Medicine plant of the Day

Homesteading & Country Living Forum

Help Support Homesteading & Country Living Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Peanut

Awesome Friend
Neighbor
HCL Supporter
Joined
Dec 16, 2017
Messages
19,957
Location
Bama
Just wanted a thread to post unusual medicine plants or plants in unusual circumstances.

Around the corral, I find the darnedest things growing around corrals. There is usually left over feed spilled or hay seeds. Birds and little critters come to eat and poop all sorts of plant seeds they have eaten else where. The corral is a surprise each year.

First up is Self heal aka heal all aka Prunella vulgaris, a plant I use often. It’s an ancient woundwart from the steppes of russia and asia. Today I found it growing in the middle of a corral by a pile of cow manure. For years I thought this plant only grew near water. It turns out that it flourishes near water, but grows just about anywhere. Just shake or crush seed heads out on the ground. It’ll come up all by it’s self.

Corral 12may22 2a .JPG


Next is White Vervain aka Verbena urticifolia, a cousin of Blue Vervain. Found it in the same corral. It has the same medicinal properties but is weaker than Blue v. Use of blue vervain goes all the way back to egyptian mythology. According to it Isis brought her brother husband Osiris back to life using blue vervain.

The Verbena’s are all similar in use, 4 or 5 species grow here. They also have another oddity, they have square stems like mints. There is an old sayin’ among plant people “All mints have square stems, but not all square stemmed plants are mints”. The verbena’s are the only plants locally that have square stems and are not mints.

Corral 12may22 3a .JPG


Carolina buckthorn aka Frangula caroliniana. It’s a shrub and a nuisance, grows on fence lines, around fields and barns. Funny, it used to be grown commercially in the Carolina's. A powder was made from it for use in US hospitals. It was replaced by exlax, yep, buckthorn is an excellent laxative.

Corral 12may22 5a .JPG
Corral 12may22 6a .JPG
 
Verbena rigida, one of the vervains that I saw beside a dirt road yesterday. It has a famous cousin Blue Vervain aka Verbena officinalis that was used by the ancient egyptians. Verbena brasiliensis aka Brasilian vervain is also common here in the south. Verbena urticifolia aka white vervain is also common, see above. All 4 have square stems like mints but are not mints


And there is a more distant cousin Verbesina virginica aka Frost Weed. All 5 are similar medicinally speaking.

Verbena rigida 03a.JPG
 
Been hunting plants several times in the last few days. So much to see this time of year.

Milkweeds are blooming everywhere (reminds me of another plant I need to check on).

Anyone ever have deep fried milkweed blooms? Battered and fried, yummy. But the rest of the plant in toxic…. Except for one called butterfly weed. Actually butterflies love all the milkweeds, a dozen species just here in the south.

But milkweeds also have a latex sap! Like figs and other many other plants. The sap can be used to remove warts. I just read about warts in another thread.

a milkweed.JPG
 
Vitamin C is medicine, rose hips have lots of vitamin C sooo.

There used to be a dozen wild native roses here in the SE, just a few now. I see this one sometimes, Rosa carolina, a tiny plant. Never more than a foot tall. The blooms of most native roses only have 6 petals. It has thorns and leaves like any other rose.

I’ve never seen dozens of plants in one location until today. I hunted this plant for a year when first learning about rose hips. I find them rarely, then just 2 or 3 plants fairly close together. I've gone years without seeing one.

Today beside one little stretch of dirt road I found about 40 plants blooming. A nice sight!

a rosa c 24may 01.JPG
a rosa c 24may 03.JPG
 
Vitamin C is medicine, rose hips have lots of vitamin C sooo.

There used to be a dozen wild native roses here in the SE, just a few now. I see this one sometimes, Rosa carolina, a tiny plant. Never more than a foot tall. The blooms of most native roses only have 6 petals. It has thorns and leaves like any other rose.

I’ve never seen dozens of plants in one location until today. I hunted this plant for a year when first learning about rose hips. I find them rarely, then just 2 or 3 plants fairly close together. I've gone years without seeing one.

Today beside one little stretch of dirt road I found about 40 plants blooming. A nice sight!

View attachment 86927View attachment 86928
Wow, great find!!
 
Spent several hours out looking for Sweet Leaf, a bad year for it. When I find a patch of a medicinal I need I try not to harvest more than 20% at any given location. Today from 2 established patches I took 50%, the others only 20%.

I ended up with 600g of processed material. I was hoping for 8/900grams. I then made tinctures, a very long day… didn't finish until after dinner.

