Passionflower

Botanical Name: Passiflora incarnata L.

Family: Passifloraceae (Passionflower family)

Other Names: Maypop · Passion Flower · Passion Vine · Granadilla

Parts Used: The leaves, stems and flowers, gathered while the vine is flowering and some fruit has formed

Quick Look

Passionflower is a climbing vine of the American South with one of the most remarkable flowers in the world. It is the herb for circular thinking, the person who cannot turn their thoughts off. Reach for it when the body is exhausted but the mind keeps replaying the day, in a sudden moment of panic, and when tension shows as twitching, spasm or nerve pain. The sleep it brings is natural, and it does not leave a person groggy.

Actions, Energetics & Taste

How It's Been Used

Circular thinking. This is the pattern to remember: "I can't turn my thoughts off." The thoughts go around and around, like the needle of an old record stuck in one groove. The person replays a conversation, revisits something from earlier in the day, rehearses tomorrow, or returns to the same problem without ever getting anywhere. The subject may change, but the mind keeps circling back instead of settling. It is not just a busy mind; it is the looping, repeating quality. It suits the chronic worrier who cannot let concerns go. It also eases nervous tension, restlessness and irritability.

Sleep. Its best-known use. The circling shows most at bedtime, when the body is exhausted but the mind will not follow, and over time the lost rest leaves the nerves more worn and overwhelmed. Rather than thinking of it simply as a sleep herb, ask why the person is not sleeping. If the thoughts keep replaying and circling, Passionflower fits. The old physicians gave it for sleeplessness from worry and overwork, and found it well suited to the very young and the old. It is often blended with Hops, Chamomile, Lemon Balm or Valerian.

Panic. It works quickly enough to reach for when nervous overwhelm suddenly becomes intense, with a racing heart and quick breathing. Its real value, though, is for the chronic circular thinker.

The worn out. It has long been thought best for the weak. It suits the weak, fragile or exhausted person with sleeplessness, agitation or muscle twitching.

Spasm & twitching. Used for muscle spasm and twitching. The old physicians gave it for convulsions, whooping cough and spasmodic asthma.

Nerve pain & headache. Given for neuralgia, the pain of shingles, nervous headache and cramping periods.

Heart. For palpitations brought on by excitement or shock, and for blood pressure and a racing heart that rise with stress.

The change of life. Used for the hot flashes, sleeplessness and anxiety of menopause, sometimes with Motherwort.

Breaking a habit. Herbalists use it to ease the sleeplessness and anxiety of withdrawal.

Stomach. For cramping of the stomach and bowels that comes with stress.

Wounds. Some Native peoples laid it as a poultice on boils and wounds.

Fruit. The egg-sized Maypop has a sweet, edible yellow pulp.

How to Make & Take It

Preparations: Tea · Tincture · Bath

• Tea: 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon dried herb to a cup of boiling water. Cover and steep 10–15 minutes. Drink a cup two or three times a day. The tea is especially nice in the evening, as part of winding down before bed.
• Tincture: 1:5 in 40% alcohol, ¼ to ½ teaspoon, three times a day. The tincture is quicker to reach for in a moment of panic.
• For sleep: 20–40 drops of tincture half an hour before bed, and another 20 drops at bedtime.
• Bath: Add a strong Passionflower tea to a warm bath at bedtime.
• Start small. Begin with a low dose and increase slowly. It works gently, and often better on the second night than the first.
• For long use: Herbalists take a couple of days off every two weeks.

Cautions

• Passionflower is a gentle herb, and the old physicians knew of no harm from it.
• It can make you drowsy. Do not drive or run machinery after taking it.
• Do not take it with sleeping pills, sedatives or anxiety medicines, or with the antidepressants called MAO inhibitors, except with your doctor's knowledge.
• Herbalists differ on its use in pregnancy and nursing, and its safety then has not been established. Talk with a knowledgeable herbalist or care provider first.
• Now and then it upsets the stomach. Stop if it causes nausea.
• Use only the Maypop, Passiflora incarnata. The root of some tropical Passionflowers is poisonous.
• Sleeplessness or anxiety that goes on for weeks needs medical attention.

