Of the thousands of plants growing wild in nature, most are considered common weeds. However, many of these plants have healing, therapeutic properties.
外出探索大自然时,不要轻易将一株植物视为普通野花或野草。山薄荷、蒲公英、牛蒡根、俄勒冈葡萄根、柳树、车前草、山金车、繁缕、金盏花、洋甘菊和蓍草都对健康有益。这些常见的林地植物是许多药用植物中发现的大自然母亲的药箱。
Let’s take a look at some of those herbs that you can make use of.
Calendula
An ointment crafted from calendula (Calendula officinalis)涂抹在皮肤上,可减轻疼痛,减轻腿部溃疡、静脉曲张和痔疮的炎症。金盏花,也被称为花盆金盏花,也可以加速咬伤、割伤和疼痛、干燥的皮肤的愈合过程。当准备一种以金盏菊为特色草药的药膏时,加入茶树或百里香精油来添加防腐剂。制作绘画药膏时,加入棉花糖根粉或滑溜溜的榆树粉。
Calendula grows well in a full sun location but manages fine in partial shade. Cut back the plants to encourage flower production. Once established, it self-sows liberally. Calendula is an ideal plant for the homestead herb garden, thriving in almost any type of soil in United States Plant Hardiness Zones 2 through 11.
St. John’s Wort
St. John’s wort (Hypericum calycinum) is a compact, dense small shrub. Slow growing, it reaches a mature height of 3 feet. The plant presents upright branches with exfoliating reddish-purple bark. The leaves are deep blue-green. The feathery-textured foliage turns a brilliant yellow in the fall. In late spring and early summer, the hardy little shrubs display an abundance of golden yellow flower clusters.
一种治疗草药药膏,包括圣约翰草作为一种止痛剂,帮助减少神经疼痛。圣约翰草的愈合特性有助于缓解疼痛,促进伤口、擦伤、烧伤和咬伤的愈合。加入丁香精油使软膏具有镇痛作用。
低维护和引人注目,它是神话,当使用关于家园作为地面覆盖在岩石花园。一种控制侵蚀的优秀植物,圣约翰麦汁耐干旱,贫瘠的土壤,热,和荫凉。
Related Post:Homestead Stories: St. Benedict’s Herb
Oregon Grape
A member of the plant family Berberidaceae, Oregon grape (Mahonia aquifolium), also known as Oregon grape holly, blue barberry, or Oregon barberry, flourishes through the northwestern portion of the United States. A low-growing, evergreen vining plant, Oregon grape presents deep green holly-like leaves that turn a brilliant reddish-orange in autumn. During the cold days of winter, the leaves take on a deep burgundy color in striking contrast against a snowy landscape. Oregon grape grows best in United States Plant Hardiness Zones 5 through 9. Drought-tolerant and disease resistant, Oregon grape thrives in sunshine or shade and does well in poor soil.
俄勒冈葡萄有两种不同的类型:一种是矮小的地被植物,另一种是成熟时可达9英尺高的灌木状灌木。在早春时节,这两个品种都会开出鲜艳的黄色花朵,随后结出酸的、深紫色的可食用果实。俄勒冈葡萄为鸣禽和其他野生动物提供栖息地和食物。
俄勒冈葡萄被证明是一种有益的消化刺激物。这种耐寒的多年生植物具有抗微生物、抗真菌、抗细菌、抗炎症和抗寄生虫的特性。传统上,这种小植物被用于治疗各种各样的医学疾病,包括胃肠道问题(包括贾第鞭毛虫,一种传染性腹泻),作为抗炎药物治疗湿疹和牛皮癣,以及被证明在治疗眼部感染、脚癣、痤疮和其他皮肤刺激方面有用。
Mountain Mint
Mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum), also known as short-tooth mint, is a low-growing mint native to the eastern portion of the United States. Found growing in open pastures, alpine meadows, and low woodlands, the hardy perennial plant is an excellent ground cover that spreads by rhizomes. Drought-tolerant mountain mint grows best in United States Plant Hardiness Zones 4 through 11. You can start the tough little plant from seed or rhizomes.
Mountain mint repels deer, rabbits, and leaf-chewing insects. They can’t stand the taste or smell of it. The plant is useful around the homestead for planting in areas where deer tend to browse your favorite perennials. Mountain mint can be planted as a border around flowerbeds or as an underplanting around fruit trees. The herbaceous perennial does best in full sun but is tolerant of shade.
The plant presents a pungent odor similar to spearmint when crushed. The dark green leaves edged in silver are heart-shaped, and about 2 inches long. In summer, mountain mint displays deep pink, tubular-shaped flowers attractive to bees and butterflies. Mountain mint is an important plant in northeastern butterfly gardens.