While out I checked on the “Wild Quinine” I found last year. It was in bloom again and seems to be spreading. Think I might help it along, plant seed this fall in new locations.

I did find a new plant this afternoon, Goat’s Rue. I also found yellowroot in a new watershed, a place I’ve never hunted before. I just happen to stop at a creek by an old dirt road and there it was! Also a big patch of false solomon’s seal. It’ll take me months to research land owners and get permission to hunt plants in that area. There’s a big hunting lodge in that valley. They own or control a couple thousand acres. Need to find out who belongs to that lodge…

Sweet Leaf

Monarda 25maya.JPG
 
I didn't even know roses had hips, much less that they were healthy. I really do enjoy these posts, but I am never sure what I am looking at, and would not feel comfortable identifying the correct plant in the wild. I would like to walk in the woods with someone like Peanut who could identify the plants. Then I would feel much more comfortable identifying plants correctly. Any suggestions for guides or clubs that might be helpful?
 
I didn't even know roses had hips, much less that they were healthy. I really do enjoy these posts, but I am never sure what I am looking at, and would not feel comfortable identifying the correct plant in the wild. I would like to walk in the woods with someone like Peanut who could identify the plants. Then I would feel much more comfortable identifying plants correctly. Any suggestions for guides or clubs that might be helpful?
Head for Alabama😁
 
I didn't even know roses had hips, much less that they were healthy. I really do enjoy these posts, but I am never sure what I am looking at, and would not feel comfortable identifying the correct plant in the wild. I would like to walk in the woods with someone like Peanut who could identify the plants. Then I would feel much more comfortable identifying plants correctly. Any suggestions for guides or clubs that might be helpful?
I'd love to spend a week or two tramping around the woods with Peanut looking for plants.

Not sure what thread it's in, but he has posted several book titles of wild plants.
 
I found yellowroot in a new area, quiet a surprise actually. I stopped on a dirt road, a good sized creek passed underneath. I got out just to see what might be growing there. The conditions were marginal for yellowroot but prime habitat for other medicines and very large Cottonmouths.

It had rained an inch, water was up and muddy. Overcast, my flash went off, it was dark under the trees.

This photo is of very small yellowroot, a patch. It’s not natural, all the yellowroot is the same size. That doesn’t occur in nature. I’m still puzzled as to why it looks this way.

Anyway, now I have research to do, track down landowners. I need to go back with the proper gear (waders and snake gaiters). Again, this spot is marginal for yellowroot. I need to find out if the main source is up stream or down stream. I’m betting up stream!

yellowroot 25may 01a.JPG
 
Hey @Peanut I just "learned" (using that term veeerrry loosely) that in olden days Jerusalem oak -Chenopodium botrys - made into molasses candy to get rid of worms. 1) I've no reason to doubt, but if you have input. . . & 2) which part of the plant is to be used? Any other input on this plant and remedy? I'd love to know. Thanks!
 
Hey @Peanut I just "learned" in olden days Jerusalem oak -Chenopodium botrys - made into molasses candy to get rid of worms.

USDA Plants Database › java › profile?symbol=CHBO2
Dysphania botrys (L.)

Jerusalem oak goosefoot

You picked one of the strange ones... Not long ago it had 5 different Latin names, depending on which continent your referring to. Even had the botanists confused.

But what ever it's name... I think I've seen it before, this past week in fact. After looking at photos I will be on the look out.

Tommie Bass knew about it. Quote...

"It has an unfavorable odor-it’s kind of like a raw mint-that you don’t like being around. You use the tops, the whole stuff. If you have plenty of it you can use just the leaves. I have a sack full now.

It's a worm medicine. One teaspoon from a strong tea, 3 times a day, but it has a horrible taste. My mother would put it in honey or molasses. She cooked it up and made a syrup. Then us children had to take a round of that every spring.”

“It’s also good as a tonic or cough medicine but there are better things I use”


There is a warning in recent history… It’s use has been abandoned over safety concerns in 3rd world countries. Folks who use a lot of plant medicine. If it were just the Feds I'd figure big pharma was behind this.

Other than Tommie’s writings I’ve never heard of it being used. What’s commonly used as a wormer is Black Walnut capsules, plus it’s also a good source of iodine.

I have black walnut growing by my driveway, need to make some medicine from it.

@Chaosdawn Speaking of sensitive plants… I saw this a couple days ago, Sensitive Briar. It's one of my favorite plants. It’s a little thing, low on the ground but with sharp thorns. After all, it’s a cousin of the Acacia in Africa. Look at it’s little blooms, leaves then look at acacia photos… The acacia's are medicinal but I have found no reference to sensitive briar as medicine. But it’s leaves do fold together when touched.