Know the Plant

Passionflower is a perennial vine that dies back in winter and climbs again each summer by curling tendrils, up to twenty or thirty feet. The leaves are deeply cut into three finely toothed lobes. From summer into autumn it bears flowers about two inches across, white to pale lavender, with a fringed purple crown spread over the petals. The fruit is an oval, egg-sized berry that ripens yellow-orange, full of seeds in a sweet pulp.

It is native to the southeastern United States, from Virginia to Florida and west to Missouri and Arkansas, on sandy ground, roadsides, fields and woodland edges.

There are many Passionflowers. The Blue Passionflower of gardens came to England from Brazil in 1699, and the tropical Granadillas are grown for their fruit. The Maypop is the one used in medicine. It is not the passion fruit sold at the grocery store, which comes from a tropical cousin.

A Little History

The flower is named for the Passion of Christ, His suffering and crucifixion. Spanish Christian missionaries saw in its unusual parts reminders of the cross. The five petals and five sepals stood for the ten faithful apostles, leaving out Judas, who betrayed Him, and Peter, who denied Him. The fringed ring at the center was the crown of thorns: "And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head" (John 19:2). The three stigmas were the three nails, the five anthers the five wounds, and the curling tendrils the whips of the scourging. The Spanish physician Nicolás Monardes made it known in Europe in 1569. In America, Dr. L. Phares of Mississippi brought it into medicine about 1840, and the Eclectic physicians made it their gentle remedy for sleeplessness. Finley Ellingwood wrote of the sleep it gives that the patient "awakens at the usual time rested and refreshed," with no dullness after.

Peppermint

Botanical Name: Mentha × piperita L.

Family: Lamiaceae (Mint family)

Other Names: Brandy Mint · Black Peppermint · White Peppermint

Parts Used: Leaves and flowering tops

Quick Look

Peppermint is the cool, bright mint of the garden and the candy dish, and one of the most useful herbs in the house. It is the first thought for a gassy, crampy or queasy stomach. A hot cup brings on a sweat in a cold or fever, the steam opens a stuffed head, and a cool compress eases a headache. It is gentle and pleasant, and it makes other teas taste better.

Actions, Energetics & Taste

How It's Been Used

Stomach & gas. Its great use, and one of the best herbs there is for gas and colic. It is taken after heavy meals for gas, bloating, cramping and slow digestion, and paired with Marshmallow for a bellyache after a rich restaurant meal.

Nausea. It settles nausea and vomiting, and is used for travel sickness and morning sickness.

Loose bowels. Widely used for diarrhea, especially when there is cramping pain.

Colds & fevers. Drunk hot, it brings on a sweat. For a slight cold, plenty of the hot tea was long thought cure enough. It is the old partner of Elder flower and Yarrow in a fever tea. The steam opens a stuffed head and chest, and a cool compress soothes a very hot fever.

Headache. The bruised fresh leaves, a cool compress, or a strong tea laid on the forehead, temples or back of the neck ease a tension headache.

Cramps & aching muscles. Used for menstrual cramps and a sore back. An infused oil is rubbed on sore muscles, and the old physicians rubbed the oil on aching joints and sprains.

Skin & itching. A strong tea cools sunburn, poison ivy, hives, bee stings and minor burns.

A clear head. It brings alertness without caffeine.

Hiccups. A cup of the tea is an old remedy.

Taste & breath. It freshens the breath, and herbalists add it to blends to cover the taste of bitter herbs.

How to Make & Take It

Preparations: Tea · Tincture · Steam · Compress · Oil Infusion

• Tea: 1 heaping teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of dried leaf to a cup of boiling water. Cover it, to keep in the oils, and steep 5–10 minutes. Drink it freely, three cups a day or more.
• Fever tea: 1 teaspoon each of dried Peppermint, Yarrow and Elder flower in 2 cups of boiling water. Steep 5 minutes and add lemon and honey. Drink a small cup, hot, every two hours.
• Tincture: 1:5 in 50% alcohol, ¼ to ½ teaspoon, three times a day.
• Steam: Put 1–3 tablespoons of herb in a bowl with 4–6 cups of boiling water. Let it cool a little, tent a towel over the head, and breathe the steam.
• Compress: Soak a cloth in strong, cooled Peppermint tea and lay it on the forehead or the back of the neck.
• Infused oil: Cover 1 part dried leaf with 5 parts olive oil, steep, and strain. Rub it on sore muscles and cramps.
• Gather it just before it flowers.

