Herbs

[Jacuma]

Disclaimer:
If you gather your own herbs be 100% certain that the herb you pick is the herb you are looking for. There are half a million plant species. Less then 1% are poisonous. But it takes only one mistake.

The following info comes from one of my favorite books. Back to Eden: The Classic Guide to Herbal Therapy by Jethro Kloss.

As with anything you do, please research items before trying them. I have made great personal uses of certain herbs which have been to my own benefit. Here is a high light of the herbs I have used:

Myrrh & Golden Seal (powdered)
Used for sore or swollen gums. Mix 2tbls of each herb with enough spring water to give the mixture the consistancy of paste. Place the mixture on a tooth brush and brush teeth and gums gently. Rinse mouth with water. You may do this as often as you would regularly brush.

*Golden Seal taste awful!!! Just to let you know. Also if you currently have high blood pressure, I do not suggest the use of Golden Seal. It will heighten you're pressure.

Fenugreek (seeds)
I have found this to be very soothing for a sore throat and fevers during the cold season. Has a almond flavor as a tea and adds flavor/ extra nourishment to soy milk.
I use a tea ball at home and I allow it to steep (covered) in a mug for five minutes.
Spring water and ceramic ware are the best to use when making herbal teas.

Camomile
For the Queens:
I have found this to be a good remedy for regulating our monthly cycles.

For All:
It is used as a common tea.
Increases the flow of urine when there are problems with the bladder.
Also a good aid for colds.
Relaxing and soothing at bedtimes.

[I_ziz]

Give thanks for that info blud.

I find goldenseal is a natural antibiotic perfect to use instead of antibiotics prescribed by doctors of western "medicine".

i have cured a throat infection and a chest infection on seperate occasions by just mixing a little goldenseal powder with water and gargelling and swallowing it 3 times a day for 3 days.

u r right, it tastes GRIM, hahaha

and it is expensive.... but u dont need 2 use much...

Taking this herb in this way may raise your temperature and make you feel strange and maybe a little feverish - but not half as bad as western doctors antibiotics make me feel.

Women carrying child should not take goldenseal without seeking advice from ones more qualified.

[shakim1969]

I use goldenseal with echinea to prevent colds.

[I_ziz]

Tea Tree Oil

is a natural antiseptic. Has many uses but this is the most usefull..

Mix the essential oil with water and pour it on a cut or open wound to eliminate or protect against infection. It makes cuts heal real quick (truly in half the time) and stops open wounds turning septic and eliminates puss and infection if already infected.

More time it comes standard in small, tuff bottles - perfect for use in the field. i fill the tiny cap with (a tiny splash of) water and drip 4 droplets of tea tree essential oil in. Then pour it over the wound and allow to dry naturally.

An essential piece of kit for any soljee on movements.


read more...
Essential Oils | Tea Tree Oil And The Law

Tea tree essential oil can also be diluted and used:
- as a mouthwash to heal tooth/gum infections, bleeding gums, mouth ulcers, toothache
- externally to cure yeast infection
- topically to cure athletes foot/fungal infections

[I_ziz]

Cherokee Herbology

Agrimony (Agrimonia Gyposepala)
Drink tea of burs to check bowels, and for fevers; root tea to build up blood.

Alder, red/smooth/tag (Alnus Serrulata)
For pains related to birth, ingredient in tea for menstrual period - acts as an emetic and a true purgative.

Alder, white (Clethra Acuminata)
Decoction of bark and wild cherry is drunk to break a high fever.

Aloe, false Aloe (Agave Virginica)
Chew root for obstinate problems with diarrhea. Also good for treating animals for worms.

Alum-root (Heuchera Americana)
Root is an astringent; root tea for bowel complaints or dysentery (usually made with honey to improve the taste).

Angelica (Angelica Atropurpurea)
Root tonic for fevers and colds; Gargle for sore throats and mouth pains/cold sores.

Bastard Toadflax (Comandra Umbellataa)
Steep with roots of pink lady's slipper for kidneys; put juice on open cuts or sores.

