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dandelion
Botanical name: Taraxacum officinale
Other common names: Lions Tooth, Puffball, Irish Daisy
Earliest recorded uses: Persian physician and alchemist Al-Razi Latin name Rhazes, wrote about Dandelion's healing abilities in 900 AD
Dandelion is from the Asteraceae family. Dandelion has so many uses, flowers, leaves and roots are all harvested for use separately. A true dandelion will have only one flower per stem. It is considered by many to be one of the best herbs for gallbladder, spleen and liver. Some of dandelion uses other than typical medicinal processes include leaves eaten raw in salads or sautéed, roots are used as a coffee substitute, and flowers are made into syrup and wine.
Avoid if bile duct obstruction is present, acute gastrointestinal inflammation or acute gall bladder inflammation.
Dandelion constituents include but are not limited to flavonoids apigenin, caffeic acid, terpenoids, polyphenols, triterpenes, tannins, sesquiterpenes, taraxacum, vitamins, and minerals.
Its potential health benefits include but are not limited to anti-inflammatory, digestion, antioxidant, diuretic, inulin liver and gallbladder detoxification, tonic, hepatic, and cholagogue.
Most common ways to use are tincture, poultice, infused oil, oxymel and all parts of the dandelion are used in tea.
Tendencies or energetics cooling and drying.
ECHINACEA
Botanical name: Echinacea angustifolia and Echinacea purpurea
Other common names: Purple Coneflower, Sampson Root, Hedgehog
Earliest recorded uses: Dating back to the 1600s it has been found among Native American village sites one in particular is the Lakota Sioux. Evidence shows it was used topically and internally.
From the Asteraceae or Aster family, this daisy-like flower is native throughout the US. The whole plant is used separately in various remedies depending on needs. The two varieties are interchangeable when fresh, dried Echinacea purpurea does not hold its constituents as well as Echinacea angustifolia. Echinacea is mainly used for upper and lower respiratory tract infections. It should not be used for longer than 3 months at a time, it is a herb for acute uses, not a maintenance herb.
Avoid men should avoid large doses due to infertility possibilities. People without auto-immune diseases may want to avoid it due to it exacerbation of a variety of symptoms like shortness of breath, abdominal pain, itchiness, rash, and hives.
Echinacea’s constituents include but are not limited to polysaccharides, volatile oils, chlorogenic acid, alkamides, cichoric acid, glycoproteins, echinacoside, caffeic acid, vitamins, and minerals.
Its potential health benefits include but are not limited to anti-inflammatory, antifungal, antimicrobial, antiviral, antibacterial, antioxidant, stimulates white blood cells, sialagogue, and lymphagogue.
Most common ways to use teas, tincture, poultice, and oil infusion. The whole plant is best for tincture root, leaf, flower and seed pods.
Tendencies or energetics cooling, drying and stimulating.
elderberry
Botanical name: Sambucus nigra, Sambucus canadensis
Other common names: Arizona Elderberry, Sweet Elder, Wild Elder
Earliest recorded uses: Documented in ancient Greece by Hippocrates around 400 BC
From the Caprifoliaceae, honeysuckle family. Elderberry is a powerhouse in preventing and treating colds and upper respiratory infections. Almost the entire tree is considered medicinal, flowering tops, bark, dried roots, fresh leaves, and most popular use is the purplish-blue berries that ripen in late summer or early fall. It is known as “the medicine chest” with many herbal writers over thousands of years saying there is hardly a disease from head to toe that it cannot cure, referred to as the holy tree. Uncooked or under-ripe berries can cause nausea, the steam of the plant should be avoided due to it containing small amounts of cyanide. People with diabetes or low blood iron should avoid elderberry.
Avoid elderberry may interact with diabetes medications, laxatives, and diuretics
Elderberry's constituents include but are not limited to terpenes, rutin, quercitrin, tannins, alkaloids, mucin, anthocyanins, pectin and albumen, vitamins, and minerals.
Its potential health benefits include but are not limited to anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antioxidant, antispasmodic, astringent, antiviral, diaphoretic, diuretic, emollient, laxative, expectorant, and tonic.
