Medicine plant of the Day

[Peanut]

It’s not often a plant stumps me… I have no idea what this is.

Dad said he set out bell peppers, just a few. There was room at the start of the row and past the bell peppers so I set out Jalapeno’s and cayennes on the same row.

A week ago I had to water all the peppers to save them (drought). It was at night but I noticed there was something odd about dad’s bell peppers.

I had to water again today… dad’s “peppers” have started blooming. They are not peppers which are a much darker tint of green. Also, they have a square stems, mints have square stems. The blooms are like mint family blooms. They are almost identical to Perilla, the leaves are opposite like mints but shaped nothing like perilla.

Dad obviously got and set out some kind of mint instead of bell peppers. But I’m stumped! Guess I’ll have to dig into a few university botany data bases to figure it out.

 

[Magus]

It kind of looks like something in the pepper family. break off a twig and taste it, spit it out though, its toxic IF its a pepper. if it burns, its a pepper, if it goes numb, its something else in the nightshade family.

 

[Shawn Burkett]

It’s not often a plant stumps me… I have no idea what this is.

Dad said he set out bell peppers, just a few. There was room at the start of the row and past the bell peppers so I set out Jalapeno’s and cayennes on the same row.

A week ago I had to water all the peppers to save them (drought). It was at night but I noticed there was something odd about dad’s bell peppers.

I had to water again today… dad’s “peppers” have started blooming. They are not peppers which are a much darker tint of green. Also, they have a square stems, mints have square stems. The blooms are like mint family blooms. They are almost identical to Perilla, the leaves are opposite like mints but shaped nothing like perilla.

Dad obviously got and set out some kind of mint instead of bell peppers. But I’m stumped! Guess I’ll have to dig into a few university botany data bases to figure it out.

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It looks like my basil plants. Hubby actually got several basil plants in his pack of wildflower seeds.
Either way, mint or basil, tear a leaf and you will know which one it is by the smell. If it's mint pull them now and put in pots, or you will be battling it forever. Mint is invasive.

 

[Magus]

I love mint!. Boil it up and make jelly and medicines.

 

[Peanut]

It looks like my basil plants.

Thank you, guess I need to pay more attention to garden herbs!

Sweet Basil aka Ocimum basilicum aka Common Basil… At least now I know the identity of this plant growing in my peppers. But I’m still unsure exactly how it came to be there.

I knew it had medicinal properties so I called to the sage of Lookout Mtn this morning. He said Basil is a great antiviral. He grows it every year for medicine.

Basil is in the mint family (Lamiaceae). A large percentage of mint family plants are “Nervines” ( 3200 species world wide). I’ve only studied wild species, not so much garden herbs. But a large number of common cooking herbs are mints. A short list...

rosemary
thyme
oregano
coriander
sage
lavender
basil
marjoram
spearmint
peppermint
catnip
bee balm (1/2 dozen of those)
and lemon balm

Most mints have antiviral, antibiotic properties. They are also great for digestion. Ever wonder why an after dinner mint is served at nice restaurants? The ancient Greeks and Romans had mints after dinner. The ancient Egyptians actually used Basil.

This Basil is a different species than “Holy Basil” aka “Ocimum tenuiflorum” which is native to India. They do share many properties being so closely related including flavor.

Today I harvested 2 of the 3 plants in my garden, going to making a std 1:2 volume tincture. I left one plant as it wasn’t yet in full bloom. When it’s ready I’ll harvest then dry it for my spice rack.

 

[Shawn Burkett]

If you are using basil for cooking herbs pinch the blossoms. It's sweeter before the bloom.

I love mint too. Grew it one year, about 40 years ago. In a three tier planter I built across my entire back yard and part of both sides. Back when I was a city dweller. It was planted in the top level. Grew down through all three levels an invaded the neighbors yard. He promptly sprayed it with round up which killed the vast majority of my plants which were edible. I couldn't blame the neighbor. I knew it was invasive, just not how invasive it was. Unfortunately that years crops I couldn't harvest because his round up killed some on the 3rd level, so I couldn't trust the rest. That's why I said put it in a pot. It will really overtake your yard and the neighbors too. It would be a wonderful ground cover if you lived in the middle of nowhere. Imagine weeding while stepping on mint plants . . . The task would be more enjoyable.

