeds in spring in a sunny position in a cold frame. It usually germinates quickly but 3 months of cold stratification could improve the germination rate. The seed can also be sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe in the autumn. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow on in a greenhouse for their first winter. Plant out in late spring into their permanent positions.

Sea Buckthorn will grow in any soil type so long as they are not too dry, but established plants are very drought resistant. It requires a sunny position. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is desired. The sexes of plants cannot be distinguished before flowering, but on flowering plants the buds of male plants in winter are conical and conspicuous while female buds are smaller and rounded.

Resources include:

Alexander the Great's Secret

Gardenology.org

Wikipedia

Mentha pulegium - Pennyroyal

2011-07-11T00:18:00.011-04:00

Mentha pulegium - Pennyroyal also known as Pulegium, American Pennyroyal, Run-By-The-Ground, Lurk-In-The-Ditch, Pudding Grass, Mosquito Plant, Squaw Balm, Squawmint, Brotherwort, Churchwort, Fleabane, Flea Mint, Stinking Balm, and Tickweed. It is a native of most parts of Europe and parts of Asia.

Known as Pulegium to the Romans, it was so named by Pliny from its reputed power of driving away fleas - pulex being the Latin for flea. The name Pennyroyal is a corruption of the old herbalists' name 'Pulioll-royall', and in the Middle Ages it was called 'Piliole-rial'.

Pennyroyal is a member of the mint family and has a strong odor resembling spearmint, but not as agreeable. It is a perennial that ranges from a low-growing, spreading plant up to 1ft 4in, to a lanky, upright sub-shrub with small, gray-green leaves and tiny clusters of lavender flowers. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by bees and butterflies.

Pennyroyal has been used for centuries in herbal medicine. It was used in Egypt as an abortifacient since 421 BC and was used in ancient Rome and Greece up to the 17th century as a cure for digestion problems and other maladies including digestive disorders, liver and gallbladder disorders, gout, colds, increased urination, to induce menstruation, as a topical for skin diseases and as an insect repellant. In 1994, the rock group Nirvana's song "Pennyroyal Tea," made the herb a household symbol as an alternative to clinical abortion.

Pennyroyal was used as an emmenagogue (menstrual flow stimulant) or as an abortifacient. The most popular current use of the tea is to settle the stomach. Other reported medicinal uses through history include treatment for fainting, flatulence, and Hepatitis A, and as a lung cleanser, a gum strengthener and, when ground with vinegar, a tumor remedy.

CAUTIONS: Pennyroyal Essential Oil is Extremely Toxic to humans and animals, and should never be taken internally. Death from untreatable organ failure can result if the essential oil is used, even in small doses. The use of Pennyroyal oil has been associated with serious, even fatal, liver and kidney damage, herefore oral or topical use of Pennyroyal Oil is not recommended.

In large portions, the herb can cause abortion, irreversible renal damage, severe liver damage and death. A small amount of oil can produce delirium, unconsciousness, shock, seizures and auditory and visual hallucinations and death. Pennyroyal can cause abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, lethargy, increased blood pressure and increased pulse rate, and dermatitis. In tea form, small amounts have been used without reported side effects. Pennyroyal should not be used by anyone with kidney disease, kidney damage or a history of kidney stones.

Complications have been reported from attempts to use Pennyroyal's oil for self-induced abortion. In 1978 an 18 year-old pregnant woman died within one week after consuming two tablespoons of concentrated Pennyroyal oil in an attempt to self induce abortion, [1]. In 1994, a 24 year-old pregnant woman used Pennyroyal tea to induse an abortion and died a painful death after ingesting the tea for well over two weeks, [2].

For first time readers of this website, you should know my motto: Don't. Be. Stupid. If you need an abortion, contact Planned Parenthood for help in finding one. And stay safe. It's not the end of the world.

Pennyroyal tea involves the use of an infusion made from the herb. The infusion is reputed as safe to ingest in restricted quantities and should never be taken longer than five days. Prolonged use of Pennyroyal can damage the central nervous system, kidneys, liver, and can very possibly cause death. Drinking Pennyroyal tea can be taxing on the body as it encourages the body to purge. Users should take care of their bodies afterwards by drinking nourishing teas and eating a balanced diet.

Pennyroyal has not been evaluated by the FDA for safety, effectiveness, or purity. All potential risks and/or advantages may not be known. There are no regulated manufacturing standards in place for it and there have been instances where herbal/health supplements have been sold which were contaminated with toxic metals or other drugs. Herbal/health supplements should be purchased from a reliable source to minimize the risk of contamination.

The fresh or dried plant will repel fleas, ants, moths, and rodents. The plant was used in homes as a strewing herb and has also been spread in granaries to keep the rodents off the grain. A strong infusion applied to the face will keep gnats away in the summer. The aromatic leaves are used as an ingredient of pot-pourri. The leaves have been eaten raw or cooked and were once used as a flavouring in salads. It has a spearmint-like flavour, though rather coarser. An herb tea is made from the fresh or dried leaves.

Pennyroyal was commonly used as a cooking herb by the Greeks and Romans. The ancient Greeks often used it to flavor their wine. A large number of the recipes in the Roman cookbook of Apicius call for the use of Pennyroyal. Cooks used Pennyroyal to create stuffing for pork dishes, putting it into hog's puddings, which were made of flour, currants, and spice, and stuffing it into the entrails of a hog. One of its popular names is 'Pudding Grass'. 'Grass' being, like 'wort,' a word meaning 'herb'. Although commonly used for cooking in the Middle Ages, it gradually fell out of use as a culinary herb and is seldom used today.

Pennyroyal has been recorded in history as far back as the first century AD, when it was mentioned by Roman naturalist Pliny and Greek physician Dioscorides. In the 17th century, English herbalist Nicholas Culpeper wrote about some uses for the plant including its role in women's ailments, venomous bites, and digestion. European settlers used the plant for respiratory ailments, mouth sores, and female disorders.

The Royal Society of London published an article on its use against rattlesnakes in the first volume of its Philosophical Transactions in 1665. Early settlers in colonial Virginia used dried Pennyroyal to eradicate pests. In the 1800s, many counties in Ohio produced the oil in primitive distilleries.

Tradition has it that this was one of the herbs used to line the manger in which the baby Jesus slept, perhaps due to its ability to repel vermin. As a preparation for inititation into the Eleusinian mysteries of ancient Greece, people drank Pennyroyal in barley water. In the Homeric Hymn of Demeter, the goddess searches for her abducted daughter, Persephone, and refuses to drink red wine but instead drinks kykeon, which is made from barley, water and Pennyroyal.

The ancient Celts associated this herb with the Great Mother. As part of a ritual for a "silver tongue charm," an infusion of pennyroyal can be touched to the lips. During the Renaissance, sailors purified their drinking water with it, and it helped prevent sea-sickness. Some sailors tossed it overboard to calm the violent ocean waves. In the Middle Ages, people believed that drowned bees could be revived by placing them on a bed of pennyroyal ashes. Some Old English sources say that this plant protects against dwarves, possibly it was used as a charm by miners.

