''^I'mm^„«**. ^ :^v^ SiK@ HERB I a'i*M^*r>^»^ hundreds ofherb&H^m Hs for good health, 'S:'*,- and strength vitaliti, featuring the mrdique ^ HERB-O-MATlC LOCATOR INP^ Joseph ARCO i /^^^ m.tj p^i^, /i/^<"/ Encyclopedia of Medicinal Herbs firrdci, Encyclopedia Medicinal of HERBS with the Herb-O-Matic Locator Index Formertitle: Modem Encyclopedia ofHerbs JOSEPH M. KADANS, N.D., Ph.D. AN ARCO PUBLISHING COMPANY, INC. BOOK 219 Park Avenue South, New York, N.Y. 10003 An ARC Book Published by ARCO PUBLISHINGCOMPANY, INC. 219 ParkAvenue South, NewYork, N.Y. 10003 by arrangementwith ParkerPublishing Company, Inc. Second printing, 1973 © Copyright 1970byParkerPublishingCompany, Inc. All rights reserved. LibraryofCongress Catalog Number79-158469 ISBN: 0-668-02487-9 Printedinthe United States ofAmerica INTRODUCTION Herbs were recorded in use as early as 2500 B.C. Ancient clay tablets found revealed that the ancient Sumerians us'^d them. Also, the ancient Assyrians knew about the virtues of approxi- mately 250 herbs. The ancient Egyptians, as early as 1600 b.c, used elderberry, pomegranate bark, wild lettuce, wormwood, hemlock and other herbs for health. The Greeks of old used herbs such as mustard, cinnamon, gentian, rhubarb and many others. A pupil of Aristotle wrote ten books on the history of plants and Alexander the Great made a number of expeditions into Africa, Persia and India and brought back herbs in use in those countries. A Roman soldier and writer, Pliny, the Elder, wrote 47 large volumes on natural history, containing information about 1000 plants. Ancient physicians and philosophers used the herbs to cure the sick. A German botanist, Otto Brunfels, as early as 1530 published three volumes with woodcuts of 229 plants, which was the first publication of good botanical illustrations. A Por- tuguese scientist, Garcia da Orta, in 1573, wrote a valuable trea- tise on the herbs of India. Carl Von Linne, a Swedish botanist, published material on botany in 1737. The study of herbs was stated to be the mother of all scientific discipline by Professor M. Schleiden of Jena J. in 1842. The standing of herbology as a science in tlie United States has been slow to develop but since the turn of the 20th century has grown by leaps and bounds. It is called by various names other than herbology, such as materia medica, botany, pharma- cology, vegetable drugs, or pharmacognosy. Herbs and spices. A dictionary defines an herb as a seed plant which does not develop woody persistent tissue, as that of a INTRODUCTION 10 shrub or a tree, but is more or less soft or succulent. A spice is any of the various vegetable productions which are fragrant or aromatic and pungent to the taste. Thus herbs may be spices as well as herbs. Most herbs and spices are dried or cured under the sun of the countries in which they grow and are cultivated. For exam- ple, the ginger root is dug from the earth and then is cleaned before it is dried and exported. Sometimes it is also peeled and sometimes some ginger root is boiled in sugar and preserved before it reaches the consumer. Cloves are flower buds while peppercorns are dried berries. The nutmeg is the dried seed of the kernel of the fruit of a tropical tree. Herbs as medicines. The very first and only true medicines ever used were those derived from the vegetable kingdom. Any vege- tables appearing on the table are considered as foods, while any bitter tasting vegetable or growth is considered as a medicine. It is almost forgotten that in the olden days bitters were com- mon to the table. They were made from herbs that had ample supplies of potash present and were very good tonics because they contained potassium, a mineral that is the building cement of muscle and nerve tissue. Animals, such as horses, often know what foods are good for them. Horses will often eat fence rails because the wood is filled to a degree with potash, containing potassium. Herbs as healing agents. Herbs act as astringents, alkalin- izers, acidifiers, tonics, diuretics, diaphoretics, laxatives and serve other purposes. There is a class of herbs known as nervines, which are nerve foods. These herbs are mineral foods furnishing potash, mag- nesium and phosphorus. The nerves themselves are made up of potassium, magnesium, phosphorus and sodium in a major degree, although there are other elements. Lecithin is also a major organic element and therefore the presence of lecithin in the food is essential for the nerves