MEDICINAL HERBS-HAVE WE LOST TOUCH?

I have often wondered how the general populace would fair, if for some reason there was a shortage of modern day medicines, and they had to rely , as our ancestors did, on home made preparations to maintain their health.How many of us would be able to go out into the countryside and gather the herb required to make a preparation to alleviate their symptoms. ? Indeed, how many would be able to identify the herb they have bee advised to seek.?

In archaic times our ancestors would be capable of identifying the plant and the part of the plant they would require to make an infusion, decoction, tincture, ointment, cream and lotions etc,.

The fields, lanes, meadows and byways were nature's medicine chest. Doctors {physicians} were unaffordable to the masses. Thus a basic knowledge of wild herbs was essential to their well being. Even up to the 1930s-1940s a basic knowledge of wild herbs was known to many and they were still commonly used to treat a variety of common ailments and wounds. Alas, since then the majority have lost touch with nature in general and the uses of wild flora in particular.

Our forefathers who had a relative with a broken limb  would have ventured out into the fields to seek out Symphytum officinale -the common comfrey. he would then have dug up the roots which would then have been crushed to a pulp and packed around the affected limb. The mixture would dry hard to the consistency of Plaster of Paris and effectively served the same purpose knitting the broken bone together. hence the country title for the plant of knitbone.

The same roots, together with chicory and dandelion roots were utilised to make a coffee which compared in taste with the real thing, but lacked the unwanted caffeine. The fresh young leaves made a good green vegetable, eaten regularly by country people. When I was employed in the dispensary producing herbal medicine I was often instructed to make an ointment where extract from comfrey was the main ingredient. The ointment was applied to varicose veins with good effect. Within the cells tissues of comfrey is the chemical "allantain" the only natural source of the chemical which has proven healing agents which helps in reducing swellings.

Betony Stachys officinalis, was once considered to be a sovereign  remedy for all maladies of the head, and as general tonic. The plant is aromatic.The powdered herb  was employed as the main component of a snuff which produced sneezing relieving the symptoms of head ailments such as blocked sinuses.

The common colt'sfoot Tussilago farfara was much in demand by those that were suffering from coughs and bronchial complaints. Indeed, tussilago derives from the Latin name for a cough tussis.  The leaves of this plant contain high levels of sodium, calcium and magnesium. The juice of the leaves was converted into a syrup for coughs. They were also candied into a sick that was sold at the pharmacy until quite recently. Colt'sfoot was also utilised as a herbal tobacco to alleviate the symptoms of asthma helping to clear the passage of the respiratory system without the harmful effects of ordinary tobacco. Colt'sfoot  tea, sweetened with honey or liquorice was taken to relieve colds and the symptoms of asthma. 

A group of plants known as the woundworts' were also much sought after, these include the Yarrow Achillea millefolium, Lady's mantle,Alchemilla vulgaris, Marsh woundwort,Stachys palustris and the hedge woundwort,Stachys sylvatica. I have used the latter on many occasions over the years during my forays into the countryside. On one such occasion I cut my hand on a piece of broken glass which had been left in the vegetation. the cut was not wide but deep and bled heavily. i employed the leaf of this plant to the wound and held it firmly till the bleeding had subsided. A fresh leaf then replaced the original one which was discarded. I kept the wound covered by the foliage until I arrived home. It was then left in place and covered by a sticking plaster which remained in place until the following morning. When it was removed the wound was closed and clean. Modern day science has confirmed that the foliage contains natural anti-septic qualities.

Apart from their fame as a woundwort, the foliage of yarrow has astringent properties that help to stop the symptoms of diarrhoea. Just chewing the leaf of this plant has a binding affect and alleviates the symptoms.

It would be much more difficult to name a plant that has not been used medicinally at one time or another for one ailment or another in days gone by.{ even the poisonous ones} Plants such as chamomile infused as a tea is still popular today. But could the majority who enjoy this beverage be able to go out in to the countryside and identify it growing in the wild?.

One plant that is easily identified by almost everyone is the stinging nettle, we are warned at a young age to shun the plant because of its stinging hairs which are painful. However. how many know the benefits this common "weed" can bestow on man. So that I do not repeat these benefits, you may wish to see my hub "NETTLES JUST A WEED ? YOU MUST BE JOKING, which deals with them in greater detail.

Plants have been utilised by man in many ways to produce the scents of household items , a good example of these is the smell of pine in disinfectant, magnolia in air fresheners, Lavender in soaps, creams, soaps and products for bath water, the list goes on and on.

As a countryside ranger I often lead walks which takes in the wild flora and their usefulness to man. I am always surprised that even the adult members of the group I am leading fail to recognise common plants with the exception of the common daisy and dandelion { two other beneficial herbs} . However, the numbers that attend the walks lead me to believe there is a lot of interest in the subject. People want to recognise the plant and whether or not it is beneficial in herbal medicine or edible in culinary preparations. Which gives me hope that in future we will regain our knowledge of nature and her benefits.

Plants have been an important part of other alternative medicines , in particular the Bach flower remedies. Fellow hubber Shalini Kagal has written some excellent hubs on this subject and is well worth a visit. Benefits of plants have been well documented by len7288,  also worthy of the attention of any one interested in the subject.

The wild species of flora beneficial to human health are far too numerous to be dealt with in the confines of a single hub and I shall return to them over the coming months.