Sensitive Briar may22 2a.JPG
 
I didn't even know roses had hips, much less that they were healthy. I really do enjoy these posts, but I am never sure what I am looking at, and would not feel comfortable identifying the correct plant in the wild. I would like to walk in the woods with someone like Peanut who could identify the plants. Then I would feel much more comfortable identifying plants correctly. Any suggestions for guides or clubs that might be helpful?
I have an app on my phone and tablet called Picture This. Take a pic of the plant in question and it matches it up, gives a description and care information
 
I had no intention of putting up Catnip tincture this year, have 16 ounces on hand.

I went outside for something and noticed all the catnip around my yard was ready for tincture today. So i tinctured 183grams.
It should make about 12 or 13 ounces of tincture when finished.

Catnip 30may22 1a.JPG
Catnip 30may22 12a.JPG
 
I had no intention of putting up Catnip tincture this year, have 16 ounces on hand.

I went outside for something and noticed all the catnip around my yard was ready for tincture today. So i tinctured 183grams.
It should make about 12 or 13 ounces of tincture when finished.

View attachment 87251View attachment 87252
ok

Don't be humble.

Did you get an A in potions class?

Hmmmmmmm????

Ben
 
I had no intention of putting up Catnip tincture this year, have 16 ounces on hand.

I went outside for something and noticed all the catnip around my yard was ready for tincture today. So i tinctured 183grams.
It should make about 12 or 13 ounces of tincture when finished.

View attachment 87251View attachment 87252
Maybe you've said it here somewhere before, but what do you use catnip tincture for? I just pulled a bunch from the front flower bed.
 
Maybe you've said it here somewhere before, but what do you use catnip tincture for? I just pulled a bunch from the front flower bed.

Link - Catnip

Best thing around for toddlers... have to keep some around.

I currently know someone (adult) with several issues. Needed yellow root for life long issues with fever blisters. It's as if she has a chronic low grade infection (many people do).

The surprise was the Monarda I gave her for bad tension headaches like mine. Suddenly she didn't need yellowroot anymore. The Monarda takes care of all her issues.

Strange?

But this is why I decided to tincture the extra catnip. It's a mint with some of the same properties as Monarda (not all). Monarda is a very powerful plant. Catnip is mild enough for toddlers.

If she needs a mint daily I'm more comfortable with using one of the milder mints. So I tinctured the extra catnip. Maybe it'll work for her, worth a try.
 
Catnip

Best thing around for toddlers... have to keep some around.

I currently know someone (adult) with several issues. Needed yellow root for life long issues with fever blisters. It's as if she has a chronic low grade infection (many people do).

The surprise was the Monarda I gave her for bad tension headaches like mine. Suddenly she didn't need yellowroot anymore. The Monarda takes care of all her issues.

Strange?

But this is why I decided to tincture the extra catnip. It's a mint with some of the same properties as Monarda (not all). Monarda is a very powerful plant. Catnip is mild enough for toddlers.

If she needs a mint daily I'm more comfortable with using one of the milder mints. So I tinctured the extra catnip. Maybe it'll work for her, worth a try.
Thank you!
 
Ooh, I will need to look into Monarda to combat my headaches. Several folks I know had recommended massaging topical cannabis oil on a specific area on the back of the neck to treat headaches but either I repeatedly miss the spot or its ineffective. Now I have something else to try! Thank you, Peanut!
 
Mullein growing in my yard, couple nice plants. The blooms are used for earache in little kids. The root is used for incontinence in the elderly and new mothers.

I harvest a few leaves every year, dry and store them. I harvest only the inner leaves of the rosettes before the seed stalk puts ups. The leaves speed healing of broken bones.

More importantly its leaves are great with spinal issues, does wonders for herniated discs, will help align the spine.

Also, harvested elderberry blooms yesterday, made couple quarts of tincture. Most folks use the berries, make syrup or jelly, an excellent antiviral. The flowers are said to be slightly weaker, but, tincture is good for 12-15yrs. Jelly has to be made every year.

Threads about both plants are here in this section with more detail.

Also, I have medicinals growing all around my house, people think they are weeds except when they bloom.

Pla Mul 12jun22 02.JPG


Elder...

Pla Elder 12jun22 01.JPG
Pla Elder 12jun22 04.JPG
 

Latest posts

Back
Top