The plant will grow in all moist soil types, and will even grow in heavy clay soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic alkaline soils and can grow in partial or heavy shade. Pennyroyal has a low spreading habit and can be used as a ground cover, though it is somewhat sparse in the winter and can be invaded by the more aggressive weeds. It is a good companion plant for cabbages and tomatoes, helping to repel cabbage root fly and other burrowing insects. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer.

Sow the seeds in a cold frame and prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out in the summer. It is best to propagate them by division. Division can be easily carried out at almost any time of the year, though it is probably best done in the spring or autumn to allow the plant to establish more quickly. Virtually any part of the root is capable of growing into a new plant. For drying, the plant should be harvested as it comes into flower.

References include:

Historical Collections of Ohio

The garden is growing....

2011-07-06T16:24:00.001-04:00

(I really hate how this blog adjusts photos, its not very helpful.)

What the garden looks like today....

The right corner contains about 10-12 different herbs. Other herbs are spread along the fence line.

Everything is growing nicely.

This is one of the Monkshood plants
I purchased from a local nursery.

Monkshood in my garden

White Monkshood in my garden. No flowers on this one yet.

The Monkshood have all flowered and died back, not sure if I'll be getting any seeds, I'm keeping an eye on the dried flower heads. The White Monkshood had not grown much since I purchased it over two months ago, I doubt it will do anything for me this year.

All the other herbs seem to be doing fine, and at long last I am showing off some photos of just what's growing in my garden. I was never able to order more fun stuff, like the sweet grass, as my money situation has been dire lately, but I still have plenty to work with. Pictured here today are just some of the plants in my garden.

The corner herb bed.

Stevia - Stevia rebaudiana

Patchouli -Pogostemon cablin

Lamb's Ear - Stachys byzantina

St. John's Wort - Hypericum perforatum

Black Cohosh - Actaea racemosa

Spiderwort - Tradescantia

Rue - Ruta graveolens

Fennel - Foeniculum vulgare

German Chamomile - Matricaria chamomilla

Acmella oleracea - Spilanthes - Better than Botox®?

2011-07-05T11:39:00.003-04:00

Acmella oleracea - Paracress - Still known under its old names Spilanthes oleracea and Spilanthes acmella and commonly referred to as Eyeball Plant, Peek-A-Boo Plant, Toothache Plant, Spot Plant, Prickelblume, Alphabet Plant, Jambu, Australian Cress, and Brazil Cress. It has nothing in common with real cresses, but is named after the Brazilian province of Pará. The plant has been assigned various scientific names over the years., and although called a Spilanthes, the latest expert opinion by Robert Jansen (after six years of intense study) is that this plant is best considered a member of the closely related genus Acmella.

The genus name Spilanthes means stained flower, from Greek spiloma (stain) and anthos (flower); the reference is to the dark pollen which stains the bright petals. The species name oleracea goes back to Latin holus, a leaf vegetable, and alludes to the edible leaves; acmella, refers to the plant's sharp pungency, Greek akme (point, peak), and Latin acer (acute, sharp).

Acmella oleracea is a small tender annual that grows to about 12-15 inches and will spread to 24-30 inches across. The leaves are dark green on top, and paler underneath; they are broad, egg-shaped, wavy-edged, rumply, and less than 3 inches long, leafing is primarily in opposite pairs. Inconspicuous white hairs cover it. The stems, leafstalks, leafveins and flowerstalks are dark with bronzy or purplish tones. The beautiful bronze green leaves offset the striking oval shaped flowers, which have no petals and instead exhibit a golden bud with a orangey-red center, giving it the look of an eyeball.

Acmella oleracea is thought to have been derived through cultivation from Acmella alba, a species native to Peru and Brazil. It was probably introduced to the Indian Ocean Islands by the Portuguese and subsequently spread to East Africa by Indian labourers who came to work on railroad construction around 1900.

The most common and widespread medicinal use for Acmella oleracea is to treat toothache, throat and gum infections. Chewing on the fresh or dried flower, or using the extract will help deaden tooth pain. It is not only topically anesthetic for gums and teeth, but it is also bacteriostatic, helping to fight tooth decay.

A mouth rinse of spilanthes extract can be used daily to promote gum health, and chewing as little as a single bud of the plant can numb the mouth and reduce the pain of toothache for up to 20 minutes depending on the sensitivity of the person. The most promising research into the use of spilanthes is in its antibacterial properties. So far, in vitro testing has shown that the plant's extract has strong effect against E.coli, pseudomonas, salmonella, klebsiella pneumonae and staphylococcus albus, as well as inhibiting the growth of candida albicans.

The flower heads are used fresh, dried and powdered. The roots and leaves have been recommended as well. The plant is further recommended as a cure for dysentery, rheumatism and malaria. The flower heads contain up to 1.25% of spilanthol, an antiseptic alkaloid which is effective at very low concentrations against blood parasites. It also enhances the immune system.

Spilanthes extract has been discovered to aid in saliva stimulation for people suffering from dry mouth.  A decoction or infusion of the leaves and flowers is a traditional remedy for stammering, toothache, stomatitis, and throat complaints.

Acmella oleracea extract is reported to reduce muscle tension when applied topically, and as such it aids to decrease facial lines and wrinkles that are partially caused by tense or contracted facial muscles. Application of Acmella extract is reported to result in more relaxed facial muscle, and in turn, decreases visible wrinkles and age lines. Some people compare it to BOTOX^®, but without the toxic effects and without the need to inject it under the skin; making it a cheap and easy BOTOX^®replacement.

Paracress has no particular odour, but when eaten it has an interesting flavour that slowly develops from pleasant and salty to a strong, tickling-burning pungency that leaves a numb feeling in the mouth.

Culinary use of Paracress is almost restricted to tropical Brazil, where the herb is used in the cooking styles of the indigenous peoples.   Small amounts of fresh shredded leaves add a unique flavour to salads. Cooked leaves lose their strong flavour and may be used as leafy greens. Both fresh and cooked leaves are used for stews in Northern parts of Brazil. It is often combined with chillies and garlic to add flavor and vitamins to other foods, and the Paracress seems to offset the burning sensation of the chillies.

Eating a whole flower bud results in a light lemony-grassy taste, followed by an extremely strong tingling or numbing sensation and often excessive saliva production and a cooling sensation in the throat. These buds are known as Buzz Buttons, Szechuan Buttons, Sansho Buttons, and Electric Buttons. In India, the buds are used as flavoring in chewing tobacco.