to be regulated and relaxed. Grains have an embryo in their centers and it is in the em- bryo that lecithin, Vitamin E and phosphorus are found. This is why whole grain cereals are so much better for us. Even INTRODUCTION 11 better yet is the sprout, for when the seed starts to open and come to life, then the activity of life is increased and the values are more easily assimilated into the body. Lecithin is in the oil of the grain and is more or less destroyed by heating, due to the oxidation of the phosphorus. Therefore, the raw sprouts are excellent foods. Nervines. There are tw^o classes of nerve foods. There are the excitors and the relaxors or depressors. The excitors are the highly acid factors and low in mineral content. The depressors are the elements that conserve or restrict the flow of energy and are more alkaline. Bromine is one of the depressors. Other depressors are any inorganic substances high in carbon and low in hydrogen. Alcohol slowly starves the tissues and more espe- cially the nerves. Alcohol relaxes the nerves, for the minerals are taken from the nerves by the alcoholic action, and may also cause the tissues to become subject to malnutrition and slow starvation. Organic foods and nerves. Organic foods such as celery, cu- cumbers, garlic, honey, molasses, red pepper, ginger, and cloves have a direct effect on the nerves and tend to assist in main- taining a reserve of energy. Therefore they are sources of nerve regeneration as well as providing minerals. Iodine compounds in foods, especially in ocean foods, have a direct action through the thyroid gland, to stimulate the cells and tissues and excite the nerves to contraction. This contraction is brought about by the action of iodine itself. Ocean plants furnish iodine in the best form. Health food stores have dulse and kelp, and these are best in all respects for slow assimilation, along with other minerals that are common to the ocean plants that furnish potas- sium with iodine. Ocean plants or herbs are a fine source of minerals for health. THE NAMING OF PLANTS AND HERBS Carl Linne: Also known as Carl Linnaeus, Linne was bom in Sweden in 1707. He wrote numerous botanical books and became an outstanding authority in the three kingdoms of nature 12 INTRODUCTION —plants, animals and minerals. He became a university professor at Upsala, Sweden and he had a great influence on students. Binomial nomenclature: The system of binomial nomencla- ture began with his writing on the system known as "Linnaeus in Species Plantarum" in 1753. Linne gave the plants two names, one representing the genus or family group, just as "Johnson" is a family name and the other name representing the species. The system founded by Linne so many years ago is in daily use today, when plants number in the hundreds of thousands. Sexuality in plants: Linne decided upon the plan of using stamens and pistils as a basis for his classification. He located thirteen classes, based on the number of stamens, from 1 to 11, then 20 stamens, then larger numbers. There are two classes based on the relative lengths of stamens; four classes dealing with connected stamens; one class in which stamens and pistils are consolidated; three classes with imperfect flowers; and one class without stamens or pistils, the cryptogams; for a total of 24 classes. The classes are further divided into orders, pertaining to the number of pistils. ** Definitions of stamens and pistils: The stamen is the pollen- bearing floral organ of a flower. The stamen has two parts, the slender stalk (filament) and a double-celled sac (anther) con- taining the pollen. The pollen is the essential or main part of the stamen. The pistil normally occupies the center of the fliower and con- sists of the ovary and the stigma. Ovules develop within the ovary in a closed sac. An ovule is a body within the ovary which, upon being fertilized, becomes a seed. Another word for the ovule is ovum or small unfertilized egg. The fertilized ovum becomes an embryo and when the development is complete becomes a seed. There is an opening in the pistil through which the pollen enters to fecundate the ovum. Terminology: The three categories of the forms of life estab- lished by Linne are genera, species and varieties. For example, the genus of the pome fruits is Pyrus. The species of the apple is called Malus. The variety of the apple is Paradisiaca. In writ- ing, therefore, the botanical name of the apple is Pyrul Malus.