El nombre de Catalpa deriva de un dialecto indio «catawba» de la zona de origen de este árbol en Norteamérica , donde se utilizan sus vainas y semillas en medicina por sus propiedades antiespasmódicas, cardíacas y sedantes.

The name of Catalpa derives from an Indian dialect «catawba» from the area of ​​origin of this tree in North America , where its pods and seeds are used in medicine for its antispasmodic, cardiac and sedative properties.

Habichtskraut

Es gibt über 1000 Arten an Habichtskraut und in Farben von gelb bis rötlich-orange. Das orangerote Habichtskraut ist nicht giftig, es ist sogar essbar. Es schmeckt leicht bitter, die Blütenknsopen weisen einen süßlichen Geschmack auf.

Hat auch positive Wirkung - wundheilend, schleimlösend, krampflösend etc.

Das kleine Habichtskraut kann als Tee angewendet werden und als Rauschpflanze verwendet und dient als milder Cannabis- oder Marihuana-Ersatz.

Hawkweed

There are over 1000 species of hawkweed and in colors from yellow to reddish-orange. The orange-red hawkweed is not poisonous, it is even edible. It tastes slightly bitter, the flower buds have a sweet taste.

Also has beneficial effects - wound healing, expectorant, antispasmodic, etc.

The small hawkweed can be applied as a tea and used as a narcotic plant and serves as a mild cannabis or marijuana substitute.

Fenchel

Bereits im Mittelalter wurde er als Heilpflanze sehr geschätzt und in Klöstergärten angebaut. Pflanze wird bis zu zwei Meter hoch und bildet gelbe Früchte aus. Die knollenähnliche Zwiebel, die zum Kochen verwendet wird, wiegt zwischen 250 und 400 Gramm und ist weiß-grünlich. Fenchel ist sehr kalorienarm und enthält eine Reihe an wichtigen Nährstoffen. z. B. die Mineralstoffe Kalzium, Kalium, Magnesium und Eisen. Doch auch die Vitamine A, C und Folsäure zählen zu den Inhaltsstoffen des Fenchels. Seinen typischen Anis-Geschmack bekommt der Fenchel durch das enthaltene ätherische Öl. Fenchelfrüchte enthalten viel Öl das verdauungsfördernd und krampflösend wirkt.

Fenchel kann wunderbar als gegartes Gemüse oder roh für Salat verwendet werden und schmeckt lecker.

Angeblich verfügt der Fenchel auch über magische Wirkung, als Kranz um den Hals oder in Türrahmen und Schlüssellöcher gesteckt soll vor bösen Mächten schützen.

Fennel

As early as the Middle Ages, it was highly valued as a medicinal plant and cultivated in monastery gardens. Plant grows up to two meters high and forms yellow fruits. The bulbous onion used for cooking weighs between 250 and 400 grams and is white-greenish. Fennel is very low in calories and contains a number of important nutrients. e.g. B. the minerals calcium, potassium, magnesium and iron. But vitamins A, C and folic acid are also among the ingredients of fennel. The fennel gets its typical anise taste from the essential oil it contains. Fennel fruits contain a lot of oil that promotes digestion and has an antispasmodic effect.

Fennel can be used wonderfully as a cooked vegetable or raw in a salad and tastes delicious.

The fennel is also said to have magical effects, as a wreath around the neck or stuck in door frames and keyholes to protect against evil forces.

Green-veined White - Pieris napi on Great willow herb.

Great willow herb is a large herb that flourishes on damp ground, such as wet grasslands, ditches, riversides and woodland clearings. Deep pink flowers appear on the top of hairy stems from July to August and its fluffy seeds are dispersed by the wind.

What is willow herb good for?

Medicinal use of Willow Herb:

The herb is antispasmodic, astringent, demulcent, emollient, hypnotic, laxative and tonic. It is used in the treatment of diarrhoea, mucous colitis and irritable bowel syndrome. The plant is used in Germany and Austria to treat prostate problems.

Can you eat great willow herb?

It's not the best food, but being so abundant can be very useful. In the Springtime the young shoots and leaves can be eaten raw, and as they get older need to be steamed or boiled for 10 minutes. Treat the shoots like asparagus. The root can be cooked as a vegetable, added to stews.

Linden flowers are used in herbalism for colds, cough, fever, infections, inflammation, high blood pressure, and headache (particularly migraine), and as a diuretic, antispasmodic and sedative.

Linden flower tea has a pleasing taste, due to the aromatic volatile oil found in the flowers.

It is used for treatment of disorders of the respiratory tract, fever, and flu.

Linden flowers are used in herbalism for colds, cough, fever, infections, inflammation, high blood pressure, and headache (particularly migraine), and as a diuretic, antispasmodic and sedative.

Linden flower tea has a pleasing taste, due to the aromatic volatile oil found in the flowers.

It is used for treatment of disorders of the respiratory tract, fever, and flu.

Fox Grape It has antispasmodic, antiallergic, sedative, mild narcotic effects. Here are the benefits of fox grape:

It relieves rheumatism and joint pain.

It softens the chest and helps stop coughing.

It is a sedative and painkiller with mild narcotic effects.

It is diuretic.

It is good for insomnia.

It relieves bladder spasms.

It is applied to wounds in the form of a poultice.

It contains atropine, which is a deadly poison when taken in excess. It shows symptoms of vomiting, diarrhea, and weakness.

Pineapple weed (Matricaria discoidea) was introduced to Britain from Oregon in the late 19th century and spread rapidly. It is now an abundant annual wildflower of waysides and waste places, its cone-shaped flower heads a familiar sight from June to September.

When crushed, the flowers give off an odour resembling ripe apples or pineapples, and it is thought that either this, or the fact that the flowers resemble a pineapple in appearance, is responsible for the plant’s common name.The flowers have an agreeable fruity taste before they are fully ripe, and have been added to salads, as well as being used, either fresh or dried, as an infusion.

A close relative of camomile, pineapple weed has been used in folk medicine for centuries. The name matricaria is derived from the Latin matrix (uterus), and camomiles have been used for a host of gynaecological disorders. Other uses for pineapple weed have been as a sedative, an anti-inflammatory, an antispasmodic and an anthelmintic.

"The beautiful, individual flowers of Marsh Woundwort are pale pinkish purple or mauve, and are slightly smaller (12-15mm) than its cousin Hedge Woundwort". It is an elegant, robust and erect plant with oblong, short-stalked or unstalked leaves. It flowers from June to September, attracting bees into its tube shaped corolla. Mainly found in the vicinity of damp arable land, its fruits are nutlets. This is a native plant and belongs to the family Lamiaceae.

Used in herbal medicine as a antiseptic and antispasmodic since the sixteenth century, the leaves were also used to help staunch bleeding and healing wounds"

Happy Sliders Sunday! Photo 78/100 for the 100 Flowers 2018 Group. This year I'm taking 100 photos of different wild flowers in the Irish countryside.

A pretty assortment of bright, summery colours in a Stanley Park flower bed

It is thought that the marigold originated in Egypt and was first introduced to Britain and other countries by the Romans. It was one of the earliest cultivated flowers. The ancient Greeks, who used the petals for decoration, also knew of marigold’s other uses, such as coloring for food, make-up, dying fabrics, and medicinal uses. Marigolds have been grown in the gardens of Europe since the 12th century.

Medicinal Applications

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Only the flower heads of marigolds are used medicinally. They are well known for their wound healing and antiseptic properties, but modern herbalists have found a wide variety of uses for them, including: an alternative analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, astringent, bactericide, carminative, depurative, diuretic, emmenagogue, stomachic, styptic, and tonic. The petals of the marigold have been made into an infusion that is useful as an eyewash. They are also good as a natural fabric dye and for food coloring.

Believe it or not, this seledri is still my vegetables favourite and one of my fave mix salad...

Apium Greveolens, UMBELLIFERAE ,celery, smallage, small ache, Seledri.

A discussion of celery may seem strange in a book about wild plants, but in isolated areas celery does grow wild. These wildings - only a few steps from the fine, cultivated stalks of celery - are part of that great parsley family which includes so many poisonous plants.

For that reason, a note of caution is necessary here, to point out that essentially celery is a poisonous plant. We know that celery is improved in flavor if it can be first subjected to frost, thus removing the acrid principles just as, in the same family, parsnips are hardly fit to eat until they have spent the winter in the ground. Some people are allergic to celery, and for them the real harm comes from poison which is given off by the leaves under conditions of considerable moisture. This poison may produce a rash not unlike poison ivy. Gardeners - beware!

This has not, however, prevented celery from being a choice salad plant from the earliest times. It is said that the Romans enjoyed it and wove crowns of the leaves for dinner guests, while John Evelyn, in his interesting book on salads in the seventeenth century, gave celery high recommendation.

The druggist knows only the fruit or celery seed, which his guides list as a “stimulant and condiment.” Herbalists rate it as more important than that, however, and ascribe such virtues to it as nervine, antispasmodic, diuretic, and carminative. Almost every reference includes mention of celery as being of great value in rheumatism, but many plants are thus credited and the claims must be taken with a grain of salt. Rheumatism is an almost-universal complaint for which modern medicine has found alleviation, not cure. Because the disease comes and goes with or without treatment, it is easy for the sufferer to imagine that celery or almost any other plant has been of value.

Calycanthus floridus, commonly called Carolina allspice.

Antispasmodic, disinfectant. The plant contains an alkaloid that has a powerfully depressant action on the heart. A fluid extract has been used as an antiperiodic. A tea made from the root or bark has been used as a strong emetic and diuretic for kidney and bladder ailments

RANUNCOLO COMUNE

Non ricordo di aver mai inserito un'immagine di ranuncoli nel mio album e la cosa mi pare davvero strana in quanto sono tra i fiorellini più comuni.

Rimedio immediatamente, ispirato dall'amico Paolo che in questo genere di macro è un vero maestro.

Ranuncolo comune (Nome scientifico:Ranunculus acris) o Meadow buttercup (nome inglese) è una pianta molto comune, fà parte della famiglia delle Ranunculaceae ed ha origine in africa, america, asia, australia, europa.

La pianta Ranunculus acris cresce in Praterie, prati, a quote che variano tra 0 e 1600 metri sul livello del mare. La pianta fiorisce nel periodo compreso tra i mesi di Maggio e Agosto.

Il Ranuncolo comune possiede delle presunte proprietà medicinali, tra le principali: antispasmodica, antiverruche, calmante il dolore, diaforetica, rubefacente.

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COMMON RANUNCLE

I don't remember ever inserting an image of buttercups in my album and it seems really strange to me as they are among the most common flowers.

Immediate remedy, inspired by his friend Paolo who is a true master in this kind of macro.