In 2008, the magazine "Food & Wine" listed Acmella oleracea flowers on their "100 Tastes to Try" list, calling them "Sechuan Buttons" they quickly made their way into sushi, salads and cocktails. In 2009 a restaurant in NYC called "Haru" used them in a drink called "Electriquila," (or "Electric Eel"), a cocktail featuring the tongue-tingling herb. The drink is actually a margarita riff, with tequila, triple sec, yuzu (a citric seasoning base) and a splash of sake. The glass is moistened with lime juice and rimmed with salt and the button filaments. Haru also offered the “Electric Lavender,” a mix of tequila and Monin Lavender syrup, with the Sechuan Button presented on the side to be sampled as you drink. I don't know if they're still making them, but the next time I'm in NYC, I will be looking it up and will report back accordingly.

Acmella oleracea is a perennial in the tropics and sub-tropics, but may be grown as an annual in temperate regions. The seed germinates in about 12 days under greenhouse conditions (70-90 degrees F). Damp and cool conditions should be avoided, or the seeds may rot.

The plants should be started indoors or in the greenhouse early in the spring. You can even direct seed in the garden in early summer, but the plants will not attain the same size as plants started in the greenhouse. If allowed to grow for too long in too small a pot, the plants will rapidly and all at once droop and wither due to lack of essential water and nutrients. If the plant starts to droop before the soil has warmed up in the garden, transplant it to a larger pot. Transplant outdoors in the evening, and water well. Full sun is tolerated as long as the plants are watered deeply and often. A little shade may reduce the water requirement without compromising plant growth.

The plant may also be propagated by stem cuttings. Choose a stem which is already rooting. Sever the stem near the crown, keeping attached rootlets intact. Plant this start in a pot, or give it a new place in the garden. Keep constantly moist until the new plant overcomes transplant shock.

The leaf and buds may be harvested on an ongoing basis, as often as the plant can afford. If putting up a good stock of tincture for the winter, the plant should be allowed to grow through the summer months. Harvest Spilanthes in its peak at the end of summer, just before the cooling nights begin to turn the leaves spotty and brown. Dig the entire plant up, and wash the roots free of dirt. If you need only a little botanical material, or if you have a lot of plants, you may want to utilize only the flowers, which are quite strong. Once the first real frost hits, that's it. Even the seeds, dropped from disintegrating flowers, generally will not remain viable outdoors through the long winter. In temperate areas self-seeded plants are a rare occurrence.

On a personal note, this plant was introduced to me by one of the other gardeners at the community garden where I grow. He said they were springing up all over his plots after self-seeding from last year's plants. He gave me one and it is doing fine in my garden so far. I live in Philadelphia, where the summers are nasty humid and the winters are as cold as any in the northeastern United States. If you don't want to take a chance of losing your plant, dig it up and pot it, it makes a great potted plant, and looks nice in a hanging basket as well.

Resources include:

Gernot Katzer’s Spice Pages
B & T World Seeds
PROTA, Bosch, C.H., 2004
Dave's Garden
Wikipedia

Finally, a moment to write...

2011-06-27T01:17:00.000-04:00

Been busy in life, visitors from out of town, working the garden...Oh, I have to tell you...I was in the garden and one of the other gardeners drove past and then stopped..."You know..." he said out the window of his car..."I have to tell you...I love your garden."

I was stunned. I really didn't know what to say. In my mind I said "You do?" Like, how could anyone admire this?

"I love the way you laid it out, it's nice the way it looks...with a little over there, and that on the other side..."

Still a little stunned by this unexpected adoration, I replied, "well, it's just that I do things kinda free-form."

He insisted in looked great. I thanked him. Really, thou, I was stunned.
:-)

My Henbane and White Sage seedlings all died, not sure if I mentioned that before. But the fact that I actually got them started is still exciting. I'll just have to do better next year, that's all. That's the great thing about gardening, you learn from your mistakes.

The herbs that were put into the garden are doing really well. Except for the French Lavender. It died. Oh, and the Coriander is on it's last legs. The Fennel is doing great. I had only two, but I just found some today, so hopefully I'll get 4-6 more out of those young plants. I also picked up a Citronella and a Pennyroyal, so I guess I'll have to write articles about them soon. Now that my garden actually looks like it's growing something, I will make some current photos and put them up.

The potato beetles are not as bad as I was led to believe. A lot of people did lose their tomato plants to them at the beginning, but I got an organic bug spray and its working.

I have not been able to purchase any plants online yet, due to money problems, but I hope to order some soon, since they will already be somewhat grown, it should be ok if I can get them in by next week. Cross your fingers. Otherwise, I will make due with what I've got.

The Monkshood seem to be doing well enough. It's always interesting to see what does well and what tends to fade. My peas are a disaster, I've never had problems with them before. Strangely, the strawberries are doing well, and usually I kill those right away. Very odd.

Remember my motto

2011-06-27T00:47:00.000-04:00

I got a comment recently from someone who said they had Osha growing near them. I want to stress that they must be extremely careful when gathering this plant, as it closely remembles Hemlock, which is an extremely poisonous plant. Experts have been mistaken, great caution should be used.

BE CAREFUL, okay? Otherwise good luck with that. If you want to sell any, go to an herbalist who knows how to identify it. I DO NOT recommend that you sell it privately due to the strong possibility that a dangerous mistake might be made.

Monkshood In My Garden!

2011-06-04T17:00:00.001-04:00

The local nursery came through and I now have two lovely Aconitum napellus in my garden. They are about 24" tall and have several buds already. Can't wait to see them bloom. They cost about $12 each. I planted them at the outside corner of my garden, maybe they will act as a deterrent to thieves. I still can't believe that this highly poisonous plant is readily available in any good flower shop. Amazing.

Well, been busy on and off with the garden, weather permitting. We had two nice days but mostly we are bombarded with heavy humidity, making garden work almost impossible. The soil in this garden is extremely clay-like, when it's soaked, it acts like quicksand, sucking your feet down until it claims your shoes.

As I have been working in the garden, I am meeting the other gardeners and getting to know them. Most are really nice, and some will need more than a few grains of salt. Stories of thievery abound, and just this past weekend a poor dog was found murdered, hanging from a tree with a stick down it's throat. (I hate people.) One day I found a lot of little clumps of white fur scattered around my garden. I figured some of the local feral cats had a fight there, but another gardener told me that the falcons make the occasional meal of the feral kittens. I never realized that this garden would be such an adventure.

Yesterday I discovered an adorable little toad in my garden. It's great having them, as they eat nasty insects, snails and other pests. In classical myth, toads were believed to be one of the animals that witches used as familiars. I'm going to try and devise a simple little toad house to encourage the toads to hang around. That can be made with something as simple as a broken clay flower pot, tin cans or a couple of rocks.

This is the gate that I made, lots of people at the garden are stopping by to tell me how much they like my fense and gate. All I did was plant some tall sticks in the ground and tie some string. I didn't think they were such a big deal. I was just trying to put up something to deter human thieves. I'm not even thinking about the deer yet, they won't be stopped by this fense, they can easily clear one 12' high. I've already seen their foot prints in my garden. They were probably checking out what I have for later.

I planted some black tomatos, and built cages around them out of sticks and string, I think maybe they confused the deer, since they were not touched. Many other gardeners have had their tomatos eaten down to little nubs by the potato beetles and deer.