The fragrant ground cover is not invasive. When planted in mass, the densely leafed mountain mint’s silvery brackets give the entire mass planting the appearance of being drifted with light snowfall. Pruning the roots in early spring with a spade prevents mountain mint from spreading.
土著居民收集树叶,准备一种药性温和的茶,被证明对治疗胃痛、溃疡、发烧和感冒有效。山薄荷也被用作一种烹饪药草,以增强甜味和美味的菜肴的味道。
Dried mountain mint is a primary ingredient in many smoking blends. When blended with dried mullein weed, bunchberry leaves, and a pinch of tobacco, and then rolled as a cigarette or placed in a pipe, Mountain mint contributes to a smooth, flavorful smoke that is used to relieve migraine headaches and help calm the spirit and alleviate stress.
当野生收获的植物被用作主要药草,或与花园草本植物和精油混合在奶油草本药膏中,它们可以缓解干燥、粗糙的皮肤和皲裂的嘴唇,缓解肌肉疼痛,帮助愈合伤口、昆虫叮咬和过敏刺激。
Mullein Weed
Mullein is an herbaceous biennial that grows leaves during the first year and then flowers and dies the second year’s growth. During the first year, it can produce 18- to 20-inch wooly-gray leaves that form giant rosettes. The thick wooly leaves were used to wrap food to prevent spoilage.
Mullein weed (Verbascum thapsus) found in open meadows, in open woodlands, roadside ditches, paddocks, pastures, and homestead gardens throughout the United States, is a key ingredient in a great many herbal remedies. The healing oil is used to treat earaches, and the stalks of the plant are bound into bundles for torches. Historically, the tenacious wildflower’s leaves were smoked to relieve lung congestion and to induce a pain-relieving euphoria. The leaves were also boiled to release essential oils that were skimmed off the top of the water when it cooled.
The dried flowers were reserved for a potent tea to treat stomach disorders, coughs, colds, dysentery, relieve melancholy, and restore energy.
Burdock
A long-prized herb widely used in Western herbology, burdock root demonstrates proven efficiency as a blood purifier or blood cleanser, especially useful in healing skin infections and disorders and for overall optimum skin health. Burdock (Arctium minus), a member of the plant family Asteraceae is native to Europe and Asia, but several species valued for burdocks’ potent diuretic, detoxifying, and diaphoretic properties have been introduced worldwide. Burdock thrives in United States Plant Hardiness Zones 4 through 9.
A recent research study into the medicinal benefits of burdock revealed antibiotic activity generated by the presence of as many as 14 different polyacetylene compounds found in the fresh root. Two of these compounds possess fungistatic and bacteriostatic properties.
In ancient Chinese medicine traditions, burdock seeds (known as Niu Bang Zi) are added to boiling water and allowed to steep to a strong and flavorful tea used to treat stomach distress and chronic constipation.
Burdock is also included as the main ingredient in essiac tea, a formula used by cancer patients worldwide as an herbal alternative treatment for cancer. It is also a primary ingredient in Hoxsey tea, another widely used herbal anticancer brew.
Bur oil, also known as burdock root oil extract, is used throughout Europe as an itch relieving treatment for dandruff and as a preventative for hair loss. Burdock oil is a rich source of phytosterols, and essential fatty acids said to enhance hair shine, body, and strength by promoting a healthy scalp and improved hair growth while it offers immediate relief from a dry, itchy scalp.
The large leaves of the herbaceous perennial reach up to 30 inches long. Blooming from early July through August, burdock flowers provide essential nectar and pollen for honeybees.
Be On The Lookout
拜访你当地的县推广机构,寻求帮助,以确定当地原生的野生药用植物。这些天然的治疗草药是很好的添加到家庭草本花园或散布在草地和排水系统。在野外采收时,要远离道路,以避免采收可能已经喷洒了除草剂的植物。
References:
- National Park Service – Low-Growing Oregon Grapehttps://www.nps.gov/sajh/learn/nature/low-oregon-grape.htm
- King County Native Plant Guide – Tall Oregon Grapehttps://green2.kingcounty.gov/gonative/Plant.aspx?Act=view&PlantID=25
- Herb Society of America – Mountain Minthttps://herbsocietyorg.presencehost.net/file_download/inline/34699647-3623-4591-911b-865c93fe9c14
- Medical News Today – What to Know About Burdock Roothttps://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320035
- The University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension – Mullein Weedhttps://www.uaex.edu/yard-garden/resource-library/plant-week/common-mullein.aspx
- Minnesota Wildflowers – Common Burdockhttps://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/common-burdock
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