Herbs for Health

In this Blog I wanted to touch on a few little know herbs to enlighten you on a whole other world of green friends. These plants have both benefits for food and health. Not only are they pretty but have a function in nature as well.

Please note do not try growing these plants and attempt to use the plant in its medicinal way. Scientists have made claims that incorrect use can harm someone.

Kidney Vetch- Anthyllis vulneraria

The name vulneraria means “wound healer”. It is naturalized in North America. It prefers the dry grasslands and rocky environments with calcareous soil, up to 3000 m of altitude.

Perennial Height: 12in Spread: 18in Light: Full sun Soil: Well drained, light or sandy Natural Habitat: Native of Europe and northern Africa Propagation: Sow seed in the fall, divide established plants in spring self-seeds. Flowering: Summer – yellow with red tinge medical use: Applied to wounds, as a laxative and used for coughs.

Arnica- Arnica montana

Arnica is a moderately toxic European flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae. It is noted for its large yellow flower head.

Perennial Height: 20in Spread: 12in Light: Full sun Soil: Rich, light. slightly acid, well-drained Natural Habitat: Mountainous regions of Europe and Western Asia Propagation: Sow seed in the fall or spring. Divide in Spring Flowering: Summer Medical use: Commonly used as an ointment to heal bruises. Also used to treat epilepsy, shock, paralysis, trauma, and throat infections.

Cuckoo flower- Cardamine pratensis

The cuckoo flower is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae. Its common name cuckoo flower derives from the formation of the plant’s flowers at around the same time as the arrival each spring of the first cuckoos in the British Isles, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae. cuckoo flower, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae.

Perennial Height: 12 in Spread: 09 in Light: Partial shade Soil: Moist soil Natural Habitat: Native of North America, Europe, and northern Asia Propagation: sow seeds in a cold frame in summer or fall Flowering: Spring to early Summer Medical use: Herbal properties for heart troubles.

Greater Knappweed – Centaurea scabiosa

This long-stalked hardy perennial, although closely related to the thistle, actually belongs to the sunflower family. It is self-fertile and attracts many species of butterfly, such as the Marbled White, Painted Lady and Green-veined White, to name a few, as well as moths, bees and hoverflies. This species is very valuable to bees. It is also a magnet for many species of butterfly. This is the only known food plant for caterpillars of the Coleophoridae case-bearer moth

Perennial Height: 12 to 36 in Spread: 24 in Light: Full sun Soil: Moist well-drained Natural Habitat: Native of northern Europe found of grass and scrublands Propagation: sow seed in the spring or fall. self-seeds. Flowering: summer medical use: A distillation used for sores and ulcers

White Turtlehead- Chelone glabra

Chelone glabra Its common name comes from the appearance of its flower petals,

which resemble the head of a tortoise. In fact, in Greek, chelone means “tortoise” and was the name of a nymph who refused to attend the wedding of Zeus and was turned into a turtle as punishment

Perennial Height: 24 to 36 in Spread: 18 in Light: Partial shade Soil: Moist Natural Habitat: Native of north America. Flourishes in woodland, mountainous and marshy areas. Propagation: sow seed in the spring. Flowering: summer medical use: A tonic to treat the liver and digestive issues

Hounds tongue –Cynoglossum officinale

Boraginaeae Family Hounds tongue is a toxic biennial plant introduced from Europe, likely as a contaminant in cereal seed. Like other members of the Borage family, Hounds tongue is rough in texture and produces flowers in long, coiled stalks.

Biennial Height: 18-24 in Spread: 12-18 in Light: Sun or Partial shade Soil: Moist, well drained Natural Habitat: dry grassy area of Asia and Mediterranean Propagation: Sow seed in Spring Flowering: Summer medical use: for coughs and diarrhea

Viper’s Bugloss- Echium vulgare

The plant got its common name due to the markings on the leaves and flowers. While no longer used for medicinal purpose it is still sometimes candied or cooked as a vegetable, they say it tastes like spinach.

Biennial Height: 2 to 3 feet Spread: 12 in Light: Full Sun Soil: light, well drained Natural Habitat: Native of Europe and western Asia Propagation: Sow seed in late Spring Flowering: Early to mid-summer medical use: treatment for snake or viper bites.

Eyebright– Euphrasia

Euphrasia, or eyebright, is a genus of about 450 species of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Orobanchaceae. They are semi-parasitic on grasses and other plants. The common name refers to the plant’s use in treating eye infections. Annual Height: 8 in Spread: 8 in Light: Full Sun Soil: fertile, well drained Natural Habitat: Grassland of Europe Propagation: Sow seed in Spring Flowering: -summer medical use: eye infections, bronchitis

Yellow Bedstraw – Galium verum

In medieval Europe, the dried plants were used to stuff mattresses, as the coumarin scent of the plants acts as a flea repellant. The flowers were also used to coagulate milk in cheese manufacture Perennial Height: 1-3 feet Spread: indefinite Light: Sun to partial shade Soil: dry or well drained Natural Habitat: Dry grassland near sea, Native of Europe, western Asia Propagation: Sow seed in Summer Flowering: summer medical use: kidney and bladder complaints

Herb Robert – Geranium robertianum

Herb-Robert is a native geranium that may have been named after Saint Robert of Molesme, an herbalist, or after the notorious Robert Goodfellow, also known as Robin Hood. Look for delicate, pink flowers borne on stalks above highly dissected leaves; this plant typically grows in the shade of the forest floor.

Annual or Biennial Height: 1-2 feet Spread: 12 inches Light: Sun to partial shade Soil: dry or well drained Natural Habitat: Common in walls and wasteland of northern Hemisphere Propagation: Sow seed in Spring Flowering: early summer medical use: kidney stones and urinary disorders

Henbane –Hyoscyamus niger

The name henbane dates at least to AD 1265. The origins of the word are unclear, but “hen” probably originally meant death rather than referring to chickens. During a Pomeranian witchcraft trial in 1538, a suspected witch “confessed” that she had given a man henbane seeds so that he would run around “crazy” (sexually aroused).

Annual or Biennial Height: 2-4 feet Spread: 3 feet Light: Sun Soil: well drained Natural Habitat: Found in wasteland, banks and cliffs of Europe and Western Asia Propagation: Sow seed in Spring Flowering: summer medical use: Travel sickness and inflammation

American Bistort – Bistorta bistortoides

American bistort was an important food plant used by Native Americans living in the Mountain West, including Blackfoot and Cheyenne peoples. The roots are edible either raw or fire-roasted with a flavor resembling chestnut. The seeds can be dried and ground into flour and used to make bread. They were also roasted and eaten as a cracked grain. The young leaves can be eaten raw or cooked.

Perennial Height: 1-2 feet Spread: 18 in Light: partial shade Soil: moist fertile Natural Habitat: Found in wasteland, banks and cliffs of Europe and Western Asia , Propagation: Sow seed in Spring Flowering: summer medical use: antidote to poisons and snakebite

Bloodroot – Sanguinaria canadensis

Bloodroot is one of many plants whose seeds are spread by ants, a process called myrmecochory. The seeds have a fleshy organ called an elaiosome that attracts ants. The ants take the seeds to their nest, where they eat the elaiosomes, and put the seeds in their nest debris, where they are protected until they germinate. They also benefit from growing in a medium made richer by the ant nest debris.

Annual or Biennial Height: 1-2 feet Spread: 18 in Light: partial shade Soil: moist fertile Natural Habitat: Native of eastern North America Propagation: divide rhizomes in fall Flowering: summer medical use: expectorant and diuretic as well as slows heart rate

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