Common buttercup (Scientific name: Ranunculus acris) or Meadow buttercup (English name) is a very common plant, it is part of the Ranunculaceae family and originates in Africa, America, Asia, Australia, Europe.

The Ranunculus acris plant grows in prairies, meadows, at altitudes ranging between 0 and 1600 meters above sea level. The plant blooms in the period between the months of May and August.

The common buttercup has alleged medicinal properties, among the main ones: antispasmodic, anti-terrorism, calming pain, diaphoretic, rubefacient.

CANON EOS 6D Mark II con ob. TAMRON SP 90mm F/2.8 Di VC USD MACRO1:1

The common name of cinquefoil is a reference to the fact that his wild herb often has a compound group of five toothed leaflets. There are sometimes seven or more leaflets, though, depending on the species, but five is the most common.

There are actually over 300 different species and even more cultivars of cinquefoil. Some of them are annuals while others are perennials. A few even grow as biennials. The plant is attractive and is sometimes purposely grown for landscaping purposes, though it grows wild in many places. Cinquefoil is a member of the rose family, though the blossoms are usually substantially smaller and normally don’t have the fragrance associated with roses. This plant is also closely related to strawberries and is sometimes called barren strawberries because they don’t produce strawberry-like fruits. The leaves are often similar in appearance to strawberries, too, except that strawberries have leaves of three rather than five or more.

The flowers can be in various colors, but common cinquefoil most often has bright yellow flowers, each with five petals. It is also normally a low growing plant that can function as a ground cover, usually between a half of a foot to a foot and a half tall, although some species grow as a low bush.

This wild herb grows wild in most of the cooler areas of the world. It is very common in the UK, North America and in Europe. In North America, it grows throughout the north and most of Canada. It is sometimes cultivated in the south, too.

Several species of cinquefoil have been used medicinally for a very long time. It was used by the ancient Romans and has been used by Native Americans for at least that long. Both the roots and the leaves have medicinal value and many sources list the plant properties as anti-inflammatory, astringent, antiseptic, antispasmodic and diuretic. Additionally, the plant can be used as a mild febrifuge.

A tea made with a tablespoon of the roots or herb to a cup of boiling water is used for swelling and pain in the mouth, bleeding gums, toothache, stomach ulcers, raw or sore throat, diarrhea, inflammation of the digestive tract, stomach cramps, menstrual pain and several American Indian tribes used it as a laxative. It can be useful to take the tea during a cold or the flu, since is lessens swelling and pain in the throat, soothes the stomach and can ease coughing and helps to control fevers.

When used externally, cinquefoil can aid in controlling the bleeding, pain, and inflammation of wounds, bruises, insect stings, itches, gout, arthritis, sciatica, boils, and acne.

Both the fresh and dried herb can be used, though fresh is stronger in action. An extract can also be made by crushing the fresh roots or leaves, putting these in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and covering them with vodka. The jar is then capped and the mixture is shaken daily for two weeks. The leaves and roots are then filtered out through cheesecloth. The extract is much more potent than the tea, so a teaspoonful is roughly equivalent to a cup of the tea.

Cinquefoil is a plant that is worth learning to recognize on sight and thankfully, this isn’t hard to do. Although the wild herb contains iron, calcium, and magnesium, its main value is when used medicinally rather than as food. This could make cinquefoil especially valuable in a survival situation. For that reason, it could be considered to be a survival herb, though it isn’t normally eaten.

virily.com/beauty-health/the-medicinal-and-health-benefit...

Calami rhizomata ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%91%D0%BE%D1%8F%D1%80%D1%8B%D1%8...

Hawthorn fruits are a classic "heart" remedy.

This medicinal plant is especially valued for its complex positive effect on cardiovascular diseases.

Hawthorn fruit infusion has cardiotonic and antispasmodic effects, moderately lowers blood pressure, and calms the nervous system.

This combination of medicinal properties, especially in combination with a high content of vitamin C, makes it an important element of complex therapy for cardialgia, neurocirculatory dystonia, and other disorders of the heart and blood vessels.

About the pharmacological action.

Hawthorn fruits are a classic "heart" remedy. This medicinal plant is especially valued for its complex positive effect on cardiovascular diseases. Infusion of hawthorn fruits has cardiotonic and antispasmodic effects, moderately lowers blood pressure, and calms the nervous system. This combination of medicinal properties, especially in combination with a high content of vitamin C, makes it an important element of complex therapy for cardialgia, neurocirculatory dystonia, and other disorders of the heart and blood vessels.

Interesting facts.

The use of hawthorn for medicinal purposes has been known since the time of Dioscorides (1st century AD) as a treatment for heart disease, insomnia, dizziness, and shortness of breath.

Hawthorn fruits are also used in cooking to make jam, preserves, marmalade, jelly, coffee and tea substitutes. Flour from dried berries is added to dough to obtain bread with a fruity flavor.

Liquid alcohol extract of hawthorn fruits was recommended for use in medicine during the Great Patriotic War by E.Yu. Chassom for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. In Chinese folk medicine, hawthorn fruits have been used for centuries to improve digestion in diseases of the stomach and intestines, and in combination with wine - for heart disease. Hawthorn was prescribed with great success for various neurotic disorders as a sedative.

Цвет боярышника во время захода солнца в Борисовке.

Calami rhizomata ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%91%D0%BE%D1%8F%D1%80%D1%8B%D1%8...

Плоды боярышника — классическое «сердечное» средство.

Это лекарственное растение особенно ценится за свой комплексный положительный эффект при болезнях сердечно-сосудистой системы.

Настой плодов боярышника оказывает кардиотонический и спазмолитический эффекты, умеренно понижает артериальное давление, успокаивает нервную систему.

Такая комбинация лечебных свойств, особенно в сочетании с высоким содержанием витамина С, делает его важным элементом комплексной терапии при кардиалгии, нейроциркуляторной дистонии и других нарушениях работы сердца и сосудов.

О фармакологическом действии.

Плоды боярышника – классическое «сердечное» средство. Это лекарственное растение особенно ценится за свой комплексный положительный эффект при болезнях сердечнососудистой системы. Настой плодов боярышника оказывает кардиотонический и спазмолитический эффекты, умеренно понижает артериальное давление, успокаивает нервную систему. Такая комбинация лечебных свойств, особенно в сочетании с высоким содержанием витамина С, делает его важным элементом комплексной терапии при кардиалгии, нейроциркуляторной дистонии и других нарушениях работы сердца и сосудов.

Интересные факты.

Применение боярышника с лекарственной целью известно со времен Диоскорида (I век нашей эры) как средства лечения сердечных заболеваний, бессонницы, головокружения и одышки.

Плоды боярышника применяются и в кулинарии для приготовления варенья, джема, повидла, киселя, суррогата кофе и чая. Муку из сушеных ягод добавляют в тесто для получения хлеба с фруктовым привкусом.

Жидкий спиртовой экстракт плодов боярышника был рекомендован к применению в медицине во время Великой Отечественной войны Е.Ю. Шассом для лечения сердечно-сосудистых заболеваний.

В китайской народной медицине плоды боярышника на протяжении ряда столетий использовали для усиления пищеварения при заболеваниях желудка и кишечника, а в сочетании с вином — при болезнях сердца. Боярышник с большим успехом назначался при различных невротических расстройствах в качестве успокаивающего средства.

(Lieu : Domaine de Plantes et Essences de Frache (www.plantesetessencesdefrache.com)

La passiflore trouve ses origines au Mexique. D'abord utilisée pour ses vertus sédatives par les Aztèques, elle est appelée Passiflora incarnata , signifiant "fleur incarnant la passion", par les jésuites, au XVIe siècle. Ils voyaient, dans la constitution de la plante, l'illustration de la passion du Christ. Rapportée en Europe par les conquérants espagnols (doctissimo.fr).

Passion flower originates from Mexico. First used for its sedative virtues by the Aztecs, it is called Passiflora incarnata, meaning "passion flower", by the Jesuits, in the 16th century. They saw in the constitution of the plant the illustration of Christ's passion. Brought back to Europe by the Spanish conquerors (doctissimo.fr).

La passiflore est reconnue pour ses vertus tranquillisantes et antispasmodique. Passion flower is recognized for its tranquilizing and antispasmodic properties.

For the Complete Herbal and Dictionary

Valerian is a powerful nervine, stimulant, carminative and antispasmodic.

I did take some photos this afternoon but they aren't much good so once again another archive shot.

Oh and my leg is much better pain wise, not long until I am allowed to start putting weight on it again.

Pluchea odorata is a species of flowering plant in the aster family, Asteraceae. Common names include sweetscent, saltmarsh fleabane and shrubby camphorweed.

In some parts of the Caribbean, saltmarsh fleabane is a widely consumed medicinal herbal tea. The hot tea made from the leaves is a stimulant. It stimulates perspiration, in the manner of pleurisy root or pennyroyal, and is diuretic. It is a safe and reliable menstrual stimulant when flow begins late, is scanty, and there are clotty cramps. Moreover, it is antispasmodic, thus relieving cramping. It similarly inhibits spasms and cramps from diarrhea and stomach ache. Used as an eyewash it reduces redness and pain from hay fever, wind and dust. Tea concentrate has been marketed as a coffee substitute. Unlike coffee which is a vasoconstrictor, sweetscent tea is a vasodilator. It is contraindicated for people who get migraines, during pregnancy, and should be used in moderation. Wikipedia

down by the frog pond...

Brooksville, Florida

Folkloric

· Unripe fruit used for dysentery.

· Ripe fruit is antiscorbutic.

· Seeds and green fruit are astringent.

· Flowers are antispasmodic.

· Infusion of leaves used as sudorific, antispasmodic and emetic.

· In some cultures, the fruits and leaves are used for tranquilizing and sedative properties.

· Juice of ripe fruit used as diuretic and for hematuria and urethritis.

· Flesh of soursop used as poultice to draw out chiggers.

·Decoction of leaves used of head lice and bedbugs.

· Pulverized seeds and seed oil effective for head lice.

· Fruit used as a bait in fish traps.

· Decoction of leaves used as compresses for inflammation and swollen feet.

· Poultice of mashed leaves and sap of young leaves used for eczema and skin eruptions.

· Flowers used to alleviate catarrh.

· Used as tonic by Chinese and Malays.

· In Mexico used as pectoral, antiscorbutic and febrifuge; seeds and green fruit used as astringent and for dysentery.

· In Yucatan juice of the fruit is used for dysentery.

· In Cameroon, leaves used for diabetes.

· In Antiles and Reunion, infusion of leaves used as sudorific.

· In the Peruvian Andes, leaf tea is used for catarrh and crushed seeds for parasitism.

