Post by herbwise on Aug 25, 2014 2:56:01 GMT
So we've all been there...out in the woods, get stabbed by a stick. Trip on a big rock, bash up the knee. Didn't really bring a first aid kit along. Shucks... Wouldn't it be handy to know what's growing right by that can help?
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) This is the wild white Yarrow, not the ornamental colored varieties. This plant was used by armies and is a well known wound wort of the ages. Yarrow will staunch blood externally, is antiseptic and anesthetic. Thus it will numb the pain, keep the wound free of infection and stop the flow of blood by stimulating the surrounding capillaries. Internally Yarrow will "normalize blood." In other words, it will stop internal hemorrhaging but also if there are clots it has the capacity to dissolve them. Is thus used as a poultice over bruises. The leaf and flower are used. Be sure you know the difference between Yarrow and poisonous members of the carrot family.
Plantain (Plantago ssp.) Also known as "white man's footprint" because this plant traveled the world with them. Plantain's leaf is not only a vitamin rich survival food, but has many medicinal applications as well. It contains allatonin which stimulates cell regeneration. It is demulcent and astringent, capable of soothing and toning tissues. It is good for the lungs. Perhaps its handiest use in the wild is its ability to draw everything from venom to stingers and splinters. Native Americans used it externally and internally with Echinacea angustifolia root to treat rattlesnake and copperhead bites. Chew up a leaf (or two or three) and pack it on a bite or sting of any kind, or a splinter and cover with a bandage. Leave overnight, repeat in the morning. I've seen plantain leaf pull a splinter out overnight. I know of a child that had a needle lodged in his heel bone and it was removed with a series of Plantain foot soaks, while taking Echincea to prevent blood sepsis and homeopathic silica to help the body expel the needle. If you get a poisonous bite, apply plantain and promptly go see a physician to make sure all is well.
Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum ssp.) Polygonatum biflorum is considered the official medicine but subspecies are interchangeable. The rhizome is used medicinally. Looks like bones that have been broken and healed, also previous year's nodes look like knobby knuckles. Great example of the Doctrine of Signatures here as the rhizome knits broken bones together (must be properly set first) like magic. I love using it for bone fractures that won't heal. It also rights a tendon out of whack--whether it is too tense or too loose, or if you pulled it, Solomon's Seal sets it aright. Also good externally for arthritic joints and creaky knees. Will resolve bruises. We can't keep enough salve of this on hand in our house. I consider it a staple first aid item because we use it just as much as the wound salve I make. The root has also been used as a survival food (other parts of the plant not so edible I hear...). I've never tried it in this way. It is very starchy and I've heard you have to soak it before cooking it. I am not familiar with the process.
Pine (Pinus spp.) Pine needles and pine pitch are very handy... Pinus ssp. are generally all considered interchangeable and safe, however beware of Yew trees (Taxus spp.) whose leaves and seeds are very poisonous. Pine needles are high in vitamin C and make a pleasant tea. However one should boil the water first and then pour it over the needles to steep, as boiling the needles will destroy the vitamin C. Worried about scurvy? Not with a pine tree handy.
Pine needles are a wonderful ingredient in cough syrups. Pine pitch is very antiseptic. You can chew it to benefit the lungs if you have a cough. It, like Plantain, has the ability to draw foreign objects from the body. Matthew Wood relates a story of how it has even been used to draw a bullet out of a horse, by packing the pitch into the wound until the bullet came out. It acts as a counter irritant while keeping the wound clean through its antiseptic action. If you need to get the pitch out of clothing or hair, apply an oil/fat as the resin is oil soluble, then wash with soap. The cambium (inner bark, first layer of "wood" inside the outer bark) is edible and nutritious. Was used as food by Native Americans.
Disclaimer: The FDA has not approved any statement herein and the information is not meant to diagnose, cure, treat or prevent any disease.
Hope you've enjoyed this and hopefully learned something new! Plants are awesome.
Branwen
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) This is the wild white Yarrow, not the ornamental colored varieties. This plant was used by armies and is a well known wound wort of the ages. Yarrow will staunch blood externally, is antiseptic and anesthetic. Thus it will numb the pain, keep the wound free of infection and stop the flow of blood by stimulating the surrounding capillaries. Internally Yarrow will "normalize blood." In other words, it will stop internal hemorrhaging but also if there are clots it has the capacity to dissolve them. Is thus used as a poultice over bruises. The leaf and flower are used. Be sure you know the difference between Yarrow and poisonous members of the carrot family.
Plantain (Plantago ssp.) Also known as "white man's footprint" because this plant traveled the world with them. Plantain's leaf is not only a vitamin rich survival food, but has many medicinal applications as well. It contains allatonin which stimulates cell regeneration. It is demulcent and astringent, capable of soothing and toning tissues. It is good for the lungs. Perhaps its handiest use in the wild is its ability to draw everything from venom to stingers and splinters. Native Americans used it externally and internally with Echinacea angustifolia root to treat rattlesnake and copperhead bites. Chew up a leaf (or two or three) and pack it on a bite or sting of any kind, or a splinter and cover with a bandage. Leave overnight, repeat in the morning. I've seen plantain leaf pull a splinter out overnight. I know of a child that had a needle lodged in his heel bone and it was removed with a series of Plantain foot soaks, while taking Echincea to prevent blood sepsis and homeopathic silica to help the body expel the needle. If you get a poisonous bite, apply plantain and promptly go see a physician to make sure all is well.
Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum ssp.) Polygonatum biflorum is considered the official medicine but subspecies are interchangeable. The rhizome is used medicinally. Looks like bones that have been broken and healed, also previous year's nodes look like knobby knuckles. Great example of the Doctrine of Signatures here as the rhizome knits broken bones together (must be properly set first) like magic. I love using it for bone fractures that won't heal. It also rights a tendon out of whack--whether it is too tense or too loose, or if you pulled it, Solomon's Seal sets it aright. Also good externally for arthritic joints and creaky knees. Will resolve bruises. We can't keep enough salve of this on hand in our house. I consider it a staple first aid item because we use it just as much as the wound salve I make. The root has also been used as a survival food (other parts of the plant not so edible I hear...). I've never tried it in this way. It is very starchy and I've heard you have to soak it before cooking it. I am not familiar with the process.
Pine (Pinus spp.) Pine needles and pine pitch are very handy... Pinus ssp. are generally all considered interchangeable and safe, however beware of Yew trees (Taxus spp.) whose leaves and seeds are very poisonous. Pine needles are high in vitamin C and make a pleasant tea. However one should boil the water first and then pour it over the needles to steep, as boiling the needles will destroy the vitamin C. Worried about scurvy? Not with a pine tree handy.
Pine needles are a wonderful ingredient in cough syrups. Pine pitch is very antiseptic. You can chew it to benefit the lungs if you have a cough. It, like Plantain, has the ability to draw foreign objects from the body. Matthew Wood relates a story of how it has even been used to draw a bullet out of a horse, by packing the pitch into the wound until the bullet came out. It acts as a counter irritant while keeping the wound clean through its antiseptic action. If you need to get the pitch out of clothing or hair, apply an oil/fat as the resin is oil soluble, then wash with soap. The cambium (inner bark, first layer of "wood" inside the outer bark) is edible and nutritious. Was used as food by Native Americans.Disclaimer: The FDA has not approved any statement herein and the information is not meant to diagnose, cure, treat or prevent any disease.
Hope you've enjoyed this and hopefully learned something new! Plants are awesome.
Branwen