Articles
St Johns Wort It will grow where no other plants will grow. A kind service, keeping St. Johns wort (Hypericum perforatum) grows in our area and it is not the same St. Johns wort To gather St. Johns Wort hold the top of the flowering plant in a bundle in one hand and The tincture is made at a strength of 1 part herb to 2 parts alcohol (overproof rum is good The oil is made by finely chopping the herb, filling a jar to 3/4 full and filling the jar to Both the tincture and the oil can be used for depression. The dose is 20 to 30 drops 3 times Because St. Johns wort grows in waste places you need to be careful that you do not collect Dandelion In 16th century Europe doctors were discovering a lot about the In the migration of Europeans to the New World, settlers brought with them many herbs to Dandelion became a full fledged weed with the inventions of the tractor and the chemical The dandelion, so incredibly prolific, stood its ground, small sentinels waving their Dandelion has the ability to heal us. The leaf and spring dug root is a powerful diuretic As a food plant dandelion needs just a few adjustments mainly to decrease its bitterness Since dandelion blooms abound right now I cannot resist ending this article by giving you 1 gallon dandelion petals 4 lbs sugar 1 gallon water 1 tablespoon yeast 4 oranges 1 lb chopped raisins 2 lemons 1 slice of toast. 2 inches fresh ginger Pinch the flowers from the heads. Place them in a pot, add the water and bring to a boil Wild Spring Greens Miners Lettuce, Claytonia perfoliata; a wonderful salad green, very tender , with a lovely
In a decade St. Johns wort has moved
from obscurity to stardom. We use it now
in our quest to regain joy, but it is a
plant withmany other healing abilities.
Originally from Europe, it follows us,
our roads ,our railroads, our cattle, our
bulldozing. It loves waste places, places
overused and under respected.
the waste places green and alive, changing illness to health. But the
cattle farmers of Oregon would beg to differ for they curse the spread
of this herb to thousands of hectares of range land rendering it
dangerous to cattle who consume to much and suffer for it.
that gardeners use as ground cover, that is Hypericum calycinum, which has large yellow
flowers that are about 3 inches in diameter. Our little medicinal plant, 1 to 2 feet high is
hardly noticeable against the ambient greenery until it flowers, then its tiny, massed flowers
which are about ½ inch in diameter, give a showy yellow display. You maynotice that the
second word in its official Latin binomial name is "perforatum". This name refers to the tiny
transparent glandular dots that are distributed throughout the leaf. If you hold the tiny leaf
up above your head and look through to the sky the leaf will appear to have holes or
perforations in it. This unique leaf structure will positively identify the correct plant for
you. If you take a flower bud between your thumb and finger and squish, it will bleed red.
The red dye contains hypericin, thought by pharmacists to be the active principle in its
ability to treat depression, though herbalists know that the healing powers of St. Johns wort
are much deeper and more mysterious than the presence of a single chemical.
cut the whole thing with the other, about four inches below the tallest bloom and stuff into
your collecting bag, just keep doing that, bundle and cut until you have what you need.
When you take your harvest home spread it out on a sheet in the shade and let all the animal
life leave, generally one finds little light green spiders, bronze beetles and maybe a little
green bug or two. As you take each handful visually check for bugs, and shake them off.
Both your oil and tincture should be made using the fresh plant.
otherwise use vodka or brandy). Chop your herb, put it in a jar add the alcohol then push
all the herb underneath the alcohol, sometimes the herb bounces up above the level of the
liquid, keep pushing it down, or you can invert the jar every day. In 6 weeks your medicine
is made and you can strain and bottle.
the top with olive oil. This you let sit in a sunny windowsill for 4 weeks or until the oil
is a rich red color. The oil will seep so be prepared for that , my windowsills are pine with
a rich red patina thanks to St Johns wort oil seep. Strain the oil through cheesecloth, let it
sit for another day and decant the pure red oil from the top leaving the sediment and the
waste behind.
a day using the tincture and one teaspoon 3 times a day using the oil. The herb also has other
uses. It can be used for nerve regeneration, muscle pain, myalgia, neuralgia and sciatica.
Since St Johns Wort stimulates granulation and capillary regeneration it will help in the
healing of wounds. It was this coupled with its formidable antibacterial and antiinflammatory
abilities that made the herb so popular in Europe during the time when wars were fought
with swords.
it where poisons have been sprayed. Happy gathering and do it soon because the dry heat of
July will end the blooming period.
Those dandelions you see blooming prodigiously outside your window
have a history as colorful as their blooms. Known as a medicine and
food plant by us since the dawn of our human evolution, dandelion
was involved in several dark periods in our human history, which
caused this honored plant to transform to an annoying weed.
workings of the human body, circulation of the blood for example.
They felt that old ideas of how the body worked were archaic, which
they were in part, but in a case of throwing out the good with the bad, university-trained
doctors turned their backs on herbal medicine. In a bid for power and control these
doctors, along with the clergy, began the movement to take healing out of the hands of
the women. This lead to the burning of what is estimated to be millions of women herbal
healers and midwives. The herbal tradition was replaced by bloodletting and eventually
the use of metal cures such as mercury. The dandelion was clearly losing respect.