Cautions

• Peppermint is one of the safest herbs, and the tea is safe for most people.
• Herbalists avoid Peppermint with acid reflux (GERD) or a hiatal hernia, because in some people it brings on heartburn. The reason is the same relaxing action that makes it so good for gas. Where the esophagus, the food pipe, joins the stomach, a ring of muscle called the lower esophageal sphincter stays closed to keep stomach acid down. Peppermint relaxes that muscle along with the muscles of the stomach and bowels. When the ring loosens, acid can rise back up into the esophagus and burn. In a hiatal hernia the top of the stomach pushes up through the diaphragm, which already weakens that barrier, so Peppermint can make the burning worse. Not everyone is affected; herbalists see it in some people. If you are prone to heartburn, reach instead for an herb that soothes and coats the stomach, such as Marshmallow, Plantain or Licorice Root.
• A cup of Peppermint tea is a long-used help for morning sickness. The safety of larger, medicinal amounts in pregnancy has not been established. Talk with a knowledgeable herbalist or care provider first.
• While nursing, large amounts may lessen the milk supply.
• Herbalists use care with gallstones or other gallbladder trouble.
• It may hinder the uptake of iron, so take an iron supplement a couple of hours apart from it. Herbalists also advise care alongside blood thinners.
• Those allergic to plants of the mint family may react to it.
• Peppermint essential oil is far stronger than the herb. Use it only well diluted, keep it from the eyes, and do not take it by mouth except under a practitioner's care. It can bring on an attack in someone with asthma.
• Stomach pain that is severe, tender to the touch, or does not ease needs medical attention.

Know the Plant

Peppermint is a perennial, one to three feet tall, with square stems that are often purplish. The leaves grow in pairs, about two inches long, short-stalked, toothed and dark green, often with reddish veins. From July to September small pinkish-purple flowers open in whorls that form a spike at the top of the stem. Crush a leaf and the smell tells you what it is.

Peppermint is a cross between Water Mint and Spearmint. It seldom sets seed and spreads by creeping runners, so fast that many gardeners grow it in a pot. It likes rich, moist soil and sun, and grows wild in damp places. The Black Peppermint has dark purplish stems and gives more oil. The White is paler and milder.

Spearmint has green stems and lighter leaves. It is gentler on the stomach, though not as strong against gas and cramping.

A Little History

The Greeks and Romans, Pliny wrote, crowned themselves with mint at their feasts. The Bible knows mint as a garden herb of the Holy Land: "ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith" (Matthew 23:23). Peppermint itself was first named as a plant of its own by the English botanist John Ray in 1696, and entered the London Pharmacopoeia in 1721. Fields of it were planted near Mitcham in Surrey about 1750, and later in Michigan. The after-dinner mint began as a home remedy for indigestion.

Plantain

Botanical Name: Plantago major L. (Broadleaf Plantain) and Plantago lanceolata L. (Narrowleaf Plantain)

Family: Plantaginaceae (Plantain family)

Other Names: Broadleaf Plantain · Ribwort · Waybread · White Man's Foot · Snakeweed · Ripple Grass

Parts Used: Chiefly the leaves. The seeds and roots are used as well.

Quick Look

Plantain is the flat, ribbed weed of lawns, paths and driveways, and the best first-aid herb in the yard. Reach for it for bee stings, bug bites, splinters, scrapes and itchy skin: chew a leaf and lay it on. Taken inside, it soothes an irritated stomach, a dry cough that lingers, and the bladder. It is safe, gentle and good to eat. It is not the cooking banana that shares its name.

Actions, Energetics & Taste

How It's Been Used

Stings & bites. Its most famous use. A mashed leaf laid on a bee or wasp sting, a spider bite or a caterpillar sting eases the pain and swelling, often within minutes.

Cuts & scrapes. It has been called the green sticking plaster. The fresh leaf is laid on minor cuts, scrapes and blisters to stop small bleeding, ease the pain and keep the wound clean while it heals.

Splinters & boils. It is laid on a splinter or a tiny bit of glass to draw it out, and on boils and puncture wounds for the same reason.