· In the Peruvian Amazon, bark, roots and leaves used for diabetes, as sedative and as antispasmodic.

· In the Brazilian Amazon, the oil of leaves and unripe fruit is mixed with olive oil and used externally for neuralgic, rheumatism and arthritis pains.

source: stuart xchange

L'origan, souvent confondue avec la marjolaine (ou origan des jardins), est utilisé en cuisine comme condiment ou aromate. Il entre aussi dans la pharmacopée comme antiseptique et antispasmodique.

Oregano, often confused with marjoram (or garden oregano), is used in cooking as a condiment or aromatic. It is also used in pharmacopoeia as an antiseptic and antispasmodic.

Merci pour vos favoris.

Many thanks for your faves.

Folkloric

- Bark is reported to be vomitive and aphrodisiac.

- Decoction of bark used for catarrh.

- Tender fruit used as emollient.

- Decoction of bark regarded as a specific in febrile catarrh.

- Gum is astringent; used for bowel complaints. In children, gum with milk, given as cooling laxative. Also used for urine incontinence in children.

- Gum used as styptic, given in diarrhea, dysentery, and menorrhagia.

- In Liberia, Infusion of bark used as mouthwash.

- Infusion of leaves, onions, and a little tumeric, used for coughs.

- Young roots, shade-dried and powdered, is a chief ingredient in aphrodisiac medicines.

- Tap-root of young plant used for gonorrhea and dysentery.

- Bark in diuretic; in sufficient quantities, produces vomiting.

- In Cambodia, bark used for fevers and diarrhea. Also, as a cure for inebriation, used to bring about perspiration and vomiting.

- Malays used the bark for asthma and colds in children.

- In India, roots used for gonorrhea, dysuria, fevers. Decoction of bark used for chronic dysentery, diarrhea, ascites, and anasarca. Tender leaves also used for gonorrhea.

- In Java, bark mixed with areca nuts, nutmegs, and sugar candy, used as diuretic and for treatment of bladder stones. Infusion of leaves used for cough, hoarseness, intestinal catarrh, and urethritis. Leaves also used for cleaning hair.

- In the Cameroons, bark, which has tannin, is pounded and macerated in cold water and applied to swollen fingers.

- In French Guiana, decoction of flowers used for constipation.

- In Mexico, used for boils, insect bites, mange; used as anti-inflammatory; bark and leaf decoctions used as poultices. Bark decoction taken internally as emetic, diuretic and antispasmodic.

- Bark used for liver and spleen conditions, abdominal complaints, flatulence, constipation.

- Leaves used as emollient. Decoction of flowers is laxative.

- In Nigerian folk medicine, used for treatment of diabetes and infections. Leaves used as alterative and laxative, and as infusion for colic in man and in livestock. Seed oil used in rheumatism. Also, leaves used as curative dressings on sores and to maturate tumors.

- Compressed fresh leaves used for dizziness; decoction of boiled roots used to treat edema; gum eaten to relieve stomach upset; tender shoot decoction used as contraceptive; leaf infusion taken orally for cough and sore throat. (34)

- In India and Malaya, used for bowel complaints.

- In the Ivory Coast, mucilage obtained by boiling used to remove foreign bodies from the eye. Also, bark sap given to sterile women to promote conception.

- In West Africa, used for diarrhea and gonorrhea.

source: stuart xchange

The active phyto-constituents of blue vervain are adenosine, aucubin, beta-carotene, caffeic-acid, citral, hastatoside, lupeol, ursolic-acid, verbenalin, verbenin. Researchers have discovered many therapeutic activities of these constituents including cellular apoptosis or anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, astringent, antispasmodic, diuretic, and anti-parasitic

A Paeony flower from my mothers garden.

I didn't realize they were considered herbs until I did a bit of research and found that the root is used as an antispasmodic and a tonic.

The genus is supposed to have been named after the physician Paeos, who cured Pluto and other gods of wounds received during the Trojan War with the aid of this plant.

So there!!

And in case you can't read the text it says

Paeony: noun, A plant, and its flower, of the ranunculaceous genus

The California poppy has gentle antispasmodic, sedative and analgesic actions making it a valuable herbal medicine for treating physical and psychological problems. It may also prove beneficial in attempts to overcome difficulty in sleeping and nervous tension and anxiety.

Folkloric

· Decoction of roots and leaves as a tea or for washing.

· Decoction of young fruit useful for catarrh, urinary problems.

· Syrup from mucilaginous fruit used for sore throat.

· Infusion of roots used for syphilis.

· Poultice of roots and leaves for wound healing.

· Young pods for fevers, difficult urination and diarrhea.

· Decoction of roots for headaches, varicose veins, arthritis, fevers.

· Decoctions of leaves for abdominal pain.

· Decoction of immature fruit used as demulcent and emollient poultice.

· Decoction of leaves and flowers used for treatment of bronchitis and pneumonia.

· Leaves also useful as emollient poultice.

· Mucilage prepared from roots and leaves used for gonorrhea.

· Infusion of fruit mucilage used for treating dysentery and diarrhea, inflammation and stomach irritation.

· Fruit used as demulcent in gonorrhea and dysuria.

· Paste of seeds, mixed with milk, used for pruritic skin lesions.

· In Turkey, leaves used in preparation of medicine to reduce inflammation.

· In India, decoction of young fruit used for catarrh and urinary troubles. Also used for fevers, catarrhal attacks, genitourinary irritations such as dysuria, gonorrhea and leucorrhea, and in cases associated with scaling, pain, and difficulty passing urine.

· Bland mucilage used for dysentery, usually as soup.

· Seeds and tender pods eaten for spermatorrhea.

· Mucilage from from fruits and seeds of fresh, bruised capsules make an efficient, emollient poultice.

· Fruit decoction used as soothing demulcent remedy for throat irritations associated with coughing.

· Infusion of toasted seeds used for sudorific effect.

· Hindus consider the aromatic seeds as cooling, tonic, and carminative.

· In Annam, seeds considered antispasmodic.

· In the Antilles and Guiana, seeds considered stimulant, cordial, and antispasmodic.

· In Annam,

I see this growing everywhere this spring, don’t recall noticing it until now.

Catchweed bedstraw, Galium aparine, an annual weed belonging to the Madder (Rubiaceae) family, can be found throughout most of the world. The species name “aparine” comes from a Latin word meaning “to seize,” which is very appropriate considering the clinging nature of this weed. Catchweed bedstraw is known by many names around the world including cleavers, bedstraw, stickywilly, and “velcro plant.” Bedstraw is native to North America and can be found throughout California, particularly in moist, shady areas. Bedstraw is often an early colonizer of waste places, roadsides, and other disturbed sites; however, it also can be a major weed of crops such as cereals, hay, rapeseed, and sugarbeet as well as home landscapes and vegetable gardens.

Historically, catchweed bedstraw has had several beneficial uses. The roasted seeds make a good coffee substitute (coffee also is a member of the Madder family), and the young leaves can be used as a substitute for tea or steamed with butter and eaten.

As an herbal remedy, it is said to be a diuretic, an anti-inflammatory, and an antispasmodic and was used to treat psoriasis and eczema.

The name itself, bedstraw, comes from use of the plant as a mattress filling; the clinging characteristic of the prickly plants minimizes matting and compaction of the mattress filling.

A filter made of bedstraw leaves and stems has been used to strain cow‘s hair out of milk, and the plant also has been used as feed for geese and other birds. The roots can be used to make a red dye.

This plant had formerly a great reputation as a vulnerary, being strongly recommended by Gerard in his Herbal. He tells us that once being in Kent, visiting a patient, he accidentally heard of a countryman who had cut himself severely with a scythe, and had bound a quantity of this herb, bruised with grease and 'laid upon in manner of a poultice' over the wound, which healed in a week, though it would 'have required forty daies with balsam itself.' Gerard continues:

'I saw the wound and offered to heal the same for charietie, which he refused, saying I could not heal it so well as himself - a clownish answer, I confesse, without any thanks for my good-will: whereupon I have named it "Clown's Woundwort."

Gerard himself, according to his own account, afterwards 'cured many grievous wounds, and some mortale with the same herbe.' The plant was regarded as a valuable remedy in such cases long before Gerard's time, having long borne the names, among country people, All-heal and Woundwort. The Welsh have an ancient name for it bearing the same signification.

It has edible roots. These are tuberous and attain a considerable size; when boiled they form a wholesome and nutritious food, rather agreeable in flavour. The young shoots may likewise be eaten cooked like Asparagus, but though pleasant in taste they have a disagreeable smell.

In modern herbal medicine this plant (which is collected in July, when just coming into flower and dried in the same manner as Wood Betony is employed for its antiseptic and antispasmodic properties. It relieves gout, cramp and pains in the joints and vertigo. The bruised leaves, which have an unpleasant odour and an astringent taste, when applied to a wound will stop bleeding and heal the wound, as is claimed for them by old tradition, and the fresh juice is made into a syrup and taken internally to stop haemorrhages, dysentery, etc.

Folkloric

Extract of the plant used as antispasmodic and treatment of epilepsy.

Also know as Milfoil, Old Man's Pepper, Soldier's Woundwort, Knight's Milfoil, Herbe Militaris, Thousand Weed, Nose Bleed, Carpenter's Weed, Bloodwort, Staunchweed, Sanguinary, Devil's Nettle, Devil's Plaything, Bad Man's Plaything, Yarroway, Arrowroot, Death Flower, Eerie, Field Hops, Hundred Leaved Grass, Knyghten, Noble Yarrow, Old Man's Mustard, Seven Year's Love, Snake's Grass, Thousand Seal, and probably any other goofy name you choose to make up. I lean toward Bad Man's Plaything myself...

After the previous exhaustive research, I also discovered yarrow is a valuable medicinal herb, with much scientific evidence of use in alternative medicine as an antiseptic, antispasmodic, astringent, carminative, diaphoretic, digestive, emmenagogue, stimulant, and tonics, vasodilator and vulnerary. Fortunately, I've never needed an emmenagogue. In fact, I thought that was the name of a rapper.

It is also used against colds, cramps, fevers, kidney disorders, toothaches, skin irritations, and hemorrhages, and to regulate menses, stimulate the flow of bile, and purify the blood. And those of you who have ever had your bile stimulated know exactly how great that can be. Yarrow herb tea is a good remedy for severe colds and flu, for stomach ulcers, amenorrhea, abdominal cramps, abscesses, trauma and bleeding, and to reduce inflammation. Clearly, all of you must be suffering from one or more of these afflictions and need to immediately go out and get some yarrow.

