Category: Wild Medicine Info

Get pickled! A Ploughman’s Lunch is good for you.

Are you a lover of all things pickled? Pickled onions, peppers, gherkins, capers (or of course, nasturtium seeds)? Well you can easily justify your indulgence. You probably already know that… Read More

Horsetail – an ancient plant with healing properties

This weekend I noticed horsetail Equisetum arvensis poking up, making its first appearance of the year. It’s a natural source of silica and very good for strengthening hair, bone and… Read More

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)

Dandelion Taraxacum officinale is high in vitamins A, B complex, C, and D, as well as minerals such as iron, potassium, and zinc. For comparison, spinach contains around 9,000 –… Read More

Willow bark medicine ~ natural Aspirin

White willow catkins

All the willow that wasn’t coppiced back in February is now covered with pretty furry buds. Cut long stems and put them in a tall base for a dramatic Spring… Read More

In Praise of Coltsfoot

Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) can be an elusive plant. It raises its flowers before its leaves in the Spring (hence the country nickname “Son before Father”). The flowers quickly pass as… Read More

Endangered Herbs

Endangered in the UK Chamomile, Wild (Chamaemelum nobile) Chickweed, Scottish (Cerastium fontanum subsp. scoticum) Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus) Eyebrights Euphrasia sp. (endemic) – Euphrasia officinalis seems to be OK still. Juniper,… Read More

Fresh is not always best!

The medicinal plants we use in our pharmacopaeia all contain distinct biochemical components that can be analysed and measured. Herbalism has a proper scientific biochemical basis. The difficulty is that… Read More

Herbal Power Juices – Your Food is your Medicine.

Our bodies digest raw, enzyme active juice far more quickly and efficiently than solid food. Juices are nutrient-dense and supercharge the body in the same way that herbal tinctures work.… Read More

Herbal Power Juices – The Recipies

A “herb shot” for me is 20 ml in a 200ml glass of juice. Or around 30 ml in a 300 ml glass. All approximate as Paleolithic people did not… Read More

A Self Help Approach to Migraines

Migraine headaches can be caused by a variety of reasons. Food allergies, nutritional deficiencies, low blood sugar, overwork, stress, poor sleep, diet and exercise. Some of the usual suspects include… Read More

80,000 evidence of herbal medicine at Shanidar, Iraq?

Since hearing about the meadowsweet flowers discovered in Perth I have been researching to find out what other pollens and flowers have been found in ancient burial sites. Shanidar Cave,… Read More

Hawthorn Berry Gin ready for Christmas

Around October I wrote about making Hawthorn Berry Gin. Well, I’m pleased to say it is DELICIOUS. And I can keep a clear conscience by knowing it’s also good for… Read More

4000 year old “aspirin” flowers found in Bronze Age grave, Forteviot, Perthshire?

Meadowsweet flowers found in a Bronze Age grave were reported as proof of a “floral tribute”. Monica Wilde suggests the reason was not sentimental but practical – the person buried may have suffered from joint aches and pains – possibly arthritis. Meadowsweet and birch bark contain salicylates on which modern aspirin was modelled. Both plants are still used in British herbal medicine to this day.

Elderberry: Making a Syrup

Elderberry syrup can be made purely for its great taste or for its vitamin content and medicinal properties in helping the whole family to fight off colds and flu. Pick… Read More

Swine Flu, Herbal Remedies & Elderberry Extract

I find it amazing that with all the worry about swine flu at the moment, and the amount of press coverage given to it, that so little mention has been… Read More