And this is my garden, not much to look at yet, but it's coming along.

Zingiber officinale - Ginger

2011-05-26T18:34:00.010-04:00

Zingiber officinale - Ginger, also know as Ginger Root, Common Ginger, Cooking Ginger, Pine Cone Plant, Canton Ginger, and Chinese Ginger. The Latin name Zingiber is derived from the Sanskrit word, shringavera, which means "shaped like a deer's antlers." The word Ginger evolved in English from the Latin zingiber as gingifer and gingivere. Other sources say that the English name comes from various languages including the French gingembre, Old English gingifere, Medieval Latin: ginginer, Greek zingiberis and the Indian inji ver.

Ginger is a rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, and has both culinary and medicinal uses. Cultivation began thousands of years ago in South Asia and has since spread to East Africa and the Caribbean. Fifty percent of worldwide ginger production is in India, but the best quality ginger comes from Jamaica.

Ginger is a herbaceous perennial, it sends up a green reed in the spring, like a stalk with narrow lanceolate leaves, which die down annually. The flowering stalk rises directly from the root, ending in an oblong scalloped spike. The flower is white or yellowish-green with purple lips and cream colored blotches. The plant gets about 4 ft tall with leaves about 3/4 inch wide and 7 inces long.

Ginger has been used for thousands of years for relief from arthritis, rheumatism, sprains, muscular aches and pains, catarrh, congestion, coughs, sinusitis, sore throats, diarrhea, colic, cramps, indigestion, loss of appetite, motion sickness, fever, flu, chills, and infectious disease. Medical ginger, known as Jamaica Ginger, was classified as a stimulant and carminative and used frequently for dyspepsia, gastroparesis, slow motility symptoms, constipation, and colic. It was also frequently employed to disguise the taste of medicines.

Ginger has been found effective in multiple studies for treating nausea caused by seasickness, morning sickness and chemotherapy. It has been medically proven to be more effective than dimenhydrinate (Dramamine®) in reducing motion sickness. The television program Mythbusters performed an experiment using one of their staff who suffered from severe motion sickness. The staff member was placed in a moving device which, without treatment, produced severe nausea. Multiple treatments were administered. None, with the exception of the ginger and the two most common drugs, were successful. The staff member preferred the ginger due to lack of side effects.

There is a cultivar of Zingiber officinale known as 'Sunti', which comes from Java and is similar to the common cooking ginger, but forms smaller rhizomes. It is used in the same way but is said to have better medicinal qualities.

Tea brewed from Ginger is a common folk remedy for colds. Ginger ale and ginger beer are also drunk as stomach settlers in countries where the beverages are made. Ginger water was also used to avoid heat cramps in the United States.The Chinese make a dried ginger candy that is fermented in plum juice and used to suppress coughing. They also make "ginger eggs" (scrambled eggs with finely diced ginger root) as a common home remedy for coughing. A drink made with sliced ginger cooked in water with brown sugar or a cola is used as a folk medicine for the common cold.

In Burma, ginger and palm tree juice are boiled together and taken to prevent the flu. In Congo, ginger is crushed and mixed with mango tree sap to make a juice, that is considered a panacea. In India, ginger is applied as a paste to the temples to relieve headache. Ginger with lemon and black salt is also used for nausea.

CAUTIONS: Although Ginger is on the FDA's "generally recognized as safe" list, it can cause heartburn, bloating, gas, belching and nausea, particularly if taken in powdered form, and can also interact with some medications, including warfarin. Ginger is not recommended for people suffering from gallstones as it promotes the production of bile. Allergic reactions to ginger generally result in a rash, and an acute overdose of ginger can result in a state of central nervous system over-stimulation called ginger intoxication or the "ginger gitters." Unchewed fresh ginger may result in intestinal blockage, and individuals who have had ulcers, inflammatory bowel disease or blocked intestines may react badly to large quantities of fresh ginger. There are also suggestions that ginger may affect blood pressure, clotting, and heart rhythms.

Ginger root is used around the world as a spice or food additive and acts as a food preservative. It is a typical ingredient of Chinese, Japanese and many Asian cuisines for flavoring dishes such as seafood or goat meat and vegetarian cuisine. In Western cuisine, Ginger is used mainly in sweet foods such as ginger ale and gingerbread.

In China, it is often paired with savory dishes such as fish and meat when it is cooked. However, candied ginger is sometimes a component of Chinese candy boxes, and a herbal tea can also be prepared. In Japan, it is pickled or grated and used sushi, tofu, or noodles. In the traditional Korean kimchi, Ginger is finely minced and added to the ingredients of the spicy paste just before the fermenting process.

Ginger was well-known to the ancient Romans, and a very important article of trade. It was exported from India to the Roman empire 2000 years ago where it was valued more for its medicinal properties than as an ingredient in cookery. It continued to be popular in Europe despite the fall of the Roman empire, with Arab merchants controlling the trade in ginger and other spices for centuries. By medieval times, it was being imported in preserved form, to be used in sweets.

Ginger was one of the most commonly traded spices during the 13th and 14th centuries. Arabs carried the rhizomes on their voyages to East Africa to plant at coastal settlements and on Zanzibar. During this time in England, ginger was sought after, and one pound in weight of ginger was equivalent to the cost of a sheep.

The first documented instance of figure-shaped gingerbread biscuits appearing was in the court of Elizabeth I of England. She had the gingerbread figures made and presented in the likeness of some of her important guests. Ginger is also valued as an aphrodisiac due to its widespread use as a systemic tonic, hormone balancer, energy enhancer, and agent for improving the appetite and circulation.

In the Sanscrit classic Manasollasa, written in the 11th century AD ginger was mentioned as a flavouring for buttermilk drinks. In the Orient, about half of all herbal medicinal combinations include ginger. During the Middle Ages, ginger was often used as a preservative. Because baked goods made with ginger did not spoil as quickly, they were thought to be magical.

To grow Ginger, select your stock from the local grocery. Look for large root pieces that are shiny and fat and have little nubs on them. Most gingers in cultivation are sterilized cultivars, grown for the edible rhizome and the flower is rarely seen. Soak the ginger in tepid water for a few hours before planting, to wash off any growth retardant that may have been applied.

Start ginger in a 14" pot, filled three quarters full with soil. Lay pieces horizontally, placing them two or three inches apart around the center of the pot. Cover with one inch of soil. Ginger likes to grow in dappled light to light shade. While sprouting, make sure to keep the roots uniformly moist. Once you have a thriving set of shoots, place the plants in a shady spot out of doors for a few hours a day after the overnight temperature rises above 50 degrees F. Gradually increase time outside over a four day period, then place the pot in a shady permanent location.

As the root is near the surface, you will often see small nobs at the soil line of your plant that can be selectively cut for culinary use. Start harvesting about four months into the season and choose roots around the outer edge of the pot.