-- Facts compiled from a variety of sites when Googling "Yarrow"

[Best large where you can spot a few ants I didn't even know were there, but nonetheless, inadvertently eliminates this from inclusion in any of those strict "NO BUGS" groups. Oh well...]

Le tilleul est apprécié pour ses vertus antispasmodiques, calmantes et sédatives . Il est connu pour ses effets bénéfiques sur le sommeil, le stress et l'angoisse.

---

Linden is valued for its antispasmodic, sedative and sedative properties. It is known for its beneficial effects on sleep, stress and anxiety.

Spearmint is high in beneficial antioxidant compounds that help protect against and repair damage caused by free radicals.

Good for Digestive Upsets. Spearmint is commonly used to help relieve symptoms of indigestion, nausea, vomiting and gas. ...

High in Antioxidants. ...

May Aid Women With Hormone Imbalances. ...

May Reduce Facial Hair in Women. ...

May Improve Memory. ...

Fights Bacterial Infections. ...

May Lower Blood Sugar. ...

May Help Reduce Stress.

_______________________________________________

Synonyms---Garden Mint. Mentha Spicata. Mackerel Mint. Our Lady's Mint. Green Mint. Spire Mint. Sage of Bethlehem. Fish Mint. Menthe de Notre Dame. Erba Santa Maria. Frauen Munze. Lamb Mint.

Herb.

This common garden mint is not a native of these islands, though growing freely in every garden, but is originally a native of the Mediterranean region, and was introduced into Britain by the Romans, being largely cultivated not only by them, but also by the other Mediterranean nations. It was in great request by the Romans, and Pliny according to Gerard says of it: 'The smell of Mint does stir up the mind and the taste to a greedy desire of meate.' Ovid represents the hospitable Baucis and Philemon scouring their board with green mint before laying upon it the food intended for their divine guests. The Ancients believed that mint would prevent the coagulation of milk and its acid fermentation. Gerard, again quoting Pliny, says:

'It will not suffer milk to cruddle in the stomach, and therefore it is put in milk that is drunk, lest those that drink thereof should be strangled.'

Many other references to it in old writings - among them, that of the payment by the Pharisees of tithes of Mint, Anise and Cumin - prove that the herb has been highly esteemed for many centuries. Mint is mentioned in all early mediaeval lists of plants; it was very early grown in English gardens, and was certainly cultivated in the Convent gardens of the ninth century. Chaucer refers to 'a little path of mint's full and fennell greene. '

Turner states in his Herball (1568) that the garden mint of his time was also called 'Spere Mynte.' Gerard, in further praise of the herb, tells us that: 'the smell rejoiceth the heart of man, for which cause they used to strew it in chambers and places of recreation, pleasure and repose, where feasts and banquets are made.'

It has, in fact, been so universally esteemed, that it is to be found wild in nearly all the countries to which civilization has extended, and in America for 200 years it has been known as an escape from gardens, growing in moist soils and proving sometimes troublesome as a weed.

Parkinson, in his Garden of Pleasure, mentions 'divers sorts of mint's both of the garden and wilde, of the woods, mountain and standing pools or waters' and says:

'Mint's are sometimes used in Baths with Balm and other herbs as a help to comfort and strengthen the nerves and sinews. It is much used either outwardly applied or inwardly drunk to strengthen and comfort weak stomachs.'

The Ancients used mint to scent their bath water and as a restorative, as we use smelling salts to-day. In Athens where every part of the body was perfumed with a different scent mint was specially designated to the arms.

Gerard says of its medicinal properties:

'It is good against watering eyes and all manner of breakings out on the head and sores. It is applied with salt to the bitings of mad dogs.... They lay it on the stinging of wasps and bees with good success.'

Culpepper gives nearly forty distinct maladies for which mint is 'singularly good.'

'Being smelled into,' he says, 'it is comfortable for the head and memory, and a decoction when used as a gargle, cures the mouth and gums, when sore.' Again, 'Garden Mint is most useful to wash children's heads when the latter are inclined to sores, and Wild Mint, mixed with vinegar is an excellent wash to get rid of scurf. Rose leaves and mint, heated and applied outwardly cause rest and sleep.'

In the fourteenth century, mint was used for whitening the teeth, and its distilled oil is still used to flavour tooth-pastes, etc., and in America, especially, to flavour confectionery, chewing gums, and also to perfume soap.

Mint otto's have more power than any other aromatic to overcome the smell of tobacco.

The application of a strong decoction of Spearmint is said to cure chapped hands.

Mice are so averse to the smell of mint, either fresh or dried, that they will leave untouched any food where it is scattered. As mice love Henbane and often prove very destructive to a crop, it has been suggested that their depredations might be checked if some mint were planted between the rows of Henbane.

It is probable that Spearmint was introduced by the Pilgrim Fathers when they landed in America, as it is mentioned among many other plants brought out from England, in a list given by John Josselyn. When in this country apparently found growing wild, it occurs in watery places, but is rather rare.

Professor Henslow (Origin and History of our Garden Vegetables) does not consider it truly native to any country. He says:

'The Garden Mint (Mentha viridis, Linn.) is a cultivated form of M. sylvestris (Linn.), the Horse Mint, which is recorded as cultivated at Aleppo. Either M. sylvestris, or some form approaching M. viridis, which is not known as a truly wild plant, was probably the mint of Scripture.'

Bentham also considers it not improbably a variety of M. sylvestris, perpetuated through its ready propagation by suckers, and though these two plants are sufficiently distinct as found in England, yet continental forms occur which bridge over their differences.

Its generic name, Mentha, is derived from the mythological origin ascribed to it, and was originally applied to the mint by Theophrastus. Menthe was a nymph, who because of the love Pluto bore her, was metamorphosed by Proserpine, from motives of jealousy, into the plant we now call mint

Description---From creeping root-stocks, erect, square stems rise to a height of about 2 feet, bearing very short-stalked, acute-pointed, lance-shaped, wrinkled, bright green leaves, with finely toothed edges and smooth surfaces, the ribs very prominent beneath. The small flowers are densely arranged in whorls or rings in the axils of the upper leaves, forming cylindrical, slender, tapering spikes, pinkish or lilac in colour. The little labiate flowers are followed by very few, roundish, minute brown seeds. The taste and odour of the plant are very characteristic.

There are several forms of Garden Mint, the true variety being of bold, upright growth, with fairly large and broad leaves, pointed and sharply serrated (or toothed) at the edges and of a rich, bright, green colour. Another variety, sometimes sold as Spearmint (M. cardiaca), is much smaller and less erect in growth, with darker leaves, the whorls of flowers distant and leafy, but possessing the same odour and flavour, and another has comparatively large, broad or rounded leaves. Yet another has soft hairs, but this, though distinct from what is known as Horse Mint, is inferior to the true Spearmint.

Cultivation---A moist situation is preferable, but mint will succeed in almost any soil when once started into growth, though in dry, sandy soils it is sometimes difficult to grow, and should be planted in the coolest and dampest situations. Leaf mould, road scrapings, burnt ash and similar materials should, on the other hand, be used freely for lightening heavy, tenacious soils. It does best in a partially shaded position: if in a sheltered spot, it will start earlier in the spring than if exposed. Where a long or regular supply is required, it is a good plan to have at least one bed in a sunny and sheltered, and another in a shady position, where gatherings may be made both early and late.

As the plant is a perennial, spreading by means of its underground, creeping stems propagation may be easily effected by lifting the roots in February or March, dividing them - every piece showing a joint will grow - and planting again in shallow trenches, covering with 2 inches of soil. Six inches apart in the rows and 8 inches between the rows are the right distances to allow. Cuttings in summer or offsets in spring may also be utilized for increasing a stock. Cuttings may be taken at almost any time during the summer, always choosing the young shoots, these being struck on a shady border of light soil and kept moist, or a better plan, if possible, is to insert them in a frame, keeping them close and moist till rooted. Cuttings or young shoots will also strike freely in good-sized boxes in a heated greenhouse, in the early spring, and after the tops have been taken off two or three times for use, the plants may be hardened off and planted outside.

The beds are much benefited by an annual top-dressing of rich soil, applied towards the close of autumn, when all remaining stalks should be cut down to the ground. A liberal top-dressing of short, decayed manure, such as that from an old hot-bed or mushroom bed, annually, either in the spring, when it commences to grow, or better still, perhaps, after the first or second cutting, will ensure luxuriant growth. Frequent cuttings of shoots constitute a great drain on the plants, and if not properly nourished they will fail, more or less. To have really good mint, the plantation should be re-made about every three years, or failing that, it is essential that a good top-dressing of rich soil be added.

A good stock should be kept up, so that plenty may be available for forcing. Cultivators having a greenhouse can easily force mint into an earlier development of new growth than would be in the open garden. Forcing is very easy, the only preparation being the insertion of a quantity of good roots in a box of light soil, which should be placed in a temperature of about 60 degrees and watered freely as soon as growth starts. Cuttings may be made in two or three weeks. Forcing will generally be necessary from November to May - a succession being kept up by the introduction, at intervals of about three weeks, of an additional supply of roots, as forced roots soon decay. Often mint is so grown both upon and under the benches in greenhouses, and the demand for the young, tender stems and leaves during the winter is sufficient to make the plants pay well.

Mint Disease---Unfortunately, mint is susceptible to a disease which in some gardens has completely destroyed it. This disease, which from its characteristic symptoms is known as Rust, is incurable. The fungus (Puccinia Mentha) which causes it develops inside the plant, and therefore cannot be reached by any purgicide, and as it is perennial, it cannot be got rid of by cutting off the latter. All that can be done is to prevent the spread of the disease by digging up all plants that show any sign of rust. The same ground should not be used again for mint for several years. Healthy stock should be obtained and planted in uninfected soil, some distance away. On account of this liability of mint to rust, it is advisable not to have it all in one bed, but to have several beds of it, placed at some distance from each other

Harvesting---When the plants are breaking into bloom, the stalks should be cut a few inches above the root, on a dry day, after the dew has disappeared, and before the hot sun has taken any oil from the leaves, and dried for culinary use for the winter. All discoloured and insect-eaten leaves should be removed and the stems tied loosely into bunches and hung to dry on strings in the usual manner directed for 'bunched' herbs. The bunches should be nearly equal in length and uniform in size to facilitate packing, if intended for sale, and placed when dry in airtight boxes to prevent re-absorption of moisture.

The leaves may also be stripped from the stems as soon as thoroughly dry and rubbed through a fine sieve, so as to be freed from stalks as much as possible, or pounded in a mortar and thus powdered, stored in stoppered bottles or tins rendered airtight. If preparing for market and not for home use, the rubbed herbs will, of course, command a higher price than the bunched herbs, and should be put up in tins or bottles containing a quantity of uniform weight.