Fortunately there were pockets of resistance. The Puritans would not change their reliance
on herbs. The peasants who could not afford or did not have access to medical care
continued to use herbs medicinally. There were also some renegade doctors who kept the
herbal tradition alive.
use as food and medicine. Plantain, chickweed, st johns wort and dandelion were among
these medicinal herbs, which served the pioneers well. These plants took to the land as
intently as the settlers themselves, and in the case of dandelion, reached the west coast
ahead of the human migration.
herbicide (and the mind sets that went with them). We were all supposed to expect "perfect
food" from the supermarket and our lawns were supposed to be "perfect". Everyone was
trying hard to eliminate dandelions from their lawns, flower gardens and sidewalks. How
quickly we forgot (were encouraged to forget) that dandelion was a food and a medicine.
yellow banners as if saying its not enough, all that poison, to kill us all, and we will
stand peacefully waiting for you to listen.
and so can be used to alleviate fluid retention, it is high in potassium which is a
mineral often lost from the body when allopathic diuretics are used. The fall dug root
is a bitter tonic which stimulates the flow of bile from the liver and gallbladder. This
increased bile flow increases the efficiency ofdigestion and acts as a laxative. The root
or the whole plant (leaves and root) dug in the fall decrease enlarged liver, gallbladder
and spleen. The inulin contained within the fall dug root is a blood sugar balancer and can
be used in the treatment of adult onset diabetes. Dandelion root or whole plant can also be
used as an antibacterial and antifungal medicine useful in the treatment of candida and other
infections. The whole plant preparation is also known as a blood purifier or alterative which
refers to the plants ability to alter the human system towards a state of balance and health.
to be a fine food packed full of minerals and vitamins. Gather the leaves (which are less
bitter and more tender before flowering), chop and boil in water for 5 minutes, change the
water and boil again for 5 minutes. Drain and use the greens in any of your recipes that
call for cooked spinach or nettles. Try them in lasagna, spanakopita, potato and dandelion
and cheese patties.
a recipe for dandelion wine.
stirring constantly. Simmer for 30 minutes. Strain and while still hot add the sugar,
shredded ginger, shredded orange and lemon rinds and the juice of these fruits and the
raisins. Stir andlet cool when nearly cool to room temp add a little water to the yeast
to make a paste and spread that on the cold toast and float this in your liquid. Cover
and leave for three days. Siphon the liquid into a large jar and cover with a cheesecloth
until bubbles almost stop, bottle and cork and let age for at least 8 months.
The spring time brings lush, brilliant, tender, green growth. Herbs that are tough to eat
later on in the season are tender and delicious now in the spring. Wild herbs used for
salad greens are at their prime now. The herbs that I list are in no danger of extinction,
though there are still good reasons to pick carefully. There is no hard and fast rule about
picking, but I gather very conservatively. I am especially careful when gathering the miners
lettuce, the siberian miners lettuce and the violet leaves and flowers.
mild taste. Gather no more than 10% of the colony. I always try to make it look as though
no one has been there at all. Western bitter cress ,Cardamine oligosperma or C. pensylvanica;
these 2 are delicious and abundant so I pick freely, they taste like arugula. It is getting
late in the season for bitter cress so you might have to wait until next year. But it’s
definitely worth remembering. Siberian miners lettuce, Claytonia sibirica; not my favourite
but, better if you pick it before it flowers.
Plantain, especially Plantago major; a bit tough but good flavour so you can cut it into
small pieces. Sheperds purse, Capsella bursa-pastoris; leaves and flowering tops are great
eating. Sorrel, Rumex acetosella; sour and tender, kids especially love this salad green.
Violet leaves and flowers, Viola spps.; the leaves of some species can be tough so try one
first. I take no more than 1 leaf and 2 flowers per plant. The flowers I reserve to be
sprinkled on top of the salad.
Chickweed, Stellaria media; very nice flavour. It is most tender when harvested before
flowering. Find a nice thick patch and harvest it as if you were giving someone a hair cut,
just cut the top layer of green and let it fall into your bowl.
Maple tree flowers, Acer macrophyllum; the earlier you pick the flowers the better they taste.
Mint leaves, Mentha arvensis; delicious, pick lots.
Glasswort, Salicornia virginica; (from the beach) salty and a little crunchy.
Clover leaves ,Trifolium pratense and T repens; these are pretty good.
Dandelion leaf, Taraxacum officinale; cut up in little pieces to distribute the bitter taste.
Dandelion flower petals, removed from the bitter centre and sprinkled on top of the salad.
Oregon grape flowers, Berberis aquifolium or B. nervosa; excellent eating. Remove the flowers
from the stem and sprinkle these little flavour pops on top of the salad.
Instead of trying to wash these tiny spring greens I try to pick them clean. I mean clean
hands, clean scissors, clean basket or paper bag. And anything that does come away from the
ground with dirt I separate from the rest of the harvest.
When gathering wild plants you must be absolutely sure of your identification. Remember there
are poisonous plants out there. Get a good guide book and a guide you trust to help you.
It takes a lot of time to gather but even just some of these wild greens in with your regular
greens makes a wonderful special salad, full of the wild green spirit to fortify yourselves.
Happy eating. Sheelagh Mackenzie-Salas is the Denman Island herbalist. She teaches classes
and has a medicine making company.