Medicine plant of the Day

[shanrose]

Verbena rigida, one of the vervains that I saw beside a dirt road yesterday. It has a famous cousin Blue Vervain aka Verbena officinalis that was used by the ancient egyptians. Verbena brasiliensis aka Brasilian vervain is also common here in the south. Verbena urticifolia aka white vervain is also common, see above. All 4 have square stems like mints but are not mints


And there is a more distant cousin Verbesina virginica aka Frost Weed. All 5 are similar medicinally speaking.

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Have you ever used Usnea? I ordered some from France but it died. Hubby said it's growing in the woods but I don't know - I haven't tried to identify it and unsure if I'd know how.

 

[Peanut]

Have you ever used Usnea? I ordered some from France but it died. Hubby said it's growing in the woods but I don't know - I haven't tried to identify it and unsure if I'd know how.

I use it often, grows in every state in the US, all of n. america in fact. 7 or 8 species, don't remember how many.

https://www.homesteadingforum.org/threads/usnea.1278/

https://www.homesteadingforum.org/threads/medicine-plant-of-the-day.15853/page-15#post-1012597