When mint is grown commercially on a large scale, it has been estimated to yield from 4 to 5 tons per acre, from which 15 to 20 cwt. of dry should be obtained. Average yields per acre are, however, taken when crops are at maturity, and an estimate of the first cutting crop is hard to form, and is likely to be less profitable than succeeding years, on account of initial expenses.

If Spearmint is being grown as a medicinal herb, for the sake of the volatile oil to be extracted from it, the shoots should be gathered in August, when just coming into flower, and taken to the distillery as soon as possible after picking, the British Pharmacopoeia directing that oil of Spearmint be distilled from the fresh, flowering plant. It is estimated that 350 lb. of Spearmint yield 1 lb. of oil. If the distillery is not on the ground or only a short distance away, and the crop has to be dispatched by train, the cutting should take place late in the afternoon on a fine day, before the dew falls, so as to be sent off by a night train to arrive at their destination next morning, having travelled in the cool, otherwise the leaves are apt to heat and ferment, losing colour.

The chief constituent of Spearmint oil is Carvone. There are also present Phellandrene, Limonene and dihydrocarveol acetate. Esters of acetic, butyric and caproic or caprylic acids are also present. (An Ester is a combination of an alcohol with an acid, the combination being associated with the elimination of water. The esters are highly important and in many cases dominant constituents of numerous essential oils, which owe their perfume largely, or in some cases entirely, to the esters contained. Many of the esters are used as flavouring or perfumery agents, and many are among the most important constituents of volatile salts.)

There are several different essential oils known under the name of Spearmint oil, the botanical origin of the plant used for distillation differing with the country in which the plant is grown. In the United States and in this country several varieties of M. viridis are distilled. In Russia the plant distilled is M. verticellata, and in Germany either M. longifolia, or more generally M. aquatica var. crispa - a plant cultivated in Northern Germany, the oil (called there Krausemünzöl) being imported into this country as German Spearmint oil. It appears to be identical with that from M. viridis. Oil of Spearmint is little distilled in England, either German oil or American oil distilled from M. viridis being imported.

Medicinal Action and Uses---Spearmint is chiefly used for culinary purposes. The properties of Spearmint oil resemble those of Peppermint, being stimulant, carminative and antispasmodic, but its effects are less powerful, and it is less used than Peppermint, though it is better adapted for children's maladies. From 2 to 5 drops may be given on sugar, or from 1/2 to 1 teaspoonful of spirit of Spearmint, with 2 tablespoonful of water. Spearmint oil is added to many compounds on account of its carminative properties, and because its taste is pleasanter and less strong than Peppermint. A distilled water of Spearmint will relieve hiccough and flatulence as well as the giddiness of indigestion. For infantile trouble generally, the sweetened infusion is an excellent remedy, and is also a pleasant beverage in fevers, inflammatory diseases, etc. Make the infusion by pouring a pint of boiling water on an ounce of the dried herb; the strained-off liquid is taken in doses of a wine glass full or less. It is considered a specific in allaying nausea and vomiting and will relieve the pain of colic. A homoeopathic tincture prepared from the fresh plant in flower has been found serviceable in strangury, gravel, and as a local application in painful haemorrhoids. Its principal employment is for its febrifuge and diuretic virtues.

Preparations and Dosages---Fluid extract, 1/4 to 1 drachm. Water, B.P. and U.S.P., 4 drachms. Spirit, U.S.P., 30 drops.

When eaten with lamb, very finely chopped in sweetened vinegar, in the form of mint sauce, mint greatly aids the digestion, as it makes the crude, albuminous fibres of the immature meat more digestible. The volatile oil stimulates the digestive system and prevents septic changes within the intestines.

The fresh sprigs of mint are used to flavour green peas and also new potatoes, being boiled with them, and the powdered, dried leaves are used with pea soup and also in seasonings. On the Continent, especially in Germany, the powdered, dried mint is often used at table for dusting upon pea and bean purées, as well as on gravies.

A grating of mint is introduced sometimes into a potato salad, or into a fowl stuffing, and in Wales it is not unusual to boil mint with cabbage.

Mint Jelly can be used instead of mint sauce, in the same manner as red currant jelly. It may be made by steeping mint leaves in apple jelly, or in one of the various kinds of commercial gelatine. The jelly should be a delicate shade of green. A handful of leaves should colour and flavour about half a pint of jelly. Strain the liquid through a jelly bag to remove all particles of mint before allowing to set.

Mint Vinegar is made as follows: Fill a jar or bottle with young mint leaves picked from the stalks. Cover with cold vinegar and cork or cover the bottle. Infuse for 14 days, then strain off the vinegar.

This vinegar is sometimes employed in making Mint Jelly, as follows:

Take 1 pint of water, 1 1/4 OZ. gelatine, the white and shell of an egg, 1/2 gill of Mint Vinegar, 1 dessertspoonful of Tarragon Vinegar, a bunch of herbs, 1 onion, 1 carrot, a stick of celery, 10 peppercorns, salt, 1 lemon. Peel the lemon very thinly, slightly whip the white of egg, wash and crush the shell. Put all the ingredients into a pan, strain in the juice of the lemon and whisk over the fire until just on boiling point. Boil up, then draw the pan to the side of the fire and simmer very gently for 20 minutes. Strain through a jelly bag until clear. Put into a mould to set. If liked, finely chopped mint may be added to the jelly after straining it, or more mint can be used and no Tarragon Vinegar.

To make Mint Punch: Pick a quart of fresh mint leaves, then wash and dry them by shaking them in a clean kitchen towel. Put them into a large jug and mash them with a wooden spoon till soft, when cover with freshly boiled water and infuse for ten minutes. Strain, cool, then set on ice till required. Add two cups of chilled grape juice and strained lemon juice to taste. Sweeten with castor sugar, stir till sugar is dissolved and then add a quart of ginger ale. Fill each tumbler to one-third with cracked ice and fill up with the punch.

The Garden Mint is also the basis of Mint Julep and Mint-water, the cordial distilled from the plant.

botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/m/mints-39.html#spehar

Surprisingly, because the metals are such perfect expressions of archetypal energies, we can actually learn quite a bit about people by studying the properties of metals and the behavior of planets. That same correspondence exists in the human temperament. For instance, the leaden person is someone who has, like Saturn, lost their bid to become a star. They have accepted a mere physical existence and believe the created world is all that counts. The positive characteristics of the saturnine person are patience, responsibility, somberness, structure and realism, true knowledge of history and karma. The black messenger crows of Chronos bring black moods, depression and despair to us, but they also alert us to illusion and fakeness in our lives.

While we have already discussed the planetary archetypes, it is worth reminding ourselves at this point exactly how the alchemists looked on the relationship between the planet and its metal. They believed that the metals had the same “virtue” as the corresponding planet, that a single spirit infuses both the planet and the metal. In other words, the planet was a celestial manifestation and the metal a terrestrial manifestation of the same universal force. Therefore, the metals are the purest expression of the planetary energies in the mineral kingdom, which is the basis for material reality on earth. The next stage of evolution on our planet is the plant kingdom, and the alchemists assigned a metal and its corresponding planet to describe the characteristics of every known herb, flower, and plant. Similarly, on the next level in the evolution of matter in the animal kingdom, all creatures carry their own metallic or planetary signatures, which are expressed in their behavior. In human beings, the alchemists referred to the sum total of the cosmic signatures of the metals as a person’s “temperament.” Originally, that word referred to the metallurgical process of “tempering” or mixing different metals to produce certain characteristics in an alloy. Although the alchemists considered lead the lowest of the base metals, they treated it with a great deal of respect, as they did its corresponding planet Saturn. Lead was said to carry all the energy of its own transformation, and it was that hidden energy that the alchemists sought to free. To the alchemists, the ancient metal was a powerful “sleeping giant” with a dark and secret nature that encompassed both the beginning and end of the Great Work.