Beardtongue, hairy (Penstemon Laevigatus)
Tea for cramps.

Birch, cherry-mountain-red-river-sweet (Betula Lenta)
chew leaves or drink tea for dysentery; tea for colds.

Bittersweet (Celastrus Scandens)
Bark tea to settle stomach; strong tea combined with red raspberry leaves for pains of childbirth.

Blood leather - rock tripe (Gyrophora Dillenii)
Stop bleeding from open wounds.

Bluebells - Lungwort - Virginia cowslip (Mertensia Virginica)
for whooping cough; consumption.

Bluets (Houstonia Caerulea)
Tea to stop bedwetting.

Branch lettuce - saxifrage (Saxifraga Pensylvanica)
Root poultice for sore swollen muscles.

Buckeye, red (Aesculus Pavia)
Pounded nuts are poultice for swelling, sprains and infected wounds. bark tea drank for facilitating woman's delivery in childbirth.

Buffalo nut - oilnut (Pyrularia Pubera)
Salve for old sores.

Butterfly weed - Witch weed (Asclepias Tuberosa)
Seeds or root are a gentle laxative; boil seeds in new milk for diarrhea; also for pleurisy, pains in breast, stomach and lungs.

Cinnamon Tree (Cinnamomum Zeylanicum)
Bark tea for flu.

Comfrey (Symphytum Officinale)
Boil roots in water for gonorrhea.

Coneflower - Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia Fulgida)
Root ooze for earache. wash for snakebites and swelling caused by worms.

Fern, bracken (Pteridium Aquilinum)
Root tonic used as antiseptic.

Fern, rattlesnake (Botrychium Virginianum)
Boil root down to syrup and rub on snake bites.

Feverfew (Chrysanthemum Parthenium)
Bathe swollen feet in a tea.

Geranium, wild (Geranium Maculatum)
used for open wounds; astringent.

Goosegrass (Galium Aparine)
Tea to move bowels.

Indian Pipe - Fit Root/Ice Plant (Monotropa Uniflora)
Root pulverized and given for epilepsy and convulsions.

Laurel, Mountain (Kalmia Latifola)
Ingredient in liniments.

New Jersey Tea / Red Root (Ceanothus Americanus)
hold root tea on an aching tooth; hot root tea for bowel complaints.

Note: This is not meant to be a complete monograph on the subject of the Cherokee plant lore, just a sampling of the available information.

Bibliography
Cobb, B. 1963 : Field guide to The Ferns. Boston. Houghton-Mifflin Co.
Fernald, M.L. : Gray's Manual of Botany. NY
Hamel, Paul : Plants of The Cherokees. 1974.
Plowden, C.C. : Manual of Plant Names. NY 1970.
Sharp, J.E. : The Cherokees Past and Present. 1970. Cherokee Press.

[I_ziz]

Noni



Noni is a fruit not a herb, but i feel to post its medicinal uses on this herbs thread to keep all the information of natural medicine in the same place for the convenience of our Family.

Noni juice, known in Jamaica as "Duppy Soursap", is a powerfull natural blood cleanser and cures anemia, sickle cell, hypertension, high blood pressure and other blood disorders. It is also reccomended for a healthy person to take noni juice once every month or 2 to maintain a healthy circulatory system.

If you are lucky enuff to live where this plant grows naturally then just mash up the fruit in a food processor and drink - the fruit smells baaaaaaad and tastes bitter, hot and sour.

But for family in the west, noni juice is available from healthfood stores but is expensive. Many brands mix noni juice with grape juice and other juices but it is best to pay a few pounds more to get pure noni juice with no additives.

Ignore the instructions on the bottle as they normally tell you to take it too often which can result in giving you anemia or making you worse. Noni cleanses the whole blood system and so instead of taking a little every day for weeks as some advise (which is harmfull and can thin out the blood) it is better to take a big glass just once a week - if treating a serious condition -to allow your blood to rebuild itself in between doses.

[G1deon]

Duppy Soursap... cuz of the taste?? well, I am a duppy conquerer.