Rosemary Gladstar’s MEDICINAL HERBS A Beginner’s Guide ß Storey Publishing The mission of Storey Publishing is to serve our customers by publishing practical information that encourages personal independence in harmony with the environment. Edited by Deborah Balmuth and Nancy Ringer Art direction and book design by Jessica Armstrong Cover photography © Jason Houston: front (top left & right, bottom left), back (all); © koi88/Dreamstime.com: front (bottom center); © Saxon Holt: front (top center, bottom right) Interior photography by © Jason Houston, except as noted on page 218 Indexed by Nancy D. Wood © 2012 by Rosemary Gladstar All rights reserved. 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Storey Publishing 210 MASS MoCA Way North Adams, MA 01247 www.storey.com Printed in the United States by Versa Press 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Gladstar, Rosemary. Rosemary Gladstar’s medicinal herbs : a beginner’s guide / by Rosemary Gladstar. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 978-1-61212-005-8 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Herbs—Therapeutic use. 2. Materia medica, Vegetable. I. Title. II. Title: Medicinal herbs. RM666.H33G538 2012 615.3'21—dc23 2011053101 To my lovely grandchildren, Andrew Ethan Colvard and Lily Marie Carpenter, the herbalists of tomorrow COnTEnTS CHAPTER 1 Welcome to the Wonderful World of Medicinal Herbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 What Is a Medicinal Herb? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 How Is Herbal Medicine Used? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 The Benefi ts of Herbal Medicine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Starting a Home Medicine Garden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 CHAPTER 2 How to Make Your Own Herbal Remedies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Setting Up Your Kitchen Pharmacy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Herbal Teas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Syrups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Oils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Salves. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Tinctures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Herbal Pills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Baths, Poultices, and Compresses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 The Skinny on Dosage and Duration of Herbal Treatments . . . . . . . . . . . 46 4 | CHAPTER 3 9 Familiar Herbs & Spices to Grow and Use Basil, 53 Garlic, 70 Sage, 86 Cayenne, 60 Ginger, 78 Thyme, 90 Cinnamon, 64 Rosemary, 83 Turmeric, 94 CHAPTER 4 24 Safe & Effective Herbs to Know, Grow, and Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Aloe Vera, 102 Hawthorn, 144 Plantain, 188 Burdock, 107 Lavender, 149 Red Clover, 192 Calendula, 112 Lemon Balm, 156 St. John’s Wort, 197 Chamomile, 117 Licorice, 161 Spearmint, 203 Chickweed, 121 Marsh Mallow, 166 208 Dandelion, 124 Echinacea, 129 Elder, 134 Goldenseal, 139 Resources Credits Index CHAPTER 1 Welcome to the Wonderful World of Medicinal Herbs RECOGNIZED AS THE OLDEST SYSTEM OF HEALING on the planet, herbal medicine traces its roots back to the earliest civilizations. Today, herbalism continues to flourish as a people’s healing art. Even with the amazing technological advances of conventional (allopathic) medicine, herbalism — the art and science of healing with plants — is still widely popular. And its popularity is gaining, not waning. According to the World Health Organization, 80 percent of the world’s population used some form of traditional medicine in 2008, and its rate of affordability, availability, and accessibility is surging. So it’s no wonder you’re drawn to these healing plants and curious to learn more about them. But perhaps you’re nervous about trying herbal home remedies: What are these herbs? Are they safe? Do they work? Can you grow them at home? Can you make your own remedies? When and how do you use them? How easy is it to get started? These are some of questions we’ll address in this book. 6 | My Story I was one of the lucky ones. When I was a child, my grandmother took me into the fields and showed me the wild plants she knew. Quietly, with a gentle but stern voice, she taught me their healing powers. When she weeded her garden, I was often kneeling beside her, watching her carefully sort the plants she pulled. I learned early which herbs went into the edibles basket and which went into the compost, and, as impor- tantly, I learned why. We were a farm family growing up in the wake of World War II. Resilient, hardy, and handy, we were taught to use what was available, useful, and inexpen- Here I am with my younger sister and one of the calves on our family farm. sive. Herbal remedies were one of those things. My grandmother had up her sleeve an armory of useful herbal rem- edies that she had learned over a long BOTANICAL BOOM and difficult lifetime. She was a survivor of the Armenian genocide of World War I, and she told us grandkids that it had According to The Natural Pharmacy, been her knowledge of plants and her by Schuyler Lininger et al., one faith in God that saved her life. out of every three adult Americans As kids, we suffered few illnesses or uses complementary/alternative accidents that our grandmother and medical care. Sales of botanicals parents weren’t able to treat effectively have increased more than 300 per- at home with herbal remedies. In fact, I cent since the 1990s and currently recall only two incidents that required are an $8 billion industry. a doctor’s care: when my younger sister swallowed rat poison (she survived, by the way) and when my older sister five active farm children . . . and good fell off the family horse and broke her testament to the effectiveness of herbal hip. Not a bad record for a family with home remedies. 8 | welcome to the wonderful world of medicinal herbs What Is a Medicinal Herb? If you use herbs in cooking, then you’ve cabbage (a singularly effective poultice already taken the fi rst step in using for shingles and hives). herbal medicine. All of our common culi- But wait, you might say, aren’t some nary herbs and spices are among our of these plants vegetables and not most important and esteemed herbal herbs? Botanically speaking, an herb is medicines. And if you garden, tucking an herbaceous plant with a nonwoody herbs here and there in your vegetable stem. However, when herbalists speak and fl ower beds for their added scent of medicinal herbs, they are basically and beauty, then you also have been including any plant that can be used in “practicing” herbal medicine. healing. Remember, herbalism is an art Garden herbs such as lavender, that evolved over centuries around peo- thyme, sage, basil, rosemary, mint, yar- ple and people’s needs. It only makes row, and peppermint are some of our sense that people would use what they most trusted herbal medicines and have had available, in the kitchen or in the long histories of use as teas, salves, backyard. Many of the most common poultices, and tinctures for healing plants are still our best and most popu- purposes. Open your refrigerator and lar remedies for common ailments. you may fi nd more common herbal rem- So even without knowing it, you may edies, including horseradish (one of the already be a practitioner of herbal home what is a medicinal herb? | 9