Lead is the heaviest of the seven metals; it is very tied to gravity, form, and manifested reality. It is also a very stubborn metal known for its durability and resistance to change. Lead products dating from 7000 BC are still intact, and lead water pipes installed by the Romans 1,500 years ago are still in use today. Alchemists depicted lead in their drawings as the god Saturn (a crippled old man with a sickle), Father Time, or a skeleton representing death itself. Any of these symbols in their manuscripts meant the alchemist was working with the metal lead in the laboratory or a leaden attitude in his accompanying meditation.Lead is a boundary of heaviness for matter. Metals of greater atomic weight are too heavy and disintegrate over time (by radioactive decay) to turn back into lead. So radioactive decay is really a Saturnic process that introduces a new characteristic in the metals – that of time. All the hyper-energetic metals beyond lead are trapped in time to inexorably return to lead. There is no natural process more unalterably exact than radioactive decay. Atomic clocks, the most precise timekeeping devices we have, are based on this leaden process. Geologists measure the age of radioactive rocks by how much lead they contain, and the age of the earth is estimated by taking lead isotope measurements. In many ways, lead carries the signature of Father Time.Native lead, which is lead metal found in a chemically uncombined state, is actually extremely rare. It is found in the earth's crust in a concentration of only about 13 parts per billion. Lead does not form crystals easily, and thus the pure mineral form is very rare and extremely valuable as rock specimens. Such elemental lead can also be found in very unusual “metamorphosed” limestone and marble formations that are equally rare.Surprisingly, lead is in the same group in the Periodic Table as gold, and when it occurs in nature, it is always found with gold and silver. In fact, the chemical symbol for lead (Pb) is from the Latin word plumbum, which means “liquid silver.” We derive our words “plumbing” and “plumb bob” from the use of lead in those applications. In the smelting of silver, lead plays an important role by forming a layer over the emerging molten silver and protecting it from combining with the air and splattering out. The volatile molten lead covering is gradually burnt away, until only the pure silver metal “peeks out” (in the smelter’s terminology) in a stabilized form. Thus, lead protects and even sacrifices itself for the nobler metals.The planet Saturn and its metal and the planet have the same symbol (L) in alchemy. The Hermetic interpretation is that the symbol is basically the cross of the elements that depicts the division between the Above and Below or spirit and matter. The lunar crescent of the soul is below the cross, representing the manifestation (or entrapment) of soul below in matter. Despite these associations with the noble metals, lead itself never makes it to such heights among the metals. The silvery luster of fresh cut lead quickly fades, as if it were “dying” before your eyes. Furthermore, alchemists considered lead to be “hydrophobic” or against the life nourishing archetype of water. Lead ores lack the slightest water content and tend to form machine-like structures.The most common ore of lead is galena, which also contains the noble metals silver and gold. Galena is lead sulfide, a favorite of rock collectors because of its distinctive cubic shapes, characteristic cleavage, and high density. In fact, the structure of galena is identical to that of natural table salt. The two minerals have exactly the same crystal shapes, symmetry and cleavage, although galena crystals are thousands of times larger. Some galena may contain up to 1% silver and often contains trace amounts of gold. The large volume of galena that is processed for lead produces enough silver as a by product to make galena the leading ore of silver as well Galena definitely has the signature of lead. Its color is silver gray with a bluish tint. The luster ranges from metallic to dull in the weathered faces, and the isometric crystals are opaque to light. The massive crystals of galena almost always take the form of a cube or octahedron, and the cleavage is perfect in four direction always forming cubes. Because of the perfect cleavage, fractures are rarely seen and the dark crystalline structure is nearly perfect.Lead is also found in other sulfuric minerals like calcite and dolomite, as well as lead oxidation minerals such as and anglesite and cerussite, which is found in the oxidation zone of lead deposits usually associated with galena. Some formations show cerussite crusts around a galena core as if the act of oxidation was frozen in time. Cerrussite is lead carbonate and also a favorite of rock hounds. Its very high luster is due mostly to the metallic lead content, and just as leaded crystal glass sparkles more brilliantly because of its lead content, so too does cerussite. Cerussite has one of the highest densities for a transparent mineral. It is over six and a half times as dense as water. Most rocks and minerals average only around three times the density of water. Cerussite is famous for its great sparkle and density, and its amazing twinned (or double) crystals. The mineral forms geometrically intricate structures and star shapes that simply amazing to behold – sometimes the twinned crystals form star shapes with six "rays" extending out from the star.When freed from its ores, lead metal has a bluish-white color and is very soft – capable of being scratched by a fingernail. With its dull metallic luster and high density, lead cannot easily be confused with any other metal. It is also malleable, ductile, and sectile – meaning it can be pounded into other shapes, stretched into a wire, and cut into slices. However, lead is a dark, sluggish, base metal. Of the seven metals, it is the slowest conductor of electricity and heat, the least lustrous or resonant. Its Saturnic signature of heaviness is expressed not only in its being the heaviest metal but also in its tendency to form inert and insoluble compounds. No other metal forms as many. Although it tarnishes upon exposure to air like silver, lead is extremely resistant to corrosion over time and seems to last forever. Lead pipes bearing the insignia of Roman emperors, used as drains from the baths, are still in service. The surface of lead is protected by a thin layer of lead oxide, and it does not react with water. The same process protects lead from the traditional “liquid fire” of the alchemists – sulfuric acid. In fact, lead bottles are still used to store the highly corrosive acid. Lead is so inalterable, that half of all the lead in the world today is simply recovered from scrap and formed directly into bullion for reuse.Lead is truly a destroyer of light. It is added to high-quality glassware (lead crystal) to absorb light reflections and make the glass clearer. Lead salts in glass are not changed by light but change light itself by absorbing it. Incoming light in lead crystal meets with high resistance, but once it is within the glass, light is immediately absorbed or dispersed without any reflected light escaping. Sheets of lead are also impermeable to all forms of light, even high energy X-rays and gamma rays, which makes lead the perfect shield against any form of radiation and is why it is used to transport and store radioactive materials.Lead is an extremely poor conductor of electricity and blocks all kinds of energy transmission. Indeed, one of the signatures of lead is its ability to “dampen” or absorb energy. Unlike other metals, when lead is struck, the vibrations are immediately absorbed and any tone is smothered in dullness. Lead is an effective sound proofing medium and tetraethyl lead is still used in some grades of gasoline as an antiknock compound to “quiet” the combustion of gasoline.Thin lead sheets are used extensively in the walls of high-rise buildings to block the transmission of sound, and thick pads of lead are used in the foundations to absorb the vibrations of street traffic and even minor earthquakes. Lead sheets are widely used in roofing to block solar rays, and lead foil is used to form lightproof enclosures in laboratory work. Ultimately, lead corresponds to the galactic Black Hole that absorbs all forms of radiation and light.Lead reacts with more chemicals than any other metal, however, instead of producing something new and useful, lead “kills” the combining substance by making it inert, insoluble and unable to enter into further chemical reactions. Its salts precipitate out of solutions heavily and copiously. Lead has the same effect in the plant kingdom. It accumulates in the roots and slows down the “breathing” process in plants. Young plants are adversely affected by even the smallest amount of lead in the soil.Lead is poisonous and accumulates over time in the bones of the human body, where it cannot be flushed out. It has also been found in high concentrations in gallstones and kidney stones. The old alchemical graphic for lead – a skeleton – was grotesquely appropriate. The symptoms of lead poisoning (known as “Saturnism”) are lack of energy, depression, blindness, dizziness, severe headaches at the back of the head, brain damage, attention deficit disorder, learning disabilities and mental retardation, antisocial behavior and anger, atrophy of muscular tissue and cramping, excess growth of connective tissue resulting in a rigid appearance, rapid aging, coma, and early death. Rats fed only 5 parts per million of lead had a lifespan 25% shorter than normal rats. Children are especially vulnerable to lead poisoning, and it is believed to be an important factor in stillborn fetuses. Children with more than just 0.3 parts per million of lead in their blood suffer a significant slowing of brain function and corresponding drop in IQ. Lead in paint has caused mental retardation and premature aging in hundreds of children who ingested old flaking paint from the walls of their homes. Lead paint was used extensively until the poisonous effects were documented in the 1960s. Because of its lasting durability, lead paint is still used outdoors in advertising and the yellow lines on highways and curbs. The subtly controlling aspect of those applications is another signature of lead and of “leaden” persons in general.Not surprisingly, lead has found use as an insecticide and was even once considered for use as a military weapon. Lead metal reacts violently with fluorine and chlorine to form the highly poisonous gases, lead fluoride and lead chloride. Lead is also used in all kinds of ammunition – another appropriate application of lead’s esoteric signature as Father Time and the Grim Reaper. There are many research studies linking lead exposure to anger and violence, especially in adolescents. One recent study of all counties in the United States conducted by Colorado State University revealed that the murder rate in counties with the highest lead levels were four times higher than in counties with the lowest levels of lead.More benevolent uses of lead are in storage batteries, covering for underground and transoceanic cables, waste plumbing, shielding around X-ray equipment and nuclear reactors, solder, pewter, fine lead crystal glass, and flint glass with a high refractive index for achromatic lenses.Even the elemental metal carries the seed of its own redemption. The alchemists knew that Fire is lord over lead, for the metal has a low melting point and is easily separated from its ore by roasting in an open flame, and the metal itself melts in a candle flame. Lead expands on heating and contracts on cooling more than any other solid heavy metal. (Silver is the opposite and is considered an antidote to lead.)Perhaps owing to its dual nature, lead carries deeply hidden within its structure the fire of its own transformation. Many lead salts reveal a whole rainbow of brilliant colors, with the solar colors of yellow, orange, and red predominating. This is why lead has been used in paints for so many centuries. Finely divided lead powder is pyrophoric (“fire containing”) and easily catches fire or erupts spontaneously in flames. When made into a fine powder, lead metal must be kept in a vacuum to keep from catching fire. Otherwise, it ignites and burns down to a bright yellow ash, revealing its deeply hidden solar signature. So, the wonder of lead is that hidden deep inside the gray, dead metal is a tiny, eternal spark that is the seed of its own resurrection. In the eyes of alchemists, this makes lead the most important metal despite its unattractive darkness. For dull lead and gleaming gold are really the same things, only at different stages of growth or maturity.The Secret Fire inside lead is really the alchemical basis for transforming lead into gold, and correspondingly, gives mankind hope for its own spiritual transformation. That tiny spark of light in the darkest part of matter makes resurrection part of the structure of the universe. So, deep down inside, the metal lead also yearns to be transformed. It wants to rise in the air and fly, leave matter and form behind, and be free as Fire. Lead unites two contrasting forces: rigid heaviness and revivifying inner fire. Archetypically, the lead process is concerned with death and resurrection. Greek myth says that after death our soul is put on a scale, and the weights of the scale are made from lead, the metal that carries Saturn's signature.Lead is used in magical rituals, spells, and amulets to promote contact with deep unconscious levels (the underworld), deep meditation, controlling negativity, breaking bad habits and addictions, protection, stability, grounding, solidity, perseverance, decisiveness, concentration, conservation, and material constructions (buildings). Pick up a hunk of lead and the first thing you notice is its weight – its connection to gravity. It is that connection to something beyond matter and light, the very form of the universe that is the physical basis for this experiment. During the winter months, preferably on some clear night in late January or early February, go outside and find the planet Saturn in the northern sky. Relax and try to focus all your attention on the golden sphere. Relax completely with an open and quiet mind. Become empty and let the planet influence you. Do this until you feel a real connection with the distant planet. Continue gazing upon Saturn and place a piece of lead metal in your hand. You should be able to feel a strange resonance building. That eerie, cold vibration is not your imagination. It is what alchemists refer to as the “call of lead.” You are experiencing the metal’s true signature or living correspondence with its planetary twin.The strange connection between lead and Saturn has been documented by modern scientists, who have shown that lead compounds react differently depending on Saturn’s position in the sky. For instance, solutions of lead nitrate produce the greatest weight of crystallization (or manifestation) during February, when Saturn rules the sky, and the least during June, when Saturn is barely visible. Lead compounds also exhibit different properties when Saturn aligns with other planets. For example, lead sulfate solution rises 60% higher on strips of filter paper during conjunctions of Saturn with Mars than at other times. It is also known that the ease of making lead solutions (the “solubility coefficient” of lead) varies with the position of Saturn relative to the other planets. NASA is even considering a series of astrochemical experiments to see if the Saturn-lead effects become more pronounced in outer space.Surprisingly, because the metals are such perfect expressions of archetypal energies, we can actually learn quite a bit about people by studying the properties of metals and the behavior of planets. That same correspondence exists in the human temperament. For instance, the leaden person is someone who has, like Saturn, lost their bid to become a star. They have accepted a mere physical existence and believe the created world is all that counts. The positive characteristics of the saturnine person are patience, responsibility, somberness, structure and realism, true knowledge of history and karma. The black messenger crows of Chronos bring black moods, depression and despair to us, but they also alert us to illusion and fakeness in our lives. Surprisingly, because the metals are such perfect expressions of archetypal energies, we can actually learn quite a bit about people by studying the properties of metals and the behavior of planets. That same correspondence exists in the human temperament. For instance, the leaden person is someone who has, like Saturn, lost their bid to become a star. They have accepted a mere physical existence and believe the created world is all that counts. The positive characteristics of the saturnine person are patience, responsibility, somberness, structure and realism, true knowledge of history and karma. The black messenger crows of Chronos bring black moods, depression and despair to us, but they also alert us to illusion and fakeness in our lives. Surprisingly, because the metals are such perfect expressions of archetypal energies, we can actually learn quite a bit about people by studying the properties of metals and the behavior of planets. That same correspondence exists in the human temperament. For instance, the leaden person is someone who has, like Saturn, lost their bid to become a star. They have accepted a mere physical existence and believe the created world is all that counts. The positive characteristics of the saturnine person are patience, responsibility, somberness, structure and realism, true knowledge of history and karma. The black messenger crows of Chronos bring black moods, depression and despair to us, but they also alert us to illusion and fakeness in our lives. Because the lusterless metal is so “dead” and resists interaction with other substances, it is used as containers for acids, like automobile batteries, and is used as a lining in pipes that carry corrosive substances. Similarly, the lead tempered person is like an acid-proof container that stores up caustic feelings and anger. Phrases like “acid tongued” and “vitriolic” have their origins in this alchemical process of storing negative emotional energy.On the psychological level, lead is symbolic of a person’s inertness and unwillingness to change. There is a denial of all higher or spiritual energies, and the alchemists often portrayed the leaden person as lying in an open grave or hopelessly chained to matter in some way. A feeling of being trapped in material reality is symptomatic of a leaden attitude. Leaden people are stubborn, unyielding, and often control other people by making them wait. They must always be right, rarely accept blame or admit to being in error, and have no real regard for the truth of a situation. They may be religious but not spiritual. They tend to be suspicious of genius and inspiration, which they will often attribute to fantasy, They feel threatened by freedom of thought and expression, and sometimes use ridicule or try to “push people’s buttons” to control it. They tend to be very uncreative, judgmental, and smug.On the other hand, leaden people are grounded, earthy, and practical. They are good friends during times of bereavement – a rock of support at funerals and deathbeds. Such people secretly crave stimulation, excitement, and new ideas. They gravitate to people who supply energy and entertainment in their lives. This craving for stimulation often makes them focus on nervous energy instead of higher inspiration. Therefore, Saturn’s children can be very reactive and excitable instead of lethargic, as they try to escape from their prison of matter.As soon as bright, fresh lead metal is exposed to air, it forms a dull-gray oxide layer called the “litharge” that resists any further chemical interaction. In alchemy, air is associated with spiritual energy, and lead reacts to it by instantly forming a barrier or blocking it. Likewise, one of the distinguishing characteristics of someone with a lead temperament is their lack of interest in spiritual ideas. There is also a general lack of interest in life in general, and leaden people often seem lazy, lethargic, or unresponsive.In the individual, lead absorbs the inner light or insight necessary for personal growth and blocks all outside “radiations,” such as attempts at spiritual instruction by others. Because psychological lead absorbs both the deeper vibrations of intuition and higher spiritual energies and aspirations, the person with a lead temperament is uninspired, unimaginative, and lacks that creative spark so necessary for positive change. Before long the lead person starts to feel trapped in his or her dull environment and seeks out excitement, death-defying feats, lively people, and challenging conversation. Their favorite color is often red, and unconsciously, they are seeking the alchemical element of Fire. Fire is one of the Four Elements that represents activity, energy, creative thinking, and transformation. Fire is the tool alchemists use to begin the transmutation of lead into gold as well as transform leaden consciousness into a golden awareness of higher reality. In the laboratory, the changes in the metal and in the alchemist take place simultaneously. Otherwise, there can be no real transformation. The alchemists transmuted the Lead temperament using the Fire operation of Calcination. Physically, lead and Saturn rule the bones, teeth, spleen, and slow chronic processes such as aging. The therapeutic effects are contracting, coagulating, drying, and mineralizing. Saturn-ruled plants enhance the structures of life. They give a sobriety of disposition, en-abling one to see limitations. These plants give steadiness, solidity of pur-pose, subtlety, diplomacy, patience, and an ability to work on the physical plane better.Saturnic or leaden energies are needed for those who have a hard time finishing pro-jects or for those with plenty of ideas but never realize them. Alchemists seeking to produce physical effects found in saturnine elixirs the essential vibratory rate that enabled materialization. Alchemists seeking to produce physical effects found in saturnine elixirs the essential vibratory rate that enabled materialization. Generally speaking, any other elixir mixed with a Saturn elixir will be earthed, which makes them of great value when working on physical plane phenomenon. Their physical therapeutic properties become refrigerant, anti-pyretic, sedative, styptic, and astringent.For instance, if one mixes a saturnine elixir with a mercurial one, the alchemists believed it would release knowledge contained in secret magical manuscripts or in ancient hermetic traditions, because the Saturn-Mercury vibration contains all hidden knowledge of an esoteric nature within it. Alchemical oils were mixed in the same way. For example, to treat leukemia, alchemists would prescribe an equal mixture of lead oil and gold oil. The alchemists made an Oil of Lead that was good for “growth of bones after breaking, strengthening the skeleton, osteoporosis and atrophy of the bones, stimulation of the spleen, drying tissue, reducing secretions and discharges, stopping bleeding, reducing fever, increasing patience, and stopping visions and an overactive imagination.” They also suggested it for hallucinations due to neurological disorders that have delirious after-effects such as encephalitis and post-traumatic stress syndrome. In the “like cures like” philosophy of homeopathy, lead is used to treat sclerosis, the hardening of bones and arteries, which is the hallmark of old age and signature of lead. The homeopathic name of lead is Plumbum metallicum. Native tin is known as stannum, which is the Latin word for tin and also gives the metal its chemical symbol (Sn). The alchemical symbol is K, which shows the lunar principle of soul above the cross of the elements or emerging from the darkness of matter.

