Hedgerow Medicine: Harvest and Make Your Own Herbal Remedies
Julie Bruton-Seal, Matthew Seal
Language: English
Pages: 324
ISBN: B00CF6FT5S
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Britain's hedgerows abound with forgotten remedies for countless health problems. Julie Bruton-Seal, practising medical herbalist, together with her co-author, the editor and writer Matthew Seal, have responded to the growing interest in natural medicine by aiming this book at the amateur who wants to improve his or her health in the same way that mankind has done for centuries around the world: by using local wild plants and herbs. There are clear instructions about which plants to harvest, when, and over 120 recipes showing how to make them into teas, vinegars, oils, creams, pillows, poultices or alcohol-based tinctures. Julie and Matthew explain which ailments can be treated, and what benefits can be expected. As well as being packed with practical information on using 50 native plants, Hedgerow Medicine also gives a fascinating insight into the literary, historic and worldwide application of these herbal remedies.Britain's hedgerows abound with forgotten remedies for countless health problems. Julie Bruton-Seal, practising medical herbalist, together with her co-author, the editor and writer Matthew Seal, have responded to the growing interest in natural medicine by aiming this book at the amateur who wants to improve his or her health in the same way that mankind has done for centuries around the world: by using local wild plants and herbs. There are clear instructions about which plants to harvest, when, and over 120 recipes showing how to make them into teas, vinegars, oils, creams, pillows, poultices or alcohol-based tinctures. Julie and Matthew explain which ailments can be treated, and what benefits can be expected. As well as being packed with practical information on using 50 native plants, Hedgerow Medicine also gives a fascinating insight into the literary, historic and worldwide application of these herbal remedies.
reduce inflammation, enhance the immune function and slow down tumour growth. These are substantial and substantiated benefits for any herb, especially one that is now a British hedgerow plant. Lycium has also attracted official attention. It was specifically named in 2003 by a government department looking at protecting traditional hedgerows (the locations named were in maritime Suffolk and Norfolk). Then, in mid-2007, goji products were officially approved for sale as a food in the UK after
throughout the British Isles. Native to Europe and Asia but naturalised in North America and other temperate regions. Related species: There are several other plants in the genus. Pink shepherd’s purse (C. rubella) has pink flowers and is occasionally found in the British Isles. Parts used: Above-ground parts. Contraindications Avoid taking shepherd’s purse internally during pregnancy because it can stimulate uterine contractions. This common little herb, which most people know as a weed if
be added for their fragrance. Stitch or tie up the open end, and place the bag under your pillow. Wood betony pillow • insomnia • nightmares Wood betony, hawthorn and horseradish formula To make 100ml, mix 50ml wood betony tincture, 40ml hawthorn tincture or syrup and 10ml of horseradish vinegar. This formula stimulates and warms, improving digestion, circulation and memory. Dose: 1 teaspoon morning and afternoon as a tonic for older people or anyone recovering from a long illness. Also
officially good for eyes as well as your taste buds! This is a relatively new feature of bilberry’s repertoire. Mrs Grieve, the modern standard among British herbals, published in 1931, doesn’t mention taking bilberry for eyesight. But, as you come to expect from reading Mrs Grieve, she is thorough on historical uses. So she mentions that the berries, being diuretic, antibacterial and disinfectant, as well as mildly astringent, are an old remedy for diarrhoea, dysentery, gastroenteritis and the
RHS Encyclopedia of Herbs & Their Uses (1995), 206; Bocking 14: Henry Doubleday Research Association, www.gardenorganic.org.uk; Norfolk recipe: Book of Culinary Recipes, 1739–79 (Norfolk Record Office, RMN 4/5), fo. 4; Dr John R Christopher, School of Natural Healing (Springville, UT, 1996 [1976]), 337; Norman Grainger Bisset and Max Wichtl, eds, Herbal Drugs and Phytopharmaceuticals, 2nd edn (Stuttgart/Boca Raton, 2001 [1989]), 485. COUCH GRASS [42–45]: Culpeper, 93; ‘civice’: Audrey Wynne