 

[Peanut]

Mints are invasive... I tincture about a dozen mint species every year because they are great medicines. Since I usually deal with wild plants where they grow is always a concern, not just mints. Wild plants as a group are very aggressive compared to domesticated plants. And most mints fall into to the wild group.

I finished making the tinctures, didn't take but an hour. When they finish off I'll have about 19 fl oz of basil tincture.

I like having as many antivirals as I can on hand. My folks are in their late 80's and I'm no spring chicken, antivirals are a must. Covid should be a wake up call for everyone, lots of great antivirals they can grow. Even folks in apartments. All one needs is a little space on a balcony.

Also, basil has a lot of water content. I was told to use "Everclear", 190 proof alcohol. I keep it on hand.

Also noticed as I cut up the basil was it's effect on the nervous system... I used meat scissors to cut it up, used my bare hands. Yep, Basil is a nervine.

 

[Magus]

I wonder how it reacts with DMSO?

 

[Peanut]

For a decade I’ve hunted plants in the same 200sq mile area. Frankly it had gotten boring. I pretty much know the area like the back of my hand. I decided over winter to expand that area, maybe another 100 sq miles.

Hunting plants is fun again! This is the kind of road I enjoy driving, a small dirt road through a forest. Today I went down one I’ve never traveled before, found all sorts of goodies. I found 2 new watersheds with yellowroot growing and I found a better source for Joe Pye Weed.

A mass of yellowroot on a creek bank.

Joe Pye weed, gets as tall as 10ft. It was on the other side of a big creek so I couldn’t get closer without getting wet. There was a lot of it on this creek. It's about to bloom, the flower head is at the top.

Funny, this last photo, I’d started home on a small paved road with wide shoulders. The county had mowed them within the last month. I was driving about 40mph when something caught my eye at the edge of the woods so I turned around and went back. More yellowroot! I had reason to suspect it was growing here.

There were runners from poison ivy everywhere, working it’s way further out from the woods. Among the 100’s of small leaves were a few tiny yellowroot plants, maybe 6 inches tall in the grass… 15ft from the pavement. This makes twice this spring I’ve found yellowroot by a paved road, unusual.

 

[Peanut]

Found more yellow root today in my new territory. This makes the 4th consecutive watershed that had the plant growing. I drive a state highway when coming back from town. I picked a starting point and I'm systematically checking each creek that flows under it. Today it took me less than 5 minutes to find yellowroot.

Yellowroot is sensitive to human activity. I use it as an indicator of the health of a creek basin and as an indicator of other plants I'll find nearby.

 

[LadyLocust]

Thanks Peanut. Simple things for simple minds. At least it's not just trash.

I'll order me a scale and make volume tinctures going forward.

Lady, the book Peanut mentioned "The Herbal Medicine Makers Handbook" has tons of info in it. It's a large book and has nearly 400 pages. Even though I haven't finished going thru it, I've learned quite a lot already.

I have it ordered, but have not yet received it. As well as another that has recipes and the folklore and derivative of where it came from - we'll see on that one.

I wonder how it reacts with DMSO?

Not sure how it reacts, but it's gotta taste a whole lot better!

Mints are invasive... I tincture about a dozen mint species every year because they are great medicines. Since I usually deal with wild plants where they grow is always a concern, not just mints. Wild plants as a group are very aggressive compared to domesticated plants. And most mints fall into to the wild group.

I finished making the tinctures, didn't take but an hour. When they finish off I'll have about 19 fl oz of basil tincture.

I like having as many antivirals as I can on hand. My folks are in their late 80's and I'm no spring chicken, antivirals are a must. Covid should be a wake up call for everyone, lots of great antivirals they can grow. Even folks in apartments. All one needs is a little space on a balcony.

Also, basil has a lot of water content. I was told to use "Everclear", 190 proof alcohol. I keep it on hand.

Also noticed as I cut up the basil was it's effect on the nervous system... I used meat scissors to cut it up, used my bare hands. Yep, Basil is a nervine.

