Medicine Trees
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Mistaking Autumn Crocus (Colchique d’automne) and Lily of the Valley (Muguet) for Wild Garlic (Ail des ours)
In a comment to my recent post on Wild Garlic (Allium ursinum), a reader, Marie-Noelle Chung helpfully drew my attention to the possibility and danger of confusing it with the poisonous Autumn Crocus (Colchicum autumnale) on which I posted earlier. By coincidence, when I took the photos of the wild garlic in early April 2024,…
Wild garlic (Allium ursinum) – a forager’s delight and rejuvenating therapy for all
If you like the taste of garlic, you will love wild garlic, now in full season in woodlands and riverbanks in much of temperate Europe, including Britain. The plant, also known as ramson, and as Bear’s garlic and Ail des ours, both literal translations of the Latin name, is a real forager’s delight. I took…
Andalusia’s oranges – Citrus, one of the best plant remedies
Last autumn (2023), I went to Seville, the City where both Columbus and Magellan sailed from more than five centuries ago to find a way to the East in their search for spices. In a previous post Professor Burguillo commented on the medicines that Magellan took on board in 1519 for his expedition to the…
The Herbalist and her herbalistary in Cordoba
There is something wholesome and attractive with a well laid-out herbalistary, and Cordoba’s Delicias del Califato situated by the must-see Mosque-Cathedral and the Alcazar of the Christian Kings is an example in the same league as those I visited recently in Toronto and Nice. A cheerful expert, fine aromas, and specialist pottery to brew the…
Pseudoephedrine and codeine – Warning and tighter controls put on two plant-derived medicines in the UK
Pseudoephedrine, first obtained from plants of the Ephedra genus, is widely used in various dosage forms as a decongestant. Codeine, first isolated from the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum), is most used as a cough suppressant in the form of a syrup. Both plants have been used as medicines since antiquity. The British drug regulators (MHRA)…
The lungwort (Pulmonaria officinalis) – a beautiful plant used traditionally for the treatment of lung ailments, hence the name ‘Pulmonaria’. But beware …
With a warm mid-February, spring is in the air in the English Midlands. The snowdrops are in full bloom and some other spring bulbs and a few camelias have followed. Walking around my soggy garden today (15 Feb), I came across a fine clump of lungwort in full bloom (see photos), hidden behind a garden…
The periwinkle (La Pervenche, Vinca rosea, Cantharanthus roseus) – a beautiful flower with a history full of intrigue and a source of two of the most widely used anticancer drugs. La pervenche (Periwinkle, Vinca rosea, Cantharanthus roseus) – une belle fleur avec une histoire pleine d’intrigues et une source de deux des médicaments anticancéreux les plus utilisés.
Medicines often have lovely names. Vincristine and vinblastine are two important anticancer medicines obtained from the periwinkle. In the beautiful island of Mauritius where I took most of the photographs and where the periwinkle, Cantharanthus roseus or Vinca rosea (Madagascar periwinkle) is as equally at home along street borders as in well-manicured gardens, some will…
Health Alert – The Yellow Oleander (Laurier jaune) in Herbal Slimming Products – Cascabela thevetia and Crataegus Mexicana
During a visit to the Mauritius Pamplemousses Botanical Garden in November 2022, I came across a tall plant with attractive yellow flowers labelled Cascabela thevetia (Yellow Oleander, Laurier jaune). The name is probably derived from the Spanish ‘cascabel’ which means ‘jingle bell’; an apropriate name given the shape of the flowers (see photos). Most of…
Kissing under the mistletoe for better health
The mistletoe is very much a feature of end-of-year festivities in Britain. Florists stock its cuttings for those eager to cheer away the winter blues. The pearly white mistletoe berries duet wonderfully with the red Holly berries. I hope that you have all shared kisses under the spell of the mistletoe during that happy season.…
Chrysanthemums to gladden the soul and protect the body
The chrysanthemum blooms when leaves fall off trees and insects retreat into hiding. Confucius (551-479 BCE) In late November 2023, my white chrysanthemum bloomed again, not as showy as during its first flush in late July (Photos 1 and 1) but a delight nonetheless at a time when many of the summer flowers had in…
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