In the fall, bring the pot indoors and place it in a storage area where the temperature stays above freezing. Allow the tops of the plant to yellow and then trim them off. At this time you can uproot the plant and take a larger harvest if you want; then replant ginger for a future harvest. Moisten the soil once a month to keep the roots viable. In the spring, after all threat of frost has passed, place the pot in a warm shady spot and watch for a new set of shoots. Repot every couple of years.

Resources include:

Wikipedia
The Herb Gardener
Herb Companion
Floridata
Plant Cultures
A Modern Herbal

Working the Garden....

2011-05-25T00:21:00.001-04:00

I've been busy working the garden, put down the herbs I had on hand, waiting for an order, also some interesting tomato plants, black and white tomatoes! I promise to put up some photos soon, I'm just very busy getting ready for the holiday weekend, like everybody else. If I can manage an article this week, it will be done by Thursday, and then prolly no more posts until next week.

Hope everybody has a nice weekend!

Salvia officinalis - Sage

2011-05-21T00:03:00.005-04:00

Salvia officinalis - Sage, also know as Garden Sage, Common Sage, Kitchen Sage, True Sage, Red Sage, Culinary Sage, Dalmatian Sage, Broadleaf Sage, and Salvia salvatrix. The name of the genus, Salvia, is derived from the Latin salvere (to save), referring to the healing properties attributed to the various Salvia species. This name was corrupted popularly to Sauja and Sauge (the French form), in Old English, 'Sawge,' which has become our present-day name of Sage.

Salvia officinalis is a small, perennial, evergreen subshrub, with woody stems, grayish leaves, and blue to purplish flowers. It is native to the Mediterranean region, though it has naturalized in many places throughout the world. Sage has a long history of medicinal, culinary and ornamental use. It has been used since ancient times for warding off evil, snakebites, increasing women's fertility, and more. The Romans likely introduced it to Europe from Egypt as a medicinal herb.

Sage grows about a foot or more high, with wiry stems. The leaves are set in pairs on the stem and are 1 1/2 to 2 inches long, stalked, oblong, rounded at the ends, finely wrinkled by a strongly-marked network of veins on both sides, greyish-green in color, softly hairy and glandular beneath. The flowers bloom in August and are in whorls, purplish and the corollas lipped. All parts of the plant have a strong odor and a warm, bitter, astringent taste, due to the volatile oil contained in the tissues.

Sage has been cultivated for centuries in Europe for its culinary and medicinal properties, and was often described in old world herbals for the many miraculous properties attributed to it. The name, officinalis, refers to the plant's medicinal use, the officina was the traditional storeroom of a monastery where herbs and medicines were stored.

The plant had a great reputation throughout the Middle Ages, with many sayings referring to its healing properties and value. It was sometimes called Salvia salvatrix (sage the savior), and was one of the ingredients of Four Thieves Vinegar, a blend of herbs which was supposed to ward off the plague. Dioscorides, Pliny, and Galen all recommended sage as a diuretic, hemostatic, emmenagogue, and tonic.

Sage has been recommended at one time or another for virtually every ailment by various herbals. Modern evidence shows possible uses as an antisweating agent, antibiotic, antifungal, astringent, antispasmodic, estrogenic, hypoglycemic, and tonic. In a double blind, randomized and placebo-controlled trial, sage was found to be effective in the management of mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. Sage tends to have a drying effect and has even been used for excessive saliva production in those with Parkinson’s Disease.

Other medicinal uses include anxiety, asthma, blood clots, candida, colds, congestion, depression, diabetes, diarrhea, dandruff, dysmenorrhea, dyspepsia, fever, eczema, gingivitis, flatulence, flu, gray hair, insect bites, hot flashes, mouth sores, indigestion, insomnia, laryngitis, cystitis, lymphatic congestion, memory loss, menopause, migraine, night sweats, rheumatism, worms, spermatorrhea, staphylococcus, oily scalp, poison ivy, poison oak, psoriasis, and tonsillitis.

As a kitchen herb, sage has a slight peppery flavor. It improves the digestion of fatty foods and acts as a natural preservative. Add Sage leaves sparingly to salads, beans, breads, stuffing, soups, stews, cheese dishes, fish and meat dishes. One can make Sage vinegar, Sage butter and Sage wine. Leaves and flowers can be candied.

In British cooking, it is used for flavoring fatty meats, Sage Derby cheese, poultry or pork stuffing, Lincolnshire sausage, and in sauces. Sage is also used in Italian cooking, in the Balkans, and the Middle East. Despite the common use of traditional and available herbs in French cuisine, sage never found favor there.

In 280 BC, Theophrastus wrote about two different sages, a wild undershrub he called sphakos, and a similar cultivated plant he called elelisphakos. Pliny the Elder said the latter plant was called salvia by the Romans, and used as a diuretic, a local anesthetic for the skin, a styptic, and for other uses.

Charlemagne recommended the plant for cultivation in the early Middle Ages, and during the Carolingian Empire it was cultivated in monastery gardens. Walafrid Strabo described it in his poem Hortulus as having a sweet scent and being useful for many human ailments, he went back to the Greek root for the name and called it lelifagus.

An old tradition recommends that Rue shall be planted among the Sage, so as to keep away noxious toads from the valued and cherished plants. Growing Sage in the Medieval garden was a sign of prosperity. It was believed that this plant would thrive or wither, just as the owner's business prospered or failed, and another tradition maintained that the wife rules the household when Sage grows vigorously in the garden.
In France, the herb is supposed to mitigate grief, and was customarily sown on churchyard graves. A French saying states: 'Sage helps the nerves and by its powerful might, palsy is cured and fever put to flight.' A saying from the Middle Ages states 'Why should a man die whilst sage grows in his garden?' And it was believed that the plant would thrive or wither, reflecting the owner's prosperity.

Gerard said that "'Sage is singularly good for the head and brain, it quickeneth the senses and memory, strengtheneth the sinews, restoreth health to those that have the palsy, and taketh away shakey trembling of the members."

In the wild Sage is found in Spain along the Mediterranean coast up to and including the east side of the Adriatic; it grows in profusion on the mountains and hills in Croatia and Dalmatia, and on the islands of Veglia and Cherso in Quarnero Gulf.

Though more shrubby in appearance, wild Sage has a more penetrating odor, being more spicy and astringent than the cultivated plant. The best wild Sage grows on the islands of Veglia and Cherso, near Fiume, where the surrounding district is known as the Sage region. The collection of Sage forms an important cottage industry in Dalmatia. During its blooming season, the bees gather the nectar and genuine Sage honey commands a high price, owing to its flavor.

Seeds should be sown thinly indoors or in outdoor cold frames. Transplant when plants are large enough to move, setting them at least 18 inches apart, and providing a clean growing area. As the plants often exceed 3 feet in diameter, they should be planted at least that far apart. Sage grows best in a soil comprised of a rich clay loam with an adequate supply of available nitrogen. It will tolerate a wide range of soil conditions, however, especially if they are well-draining and rich in nitrogen.