Tin is a shiny, silvery-white metal that is malleable, somewhat ductile and sectile, and seems like a perfected form of lead to the casual observer. In fact, the Romans called tin Plumbum album or “white lead.” Tin resists weathering and does not oxidize, and tin utensils buried underground or lost at sea in sunken ships shone like new when rediscovered after hundreds of years. “Tinkers” were gypsy craftsmen who wandered from neighborhood to neighborhood in Europe repairing tin kettles and utensils or melting them down and recasting them. Native or elemental tin is extremely rare in nature and is found with gold and copper deposits. The metal was considered “semi-noble” in ancient times and was used for jewelry in Babylonia and Egypt. The Romans used it to make mirrors, and it was used as coinage in Europe at one time.

Tin has a highly crystalline structure, and due to the breaking of these crystals, a "cry" is heard when a tin bar is bent. Unlike lead, tin has pleasing acoustic effects and is used in the making of bells. The crystals in common grey tin have a cubic structure, but when heated or frozen it changes into white tin, which has a tetragonal structure. After further heating or freezing, white tin disintegrates into a powdery substance. This powder has the ability to “infect” other tin surfaces it comes in contact with by forming blisters that spread until all the metal “sickens” and disintegrates. This transformation is encouraged by impurities such as zinc and aluminum and can be prevented by adding small amounts of antimony or bismuth to the metal. The sickness of tin was called the “tin plague” and was the scourge of tin roofs during Europe’s frigid winters. The mysterious effect was first was first noticed as “growths” on organ pipes in European cathedrals, where it was thought to be the work of the devil to disfigure god’s work.Tin metal has only a few practical uses and most tin is used in alloys. Bronze is an alloy of 5% tin and 95% copper, and the development of bronze by humans marked a new age of advancement known as the Bronze Age. Most solder is a combination of tin and lead; pewter is also an alloy of tin and lead. Other tin alloys are used to make tin cans and tin roofs, and tin has significant use as a corrosion fighter in the protection of other metals. Tin resists distilled, sea and soft tap water, but is attacked by strong acids, alkalis, and acid salts. When heated in air, tin forms tin oxide, which is used to plate steel and make tin cans. Other uses are in type metal, fusible metal, Babbitt metal, and die casting alloys. Tin chloride is used as a reducing agent and mordant in calico printing. Tin salts sprayed onto glass are used to produce electrically conductive coatings, which are used for panel lighting and for frost-free windshields. Window glass is made by floating molten glass on molten tin to produce a flat surface. A crystalline tin-niobium alloy is superconductive at very low temperatures, and shoebox-sized electromagnets made of the wire produce magnetic fields comparable to conventional electromagnets weighing hundreds of tons.The distribution of tin on earth follows an ecliptic at an angle of 23.5 º to the equator that is an exact track of the orbit of Jupiter slicing through the planet. Even stranger, these jovian forces seem to form tin veins that zigzag through the rocks in a lightening bolt pattern. This is no haphazard effect, but an astonishing confirmation of Jupiter freeing the metals from their Saturnic prison on earth. Goethe was just one great alchemical philosopher who believed this. “A remarkable influence proceeds from the metal tin,” he wrote. “This has a differentiating influence, and opens a door through which a way is provided for different metals to be formed from primeval rocks.”Tin ore minerals include oxide minerals like cassiterite and a few sulfides such as franckerite. By far the most tin comes from cassiterite or tin oxide. Reduction of this ore in burning coal results in tin metal and was probably how tin was made by the ancients. Cassiterite is a black or reddish brown mineral that has ornately faceted specimens with a greasy, high luster. It is generally opaque, but its luster and multiple crystal faces cause a sparkling surface. Cassiterite has been an important ore of tin for thousands of years and is still the greatest source of tin today. Most aggregate specimens of cassiterite show crystal twins, with the typical twin bent at a near-60-degree angle to form a distinctive "Elbow Twin." Other crystalline forms include eight-sided prisms and four-sided pyramids. Cassiterite is sometimes found in nature associated with topaz and fluorite gemstones.Tin has a surprising affinity for silica and shares its crystalline structure. In the jovian ring on our planet where native tin is found, the metal lies in silica veins of quartz and granite. In the body, high concentrations of tin and silica are found in the boundary layer of the skin, and tin reacts with silica acid in many of the “shaping” processes of growth. In the Middle Ages, sick people were served food on a tin plate and drinks in a tin vessel to help them regenerate and recover their strength. Today, we know that tin acts as a bactericide and pesticide.Native tin is known as stannum, which is the Latin word for tin and also gives the metal its chemical symbol (Sn). The alchemical symbol is K, which shows the lunar principle of soul above the cross of the elements or emerging from the darkness of matter.

Tin is a shiny, silvery-white metal that is malleable, somewhat ductile and sectile, and seems like a perfected form of lead to the casual observer. In fact, the Romans called tin Plumbum album or “white lead.” Tin resists weathering and does not oxidize, and tin utensils buried underground or lost at sea in sunken ships shone like new when rediscovered after hundreds of years. “Tinkers” were gypsy craftsmen who wandered from neighborhood to neighborhood in Europe repairing tin kettles and utensils or melting them down and recasting them. Native or elemental tin is extremely rare in nature and is found with gold and copper deposits. The metal was considered “semi-noble” in ancient times and was used for jewelry in Babylonia and Egypt. The Romans used it to make mirrors, and it was used as coinage in Europe at one time.