I eat copious amounts of basil, oregano, marjoram, thyme, sage, savory, etc. Yum!

 

[Pearl]

I have it ordered, but have not yet received it. As well as another that has recipes and the folklore and derivative of where it came from - we'll see on that one.

Not sure how it reacts, but it's gotta taste a whole lot better!

I eat copious amounts of basil, oregano, marjoram, thyme, sage, savory, etc. Yum!

I LOVE the taste of dmso!!

 

[Pearl]

I LOVE the taste of dmso!!

Really!!

 

[Peanut]

Blue Vervain… actually it’s Brazilian Vervain, a close cousin of blue vervain and an invasive. It has the same medicinal properties as the Blue.

It’s a potent nervine with dozens of uses. I’ve never tinctured it before or used it. I took a chance on it after days of research and recommendation from someone I trust. One of its uses is treating migraines. I don’t get migraines but cfs gives me really bad headaches. Painful to the point that sound and light become painful, especially sound. I’ve been prescribed migraine meds in the past so...

As it happens I take another nervine for these headaches, Monarda. Excellent medicine but it’s always nice to have more than one treatment in my medicine chest arsenal for any condition.

This plant is one of the first great puzzles I had when learning plants. It has a square stem, all mints have square stems. For a year I thought it was a mint I couldn’t identify. Then I remembered the 2nd half of that botanical expression… “All mints have square stems but not all square stemmed plants are mints”.

This is Verbena brasiliensis aka Brazilian Vervain. I called it the “most un-photogenic” plant in America. It’s all stem, the few leaves always look sickly. The blooms are tiny, smaller than the head on a small wooden match.

Anyway, I tinctured a couple quarts today…

 

[Peanut]

I went to a funeral this afternoon, on the way back I was driving on a small dirt road. I saw a spot of white in the woods I didn't recognize. I stopped and backed up, got out to investigate, in my nice church clothes. From a distance I thought it was in the Yucca family, lots of those here. But it was a lily I've never seen before. Leave it to me to go to a funeral and find a rare plant.

I think it's the first plant on this list H. coronaria aka Cahaba Lily, which means its very rare... The other 3 are more common, but not here, I haven't seen them either. They seem to be more common in the Carolina's, N. Georgia. All 4 species are closely related, almost identical.

I don't think it's medicinal. Many lily's are toxic (a trip to the ER kind of toxic) but a few are useful. I know of only a couple of lilys used as medicine and these aren't it. This one is all stem, couple blade like leaves at the ground. The plant happens to be growing in a bush... a buckthorn. All those leaves aren't the lily.

Anyway, here's a Cahaba Lily aka one of these...
Hymenocallis coronaria
Hymenocallis occidentalis
Hymenocallis liriosme
Hymenocallis gholsonii

 

[Magus]

Class AAA post bro, good stuff indeed!

 

[Bacpacker]

Nice find Peanut.

Question for you, I ran across a video about comfrey yesterday. Sounds like a widely useful plant. Any idea where to find roots, cuttings, or seed?

 

[Patchouli]

@Bacpacker yet other herbal crafters can assist. You could check mountain rose herbs website, but might be able to find closer to you in your state, just type it in on a search.
It was declared illegal within the last years, not sure if that has been changed.
I think someone here was growing it, was it @Tank-Girl ? It actually is very beneficial for most people but a few may have a bad reaction, really bad. I’ve used it with other herbs in a few different preparations for skin ailments and injuries with no problems.

 

[Peanut]

Stop by herbal medicine shops in your area. Talk to them... the odds are they will have or know someone with comfrey growing in their yard.

I had some growing about 10yrs ago. It didn't make it through the second year, died. The lady I got it from passed away. I don't know of anyone now.

 

[Bacpacker]

@Bacpacker yet other herbal crafters can assist. You could check mountain rose herbs website, but might be able to find closer to you in your state, just type it in on a search.
It was declared illegal within the last years, not sure if that has been changed.
I think someone here was growing it, was it @Tank-Girl ? It actually is very beneficial for most people but a few may have a bad reaction, really bad. I’ve used it with other herbs in a few different preparations for skin ailments and injuries with no problems.