Sage is easily propagated through stem cuttings, which are easily rooted in sand and other rooting media and then planted in rows three feet apart. Leaves should be harvested prior to blooming. Dry in a well-ventilated room on screens away from direct sunlight and then store in tight jars.

Last Arboretum plant sale this weekend

2011-05-18T21:17:00.000-04:00

Just a reminder that there is one more plant sale coming up this weekend. If you live in the Philly area, check it out.

May 21-22, 2011
The Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College - "Unusual Annuals and Tropicals" Plant Sale
500 College Avenue, Swarthmore, PA 19081 - 610 328–8025
http://www.scottarboretum.org/

The Scott Arboretum will be having its first "Unusual Annuals and Tropicals" Sale on May 21-22.
For many years the Scott Arboretum has showcased interesting tropicals and annuals in containers and various gardens around the campus from May to November. The tropical plants such as: Alocasia, Colocasia, and Xanthosoma (elephant ears); Canna; Ensete, Musa, and Musella (bananas) and bromeliads create an effect that reminds you of the tropics.

These plants are often hard to find in garden centers, so the Arboretum has decided to offer you many of the more unusual selections that we have tried over the years. We will offer limited quantities of more than150 selections ranging from the newest selections of traditional annuals such as marigolds and petunias to a complete range of tropicals for the garden.

The Garden....

2011-05-18T21:12:00.001-04:00

I was finally able to get working on the garden this past weekend. Been busting my tail trying to prep it and get some stuff in. The rain has been off and on all week, so getting to work there is iffy at best. I had to wait for someone to come and till the garden with a motorized tiller, (I was not going to do such a large plot by hand). When that was done I was able to build a fence (ramshackle though it may be) and start putting down some of my plants. I'm growing veggies as well as herbs, since I've got all that room, why not?

It's coming along, but today it rained and I'm home catching up on my articles. The work is physically exhausting, and if I don't lose at least 50lbs this summer, I'm gonna be pissed.

Photos to come, not much to see, but I'm so proud of my fence, I even made a gate, it looks so rustic. :-)

Ligusticum porteri - Osha

2011-05-17T13:55:00.013-04:00

Ligusticum porteri - Osha, also known as Bear Root, Bear Medicine, Indian Parsley, Colorado Cough Root, Chuchupate, Porter's Lovage, Mountain Lovage, Love Root, Wild Parsley, Licorice Root and Mountain Ginseng. It is native to theNorth American Rocky Mountain regions above 8,000 feet in Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico.

"Ligusticum" is Latin, and probably means "from the Liguria region of Italy," where a related plant, Lovage, Levisticum officinale, grows in profusion and is widely used as a herb. "Porteri" refers to Thomas C. Porter, a Colorado botanist who collected the plant in 1873.

Osha is a Native American word meaning "bear." It is called ha'ich'id in the Jicarilla language and the White Mountain Apache call it ha'il chii' gah. It is referred to as "Bear Medicine" because Native Americans observed that bears would search for the plant after emerging from hibernation as well as when they were wounded or sick, and would eat it or rub it over its fur. Rubbing the macerated root into their fur helps protect them against parasites and infections.

Osha is used ceremonially and medicinally by various Native American groups, including the Zuni, Yuki, and Chiricahua. It is valued in traditional herbalism for its powerful influence on the respiratory and bronchial systems. It supports a healthy immune system and associated mucous membranes. It relaxes the air passages for clearer breathing, and is the ideal herbal solution for bronchial distress.

It's appearance is typical of members of the parsley family, with hollow stems and delicate dark green divided leaves up to 24in long, which have a celery/parsley aroma. Tiny white flowers are produced in umbels in summer. The base of the leaf where it attaches to the root crown has a reddish tint which is unique, and the roots are fibrous, with a dark brown, wrinkled outer skin. The inner root tissue is fibrous and yellowish-white with a pleasant "spicy celery" fragrance.

There is leaf material surrounding the root crown like a collar, which is hairlike in appearance. The roots are very astringent when fresh, and can cause blistering of the mouth and mucous membranes in humans if ingested. The dried roots do not have this astringent affect. Roots of older plants are far stronger and bitter than those of younger plants.

Osha has been clinically verified to possess anti-viral properties and is very effective for treating cold and flu systems of the upper respiratory tract, and other viral infections of the respiratory system.

The plant is also a powerful stimulant if consumed to excess. Osha root is typically chewed, then spit out after the medicinal components have been extracted by the chewing action. Osha root is also used internally in small amounts to treat fever, stomach ache, and heartburn. Osha root can be made into a poultice to treat brown recluse spider bites. White Mountain Apaches use it as a snake and insect repellent as well as an aid in the curing of common colds, sore throats, cough, sinusitis, and other side effects of the winter season. Like other bitter herbs, Osha also tends to improve symptoms of indigestion and increase appetite. Chewing small root pieces is used to help break nicotine addiction.

Osha was used by the Jicarilla Apache in ceremonial smoking blends with tobacco as well as by decoction to soothe sore throats and loosen phlegm in the chest. It was listed in the 1918 United States Dispensatory as Ligusticum filicinum and indicated for respiratory ailments. This same use has been confirmed historically in folk culture through interviews with Hispanic families in the San Luis Valley in Colorado.

A related plant from India and Nepal, Ligusticum wallichii, has a long history of use in Chinese medicine, and most of the scientific studies on Osha were actually performed on this species.

Osha root can be steeped in ethanol (whisky, vodka) for at least a month. The resulting tincture is an effective, albeit pungent, liniment for sore muscles that can be stored in a cool place indefinitely.

Osha is commonly used today by the Taos, and other Northern New Mexican Pueblo People for a variety of purposes, including placing a root in irrigation acequias (ditches) to inhibit cutworms and other larvae. I personally witnessed a Native American woman using Osha root as a smudge. She was cleansing a room where her grandson was about to have a high school graduation party.

In his publication Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West, Michael Moore states; "I have at least once been offered quantities of Osha root for purchase when the picker had mistakenly dug water hemlock roots, a deadly poison! Even the Spanish New Mexicans make mistakes, for one little valley is blithely labeled "Osha Canyon" on all maps, but is crawling with Hemlock. If the plant is at least two or three feet tall, but the seeds have little thin bracts reflexed downward it is not Osha, but hemlock. The root is smaller with little scent, whereas Osha stinks! Poison Hemlock looks very much like Osha but never grows above 7,500 feet. Water Hemlock can grow as high as 9200 feet, but the leaves are much coarser resembling a combination of celery and marijuana."

Demand for Osha Root has been increasing and over-harvesting threatens wild stands. Ligusticum porteri is challenging to cultivate at low elevations. It is a mountain plant, and can be found in moist soils that are rich in organic material at elevations between 9000 - 10,000 ft. in Taos County of New Mexico and other Rocky Mountain regions of the Southwest.