Itching, burns & rashes. Used for nettle stings, minor burns and scalds, itchy bites, and rashes such as eczema.

Stomach & bowels. The tea soothes an inflamed stomach and bowels, and herbalists use it for ulcers, heartburn and irritable bowels. A strong tea is an old remedy for diarrhea and piles.

Coughs & lungs. For the dry, hacking cough that lingers after a cold, for a sore throat, and for allergies. Narrowleaf Plantain is the one most used for the lungs. Herbalists also use it for a cough that comes from breathing smoke or dust.

Bladder. A mild diuretic, used in blends for bladder infections. The old physicians gave it for bed-wetting with a large flow of pale urine.

Mouth, teeth & ears. A rinse for sore gums and mouth sores. For toothache, the old physicians pressed the bruised leaf or its juice on a bit of cotton into the hollow tooth. It was also used for earache.

Food. The young leaves go into salads, pesto and the cooking pot. The seeds can be eaten, and Psyllium, the fiber supplement, comes from a close cousin.

How to Make & Take It

Preparations: Poultice · Tea · Tincture · Oil Infusion · Salve · Wash

• Spit poultice (first aid): Chew one or two fresh leaves to a green paste. Lay it on the sting or scrape, cover it with a whole leaf, and hold it with a bandage. Change it every 20 minutes or when it feels warm. If you would rather not chew, crush the leaves with a splash of apple cider vinegar. Take the stinger out first.
• Dried-leaf poultice: Soak dried leaf in a little hot water and use it the same way.
• Tea: 2 heaping teaspoons of dried leaf to a cup of boiling water. Cover and steep 10–15 minutes. Drink three cups a day.
• Strong infusion: Put 1 ounce of dried leaf in a quart jar and fill it with just-boiled water. Cover and let it stand four hours or overnight.
• Tincture: Best made from the fresh leaf. 1:1 in 25% alcohol, ½ to ¾ teaspoon, three times a day.
• Infused oil and salve: Put 2 tablespoons of dried leaf in a jar with a scant ½ cup of olive oil. Set the jar in a pot of hot water for one to two hours, then strain. Stir in 1 tablespoon of beeswax pellets, set the jar back in the hot water until the wax melts, and pour it into small tins to cool.
• Wash: Bathe itchy skin or a scrape with strong, cooled tea.
• Gather it young, in spring or early summer, from clean ground.

Cautions

• Plantain is among the safest herbs, and it is a food.
• Herbalists count it safe in pregnancy and while nursing.
• Large amounts taken inside can loosen the bowels.
• A rare person reacts to it on the skin. Try a salve on a small patch first.
• Gather it from ground free of sprays and away from busy roadsides and dog paths, and be sure of the plant.
• A sting that brings swelling of the face or throat, hives all over the body, or trouble breathing needs emergency care.
• A deep or dirty wound, or one that turns red, hot and spreading, needs medical attention.

Know the Plant

Plantain is a low perennial that grows as a flat rosette, the leaves hugging the ground or standing up among the grass. Every leaf has strong parallel ribs that run from base to tip. Pull a leaf apart and the ribs come out as stringy threads. That is the surest sign.

Broadleaf Plantain has broad, oval leaves up to six inches long on channeled stalks. From May to October it sends up slender spikes, from five to twenty inches tall, crowded with tiny greenish flowers and then with seeds that turn sticky when wet. Narrowleaf Plantain, or Ribwort, has long, narrow, ribbed leaves and short, dark brown heads on tall stalks, ringed with creamy-white stamens.

Both came from Europe and Asia and now grow nearly everywhere, in lawns, paths, roadsides and hard-packed ground. America's native Rugel's Plantain, with reddish leaf bases, is used the same way. Whichever kind grows at your feet is the one to use.

A Little History

The Old English called it Weybroed, the broad leaf of the way, which became Waybread. In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet Romeo says, "Your plantain leaf is excellent for that," meaning a broken shin. It came to America with the English settlers. It loves hard, foot-trodden ground and sprang up along the worn paths where the settlers walked, so Native peoples named it White Man's Foot. Longfellow put that name into The Song of Hiawatha. The old American physicians used it for toothache, earache, bites and stings, and it has stayed a home remedy ever since, the herb most herbalists learn first.