Most common ways to use are elderberry syrup, tea, tinctures, and oxymels.
Tendencies or energetics cooling and drying,
feverfew
Botanical name: Tanacetum parthenium
Other common names: Bachelors Buttons, Mother-herb, Santa Maria
Earliest recorded uses: Greek physician Dioscorides documented its use as an anti-inflammatory in “DE Materia Medica” in 40-90 AD
From the Asteraceae or Aster family. Feverfew is well known for its ability to help those plagued with headaches and migraines. It has immediate relief for some and others taking 1-2 months before feeling relief. Don’t give up on it right away, many sufferers find relief in time with daily use. It makes a great companion plant being it is somewhat of an insect repellent. It is also shown to be pet-safe and bring relief to arthritis in dogs. All of the plant above ground is used.
Avoid during pregnancy due to the emmenagogue effect.
Feverfews constituents include but are not limited to chrysanthenyl acetate, L- camphor, L-borneol, terpenes, esters, parthenolide, vitamins, and minerals.
It’s potential health benefits include but not limited to anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, antihistamine, analgesic, anti-microbial, emmenagogue, vasodilator, and tonic.
Most common ways to use are in teas and tinctures. For headaches and migraines, some suggest it should be taken in the form of capsules of the dried herb.
Tendencies and energetics drying and warming.
Frankincense
Botanical name: Boswellia
Other common names: Olibanum, Libano
Earliest recorded uses: Bible approximately 1450 BC. Egyptian Ebers Papyrus around 1500 BC
Frankincense resin is collected from Carterii, Sarcra, Papyrifera and Frereana Boswellia trees in the Arabian Peninsula and NE Africa. It is harvested from intentional cuts made in the trees once the sap is hardened to resin, it is orange-brown in color with a rich soothing aroma.
Frankincense constituents include but are not limited to terpenoids, sesquiterpenes, esters, 1-octanol, diterpenes, monoterpene hydrocarbons, boswellic acids, vitamins, and minerals
Its potential health benefits include but are not limited to anti-inflammatory, expectorant, antiseptic, anxiolytic, anti-neurotic, nourishing, and clarifying abilities for skin care when applied topically along with a reduction in inflammation and pain. It has also been shown when taken internally it may promote healthy cellular function.
Mentions in the Bible-
Mathew 2:11 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Exodus 30:34 34 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Take fragrant spices-gum resin, onycha and galbanum-and pure frankincense, all in equal amounts,
Revelations 18:13 13 cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and human beings being sold as slaves.
Most common way to use is tincture, infused oil and burned incense,
Tendencies and energetics warming and drying,
garlic
Botanical name: Allium sativa
Other common names: Stinking Rose, Ail, Ajo
Earliest recorded uses: Bible approximately 1440 BC in the book of Numbers. Garlic has been found in Egyptian pyramids dating from 3500 BC, Ebers papyrus from 1500 BC mentions garlic curing 32 illnesses
From the Alliaceae, onion, family. Garlic has thousands of uses and thousands of years of human use to support….put it simply just eat a lot of it! Pliny the Elders (23-79AD) was a Roman physician and naturalist who was certain Garlic alone could heal more than 60 diseases….have not found any confirmed vampire cases though. Scientists have found raw garlic is a broad-spectrum antibiotic. Garlic can be used externally for many internal ailments.
Garlic constituents include but are not limited to allicin, diallyl sulfideide, trisulfide, disulfide, vinylithiin, allixin, s-methyl cysteine-sulfoxide, choriogenin, vitamins, and minerals.
Its potential health benefits include but are not limited to antibacterial, antifungal, antiparasitic, diuretic, anticoagulant, hypotensive, antispasmodic, carminative, hypoglycemic, cholagogue, and immunomodulator.
Mention in Bible-
Numbers 11:5 5We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost-also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic.
Most common ways to use are in cooking, oxymel, fermented in honey, raw, tincture, infused oil, and poultice.
Tendencies and energetics warming, drying, and stimulating.