Category: HERBAL MEDICINE
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MONARDA
THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Bee Balm (Monarda) Lisa Karen Miller I never knew what that very specific yet unfamiliar flavor was in Earl Grey tea until I began to be interested in gardening and herbs. It is bergamot orange, a citrus fruit whose oil lends a particular bite to…
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BUCKEYE
THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Buckeye Lisa Karen Miller I remember carrying a buckeye in my pocket when I was young, but I was never clear on why. Turns out the nuts of Aesculus glabra were meant to attract good fortune. Can’t say for sure it worked, though I…
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APRICOT
THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Apricot Lisa Karen Miller To make Knotted Biscuits of Apricots: “Take ripe apricots, pare, stone, and beat them small, then boil them until they are thick. Take them off the fire and beat them up with sifted Sugar and Aniseeds to make a pretty fine paste. …
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GOLDENROD
THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Goldenrod Lisa Karen Miller The common plant that serves as Kentucky’s state flower was once terribly expensive in England because it was imported from the Middle East. When a walker on Hampstead Heath in London noticed it growing wild, its price dropped overnight from half…
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WITCH HAZEL
THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Witch Hazel Lisa Karen Miller Millions of bottles of witch hazel are sold each year. One of the few readily available commercial medicines made from a wild native plant, it is a distillation of the leaves, twigs, and branches of Hamamelis virginiana. In the United…