Mountain rose herbs almost certainly will have something in their supply. But I want to grow my own as well. Apparently is produces so much growth it makes a lot of compost. And very deep roots that pulls moisture up and some nutrients

 

[Patchouli]

Yep, that too. Mountain Rose Herbs sells the seeds for comfrey, @Bacpacker
I have bought several herbal products from them and got what I wanted.

 

[Patchouli]

Here's why oral comfrey products were banned.
The pyrrolizidine alkaloids in comfrey can cause severe liver damage, liver cancer, mutagenicity, and even death. [8,9] For this reason, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has banned the sale of oral comfrey products in the United States.May 17, 2021

 

[Bacpacker]

Thanks Patch. Wasn't aware of the side effects. Actually just started looking at the plant yesterday on a whim.
Mountain Rose Herbs is Awesome. We bought stuff for years from them. But never seed

 

[Patchouli]

I agree, even if they are witchy tree huggers.
That is only when used orally by those with those problems. But you are free to grow it, then use it as you will.
They say it also makes a boss (shhh don't tell anyone) fertilizer for your garden!
I mean you can make a tea to water the garden with, out of comfrey

 

[Bacpacker]

I agree, even if they are witchy tree huggers.
That is only when used orally by those with those problems. But you are free to grow it, then use it as you will.
They say it also makes a boss (shhh don't tell anyone) fertilizer for your garden!
I mean you can make a tea to water the garden with, out of comfrey

Fertilize teas are very good. I'm sure comfrey would as well. Just using the leaves as a mulch in a bed would add to the soil .
They have the seed. 3.95 for 20 seed.

Comfrey Seeds

 

[Magus]

Nothing wrong with a little "witchyness" now and again.

 

[Peanut]

Bad energy day (cfs), but I had to prep the chicken pen for a rebuild, tree cutting etc.

Where I'll be doing a lot of work tomorrow is also covered in "Sida Rhombifolia”. Now I have even more work tonight. Process all of this Sida, only a 5g bucket packed full. I couldn’t just destroy it, it’s a powerful medicine. And I had thought I’d already missed its harvest.

It bolted early be cause of a drought. I saw today it was trying to bloom again after a month of rain… time to harvest! At least a foot of new growth in the tops.

It has a good antiviral component and even better antibacterial component. Been used successfully on drug resistant staff and several others. It’s also a hemotoxin blocker, my go-to for black widow and brown recluse spider bites. I’ve used it twice on copperhead bites, successfully.

Side still growing in my chicken pen...

 

[Pearl]

Bad energy day (cfs), but I had to prep the chicken pen for a rebuild, tree cutting etc.

Where I'll be doing a lot of work tomorrow is also covered in "Sida Rhombifolia”. Now I have even more work tonight. Process all of this Sida. I couldn’t just destroy it, it’s a powerful medicine. And I had thought I’d already missed the harvest.

It bolted early be cause of a drought. I saw today it was trying to bloom again after a month of rain… time to harvest!

It has a good antiviral component and even better antibacterial component. Been used successfully on drug resistant staff and several others. It’s also a hemotoxin blocker, my go-to for black widow and brown recluse spider bites. I’ve used it twice on copperhead bites, successfully.

View attachment 92343

Side still growing in my chicken pen...

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I think we have that here, will have to look into it! Thanks!

 

[Peanut]

I think we have that here, will have to look into it! Thanks!

It grows in every pasture in the south east, around old barns especially. Its not a native plant, common in the tropics and sub-tropics.

It was brought here and grown like a crop. They made brooms out of the tough stems, in every hardware store for decades.

By tough... in late summer it'll choke most lawn mowers. It's also known as wire weed and iron weed.

The seeds pods always get in my muck boots, little round pods as hard as iron and bigger than a BB. Annoying...

Oh! I left out the best part! It has more protein than a ribeye steak. Depending on location it is 16-25% protein. And it has a pleasant taste, I like it. I've seen cattle and horses eating it, just the tender tops. They to don't love it or seek it out but they'll definitely take a bite from time to time.

https://www.homesteadingforum.org/threads/sida.10579/

 

[Patchouli]

this is the flower of the one I know as iron weed, medicinal. I had some growing back in the east.