It is a slow-growing plant that takes up to 10 years to reach harvestable mass in the wild. As it grows, Osha forms into a large clump over time and can get very large. In areas of New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah, it can reach heights of 6 to 7 feet and produce circular colonies with dozens of root crowns growing from a central root mass.

Simple seed stratification methods were tested to propagate plants for sustainable production. Seed germination of 3 commercial seed sources (New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado) improved when the stratification period was adjusted for origin of seeds. An increased duration of stratification of up to ten weeks was required for the more northern sources. These results indicate that common seed stratification can be used to develop nursery plants for reestablishment and production of harvestable roots.

So, I guess it was no surprise that the Osha seedlings I ordered didn't survive. This is one plant that will not make it into most medicinal gardens, unfortunately. However there are several variations of this plant that might suffice, including Ligusticum wallichii, commonly know as Szechuan lovage, and Ligusticum scoticum known as Scot's Lovage, Scotch parsley, Scottish Licorice-Root, and Sea Lovage.

Resources include:

Wikipedia
The Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
Southwest Colorado Wildflowers
Vascular Plants of the Gila Wilderness
US Forest Service

Cnicus benedictus - Blessed Thistle

2011-05-13T17:49:00.003-04:00

Cnicus benedictus - Blessed Thistle, also know as Carduus benedictus, Cardin, St. Benedict's Thistle, Holy Thistle, Bitter Thistle, Bitterweed, Our Lady’s Thistle, Lady’s Thistle, Thrissles, Blessed Cardus and Spotted Thistle. Cnicus is Latin and derived from the Greek 'knekos' meaning 'safflower' (a name they applied in general to thistles). Earlier taxonomy labeled it 'carduus' which is Latin for 'spiny'. 'Benedictus' from the Latin means blessed.

Blessed Thistle is a handsome annual, native to the Mediterranean region, from Portugal north to southern France and east to Iran. It has been cultivated for several centuries in Great Britain for its medicinal use although it is known in other parts of the world, including parts of North America, as an introduced species and often a noxious weed. It obtained its name from its reputation as a heal-all, being supposed even to cure the plague.

The stem of the Blessed Thistle grows about 2 feet high, is reddish, slender, very much branched and scarcely able to keep upright under the weight of its leaves and flowerheads. The leaves are broad at the base, becoming long and narrow, clasping the dull green stem, the irregular teeth of the wavy margin ending in spines. The flowers are pale yellow, in green prickly heads, each scale on the covering of the head, ending also in a long, brown bristle. The whole plant, leaves, stalks and also the flowerheads, are covered with a thin down.

In agriculture the Thistle is a sign that good ground has not been properly cared for and it will quickly monopolize a large area at the expense of other plants, as they have done in parts of the American prairies, Canada and British Columbia. Australia was forced to enact heavy penalties upon all who neglected to destroy Thistles on their land within fourteen days, appointing special government inspectors to enforce the law.

Among any country's list of noxious weeds, the name of Thistle is always to be found. And yet in medicine Thistles are far from useless. Clinical trials have found it useful in the treatment of Amanita mushroom poisoning and it is credited with saving a number of lives in Europe. Cold infusions in smaller draughts are valuable in weak and debilitated conditions of the stomach, and as a tonic, creating appetite and preventing sickness. It is used in the purification and circulation of the blood, helping to strengthen the brain and the memory. The leaves, dried and powdered, are good for intestinal worms.

It is considered one of the best medicines to promote lactation. For menstrual problems, it is taken in combination with other herbs such as ginger, cramp bark, and blue cohosh root. It is often included in commercial herbal preparations designed specifically for women. It is one of the oldest folk remedies for the treatment of amenorrhea (the absence of the menstrual cycle after the onset of menstruation).

Culpepper says of it: "It helps swimmings and giddiness in the head, or the disease called vertigo...It is an excellent remedy against yellow jaundice and other infirmities of the gall...It helps plague-sores, boils and itch, the bitings of mad dogs and venomous beasts..."

Blessed Thistle increases appetite and stomach secretions, heals the liver, improves poor circulation, increases bile production, helps sluggish appetite, stimulates memory, resolves blood clots, strengthens the heart, and alleviates pneumonitis (inflammation of the lung tissue). It can be used for colds, fever, headaches, digestive problems as well as gas in the intestines, constipation, liver troubles, and dropsy. Hopman’s A Druid’s Herbal recommneds the combination of Blessed Thistle, peppermint, elder flower and ginger in a tea for cold, fever and backache.

Care should be taken not to make the tea too strong as it may cause vomiting. Tea is also used for boils, chilblains, deafness, gout, migraines, suppressed menses, jaundice, and ringworm. The plant is used externally in the treatment of wounds and ulcers.

Four different ways of using Blessed Thistle have been recommended: It may be eaten in the green leaf, with bread and butter for breakfast, like Watercress; the dried leaves may be made into a powder and taken in wine or otherwise every day; a wine glassful of the juice may be taken every day, or, which is the usual and the best method, an infusion may be made of the dried herb, taken any time as a preventive, or when intended to remove disease, at bed time, as it causes copious perspiration.

Cautions: Those with allergies to the Daisy family should take care if considering Blessed Thistle; but outright allergic reaction is extremely rare. Using too much of this herb will cause vomiting.

When crushed in a mill to destroy the prickles, the leaves of all Thistles have proved excellent food for cattle and horses. This kind of fodder was formerly used to a great extent in Scotland before the introduction of special green crops for the purpose. The young stems of many of the Thistles are also edible, and the seeds of all the species yield a good oil by expression.

Many of the other Thistles may be used as substitutes for the Blessed Thistle. The seeds of the Milk Thistle (Carduus Marianus), known also as Silybum Marianum, have similar properties and uses, and the Cotton Thistle, Melancholy Thistle, etc., have also been employed for like purposes.

The young leaves can be eaten raw. Flower heads, harvested before the flowers open, have been used as a globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus) substitute. The flower heads are rather small and using them in this way is very fiddly. The root can be boiled as a pot herb.

In pagan ritual it has been used in healing spells and in association with the god Pan, as well as to ward off all sorts of malevolent magic, bless an individual or endeavor, and counteract the effects of a hex or curse. It was added to the Ritual Cup for spiritual purification and taken by the Priest to invoke the Sun God and to communicate with the spirit realm. In A compendium of Herbal Magick, Wiccan priest Paul Beyerl, associates Cnicus benedictus with Male Mysteries and God invocation. He states that Blessed Thistle is "An herbe which holds the ability to help a priest move into the more positive aspects of men’s mysteries."

Cunningham says in The Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs that "Wizards in England used to select the tallest thistle in the patch to use as a magical wand or walking stick". While they don’t generally get high enough to use as a staff, the stalks of Blessed Thistle are indeed excellent for making wands.

Carried for energy and vitality, placing thistle in a room is said to renew the spirit of all within. It is used as an herb of protection in the ritual bath as well as in the chalice and strew to cleanse buildings or rooms. It was thrown onto a fire to protect the house from lightning and grown in the home or garden to ward off thieves. It is associated with Yule in invoking the newly born Sun, bringing spiritual, physical and financial blessings. Worn as a talesman it is said to drive away melancholy, while some used it as an aphrodisiac.

In the Christian creation myth, Adam is cursed for eating the forbidden fruit and condemned to work the soil for his sustenance: 'Thorns also and Thistles shall it bring forth to thee.' During one of his military campaigns, the Emperor Charlemagne's troops came down with a bit of the plague. An angel came to Charlemagne in his sleep and told him that if he were to shoot an arrow in the air, the arrow would land on the plant that would cure his men. The arrow fell on a big patch of Cnicus benedictus, and the emperor fed it to his troops. Their lives were saved, and the plant was dubbed the Blessed Thistle.

Being an annual, Blessed Thistle is propagated by seed and germinates in one to three weeks. It thrives in any ordinary soil but cannot grow in the shade. Allow 2 feet each way when thinning out the seedlings. The seeds are usually sown in spring, but if the newly-ripened seeds are sown in September or October in sheltered situations, it is possible to have supplies of the herb green, both summer and winter.

The crop should be harvested when the plants break into bloom and either used fresh or hung by the roots to dry in a moisture-free location. When harvesting, pull the plants up by the roots and wash off the dirt. Care should be taken to leave at least five plants in the garden so that they can reseed for next year’s crop. As the flower heads on the existing plants dry, you can help the reseeding process by breaking the dry seed heads up and turning them into the soil. This is important to do because birds like the seeds, and if they have a chance at them, your next year’s crop will be reduced. Also, the seed comes with "whirlybirds" that catch the wind, and your Blessed Thistle bed is apt to move around the garden very quickly and agressively if you don’t deal with the seed heads yourself.

Resources include:

A Modern Herbal
The Backyard Herbalist
Sherry Eldridge
Medicinal Herb Info
Wikipedia
Natueral Medicinal Herbs
Planet Botanic

A few new acquisitions

2011-05-09T12:45:00.001-04:00

I managed to visit three of the five arboretum plant sales that were being held this past Saturday. I can't say that I got anything spectacular, but I managed to pick up a few items of interest, black cohosh, rue, summer savory, spiderwort, St John's wort, and lamb's ear.

I spoke to a guy at a local nursery who assured me that he could get me some Monkshood by next week. We'll see.

Origanum dictamnus - Dittany of Crete

2011-05-09T12:18:00.007-04:00

Origanum dictamnus - Dittany of Crete, also known as Diktamo, Eronda, Wintersweet, Cretan Dittany, Hop Majoram, and Wild Marjoram. Origanum most likely derives from two Greek words, meaning joy and mountains. Dictamnus refers to Dikti, the mountain where Zeus was born and thamnos translates as shrub.

Origanum dictamnus is a tender perennial plant that grows wild on the mountainsides and gorges of the Greek island of Crete. It is a many branched plant growing about 6-12 in, with oval, grey-green leaves that are in pairs opposite each other. The slender arching stems and leaves are covered in a velvety white down. The flowers are pale pink to purple and have a deep lilac corolla with many deep pink colored overlapping bracts. The colourful flowers form a cascade of elongated clusters when in bloom during the summer months. The flowers are hermaphrodite and are pollinated by bees attracted to their scent and bright color.

Dittany has been used as an antirheumatic, oxytocic, stomachic and vulnerary, though these uses appear to be obsolete in modern herbalism. On the Island of Crete it is considered the most effective local remedy for almost everything (sore throat, cough, menstrual pains, aching stomach, hypertensive, diuretic, helps at child birth, cures wounds, etc.) It is sold in almost every local market to be sipped as a herbal tea.

Dittany's round, soft fuzzy gray leaves beautifully show off the 6 to 8 inch flower stalks that appear in summer. It makes a nice addition to rock gardens or ornamental beds that are on the dry side, the flowers are popular with hummingbirds and make great additions to dried flower arrangements. Dittany of Crete has always been highly prized and is gathered while in bloom in the summer months and is exported for use in pharmaceuticals, perfumery and to flavor salads and drinks such as vermouth and absinthe. It is also one of the herbs in Benedictine liquer. It has a pleasant aromatic flavor, especially when mixed with parsley, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper. The flowering tops are dried and brewed into a herb tea.

Dittany of Crete is said to have been given to Crete by the Greek god Zeus as thanks for his upbringing there and was used by the goddess of love and beauty Aphrodite. The Greek goddess Aphrodite is also linked to Dittany as she used it to treat her wounded son, Aeneas, during the Trojan War. Artemis also has connections with Dittany and was often crowned with a wreath of Dittany on her statues in temples to honour her. An earlier Minoan goddess Diktynna gave her name to the herb.

Said to be an aphrodisiac and symbol of love, newlyweds drank Dittany of Crete in wine to ensure a good and healthy sex life in their marriage. Young men climbed the mountains and deep gorges of Crete, gathering the pink blossoms to present to their lovers. Numerous deaths of these collectors were reported throughout the centuries. Even in recent times, the collection of wild Dittany is very dangerous, men prove their love by risking life and limb to climb precarious rock faces where the plant grows. One name for Dittany is Eronda, which means love, and the men who attempt this feat of extreme passion are referred to as 'Erondades' (love seekers).

It was believed the Minoans knew the benefits of Dittany and used it for curing ailments and for beautifying their skin and hair. Hippocrates prescribed Dittany of Crete as useful for stomach aches and complaints of the digestive system and as a poultice for healing wounds, as well as inducing menstruation. Aristotle, in his work 'The History of Animals' wrote: "Wild goats in Crete are said, when wounded by arrow, to go in search of dittany, which is supposed to have the property of ejecting arrows in the body." In Virgil's "Aeneid", Venus heals the wounded Aeneas with a stalk of "dittany from Cretan Ida," a plant "with downy leaves and scarlet flower" that goats eat when stuck with arrows.

In J.K. Rowling's 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,' Dittany is named as a substance which can prevent scarring if applied quickly enough after a cutting injury. The herb is used by modern witches in love potions and for divination and contact with spirits. When using Dittany of Crete as an incense, it is said that spirits tend to materialize in the smoke. Small doses of the herb are believed to enhance one's ability to perform astral projection.

Wild Origanum dictamnus is classed as "rare" and protected by European law. It is cultivated at Embaros and surrounding villages south of Heraklion, Crete.

Propagation by seed should be done in early spring in a greenhouse, only just covering the seed. Germination usually takes place within 2 weeks. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer. Division in March or October.

Very easy, larger divisions can be planted out directly into their permanent positions. It is better to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them in light shade in a cold frame until they are well established before planting them out in late spring or early summer. Basal cuttings of young barren shoots in June. Harvest the shoots with plenty of underground stem when they are about 3 inches above the ground. Pot them up into individual pots and keep them in light shade in a cold frame or greenhouse until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the summer.

Resources include:

Dittany of Crete
Wikipedia
Dave's Garden
Mountain Valley Growers