Tin has a highly crystalline structure, and due to the breaking of these crystals, a "cry" is heard when a tin bar is bent. Unlike lead, tin has pleasing acoustic effects and is used in the making of bells. The crystals in common grey tin have a cubic structure, but when heated or frozen it changes into white tin, which has a tetragonal structure. After further heating or freezing, white tin disintegrates into a powdery substance. This powder has the ability to “infect” other tin surfaces it comes in contact with by forming blisters that spread until all the metal “sickens” and disintegrates. This transformation is encouraged by impurities such as zinc and aluminum and can be prevented by adding small amounts of antimony or bismuth to the metal. The sickness of tin was called the “tin plague” and was the scourge of tin roofs during Europe’s frigid winters. The mysterious effect was first was first noticed as “growths” on organ pipes in European cathedrals, where it was thought to be the work of the devil to disfigure god’s work.Tin metal has only a few practical uses and most tin is used in alloys. Bronze is an alloy of 5% tin and 95% copper, and the development of bronze by humans marked a new age of advancement known as the Bronze Age. Most solder is a combination of tin and lead; pewter is also an alloy of tin and lead. Other tin alloys are used to make tin cans and tin roofs, and tin has significant use as a corrosion fighter in the protection of other metals. Tin resists distilled, sea and soft tap water, but is attacked by strong acids, alkalis, and acid salts. When heated in air, tin forms tin oxide, which is used to plate steel and make tin cans. Other uses are in type metal, fusible metal, Babbitt metal, and die casting alloys. Tin chloride is used as a reducing agent and mordant in calico printing. Tin salts sprayed onto glass are used to produce electrically conductive coatings, which are used for panel lighting and for frost-free windshields. Window glass is made by floating molten glass on molten tin to produce a flat surface. A crystalline tin-niobium alloy is superconductive at very low temperatures, and shoebox-sized electromagnets made of the wire produce magnetic fields comparable to conventional electromagnets weighing hundreds of tons.The distribution of tin on earth follows an ecliptic at an angle of 23.5 º to the equator that is an exact track of the orbit of Jupiter slicing through the planet. Even stranger, these jovian forces seem to form tin veins that zigzag through the rocks in a lightening bolt pattern. This is no haphazard effect, but an astonishing confirmation of Jupiter freeing the metals from their Saturnic prison on earth. Goethe was just one great alchemical philosopher who believed this. “A remarkable influence proceeds from the metal tin,” he wrote. “This has a differentiating influence, and opens a door through which a way is provided for different metals to be formed from primeval rocks.”Tin ore minerals include oxide minerals like cassiterite and a few sulfides such as franckerite. By far the most tin comes from cassiterite or tin oxide. Reduction of this ore in burning coal results in tin metal and was probably how tin was made by the ancients. Cassiterite is a black or reddish brown mineral that has ornately faceted specimens with a greasy, high luster. It is generally opaque, but its luster and multiple crystal faces cause a sparkling surface. Cassiterite has been an important ore of tin for thousands of years and is still the greatest source of tin today. Most aggregate specimens of cassiterite show crystal twins, with the typical twin bent at a near-60-degree angle to form a distinctive "Elbow Twin." Other crystalline forms include eight-sided prisms and four-sided pyramids. Cassiterite is sometimes found in nature associated with topaz and fluorite gemstones.Tin has a surprising affinity for silica and shares its crystalline structure. In the jovian ring on our planet where native tin is found, the metal lies in silica veins of quartz and granite. In the body, high concentrations of tin and silica are found in the boundary layer of the skin, and tin reacts with silica acid in many of the “shaping” processes of growth. In the Middle Ages, sick people were served food on a tin plate and drinks in a tin vessel to help them regenerate and recover their strength. Today, we know that tin acts as a bactericide and pesticide.

Flowers last longer in tin vases, and food has been preserved in the tin cans (actually a thin layer of tin on iron) for over a century. Beer (ruled by the jovial Jupiter) is said to taste best from a tin mug. Jupiter rules growth, the metabolic system, the liver, and the enrichment of the blood from food. Jupiter therapeutic effects are anti-spasmodic and hepatic. Jupiter-ruled plants preserve the body and promote healthy growth and are the natural healing herbs of the planetary system. They af-fect the mind in such a way as to promote an understanding of ritual form from the highest point of view, and religious leaders, doctors, lawyers, etc. will find great benefit from jovian herb remedies. They also attune one to the wealth vibration and open up channels for growth and expansion, materi-ally as well as spiritually.Jupiter controls the circulation of blood in the human body. If mixed with a solar herbal eider, it will give the alchemist access to the highest plane. Jupiter-Mercury combinations produce insight into the philosophical principles of any system and their part in the cosmic scheme and provide an intuitive understanding of the great spiritual masters. This particular herbal mixture also produces a lightheartedness and gaiety, which can be very useful to those with a predisposition to depression or gloominess. The physical properties of such a mixture are anabolic and antispasmodic.The alchemists made an Oil of Tin that was used to treat the liver (jaundice, hepatitis, cirrhosis), certain types of eczema, liquid ovarian cysts, inflammatory effusions, pleurisies, acne, water retention, and certain types of obesity. This oil was said to be excellent for someone "loosing shape." The oil was also used as a sweat inducer, wormer, antispasmodic, cathartic, and laxative.The polar (opposite) metal to tin is mercury, and Oil of Tin was said to be an excellent antidote for mercury poisoning, and likewise mercury was said to balance the bad effects of tin. Tin and mercury oil combined are said to provide deep insight and cure lightheadedness and certain phases of manic-depressive syndrome.The homeopathic form of tin is called Stannum, a remedy which is said to strengthen and regenerate muscle and brain tissue. It is also a remedy for the joints and connective tissue of ligaments and cartilage. Stannum is allegedly beneficial in liver disease and is used for congestion, hardening, encephalitis, and other illnesses where the fluid balance is upset.During the early Spring, preferably sometime in March, go outside and find the red planet Mars in the night sky. Relax and try to focus all your attention on the tiny red sphere. Relax completely with an open and quiet mind. Become empty and let the planet influence you. Do this until you feel a real connection with the distant planet. Continue gazing upon Mars and place a piece of iron in your hand or a small cast iron pot or other object but not something of made of steel or chromed. You should be able to feel a resonance building. It is what alchemists refer to as the “call of iron.” You are experiencing the metal’s true signature or living correspondence with its planetary twin. See how your feelings compare to how the alchemists felt about this powerful metal.When mixed with solar herbs, iron herbs increase energy and activate the energetic potentials of other herbs. Martian elixirs release the action poten-tial of the soul of something. When mixed with other herbs, martian herbs acti-vate the potentialities of the other herbs to a great degree making them more forceful in applica-tion and generally more active. Mars herbs are wonderful tonics when mixed with Sun herbs. The combination gives great physical energy, tones the muscles, and increases sexual potency. They also provoke self-reliance, spontaneity, and indepen-dence of attitude. If the alchemist is involved in magical evocation, a mixture of a mars, moon, and mercurial elixirs will help produce the physical plane vehicle of manifestation.Copper is a reddish-brown metal with a bright metallic luster. It is in the same group in the Periodic Table as gold, and like gold, it is remarkably ductile. It is also very malleable and sectile (it can be pounded into other shapes and cut into slices) and is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity. Molten copper is a sea green color, and copper tarnishes with a green color and burns with a blue-green flame with flashes of red, and the alchemists sometimes described Venus, the metal’s archetypal planetary source, as dressed in a blue cloak over a red gown.Pick up a piece of copper and the first thing you notice is its surprising feeling of warmth and moisture. It is that connection to something archetypal and nourishing that makes up the signature of this metal. It is easy to connect with copper, just as its planet (Venus) is easy to see in the sky. It is so brilliant it is often mistaken for a bright star or even a UFO. The best time to see it is in the early evening or morning when it is close to the horizon. In fact, Venus has been called both the “Morning Star” and the “Evening Star” and is associated with magical energies. It is the “first star I see tonight” upon you make you wish that will come true with the sympathetic venusian energies. On some clear night or morning, go outside and find the planet Venus. Relax and try to focus all your attention on the brilliant white sphere. Relax completely with an open and quiet mind. Become empty and let the planet influence you. Do this until you feel a real connection with the distant planet. Continue gazing upon the planet and grab a piece of copper, a fistful of pennies, or even a copper cooking utensil. You should be able to feel a warm resonance building. That deep and soothing vibration is not your imagination. It is what alchemists refer to as the “call of copper.” You are experiencing the metal’s true signature or living correspondence with its planetary twin.The venusian signature gives refinement of senses and the ability to appreciate beauty. Artists, actors, and others in the public eye will find these elixirs a great aid to performing their work. Venus herbs also enhance the taste perceptions, promote affection, give an amiable disposition, and make one more psychically sensitive to astral influences. For those who feel a lack of charm, or some of the softer human qualities, a venusian elixir will stimulate the right vibration in your aura. Venusian elixirs also promote harmony and balance within our being and in our dealings with others. Venusian elixirs are said to give access to that realm of the astral that is intimately connected with the working and forces of the most intimate magic of nature. They are a great aid to alchemists who wish to make herbal alchemy their life work, as they open up the human consciousness to the secrets of the plant kingdom. Naturalists will find these elixirs most illuminating, as they will give conscious con-tact with the various “deities” of long past nature religions.Mercury is truly unique. It is the only metal that is liquid at room temperature and the heaviest natural liquid on the planet. According to alchemical theory, all the metals began in the liquid state on deep in the earth, but only mercury was able to retain it original innocence and life force and resist taking on a final form, and for that reason, the ancients called it Mercurius vivens (the “living mercury”). This silvery liquid metal (also known as “Quicksilver”) was known to ancient Chinese and Hindus before 2000 BC and has been found in sacred tubes in Egyptian tombs dated from 1500 BC. It was first used to form alloys with other metals around 500 BC. The Greeks applied germ-killing ability of mercury in healing ointments (to the benefit of those afflicted with wounds and skin infections), and in the Middle Ages, Paracelsus used it successfully to treat syphilis. However, the ancient Romans applied mercury compounds for long-term use in cosmetics, and many beautiful women eventually died of its cumulative poisonous effects. Today, many popular brands of eye makeup still contain low levels of mercury.In the East, metallic mercury was the main ingredient in most Tantric medicinal preparations. In his travels through India, Marco Polo observed that many people drank a concoction of mercury and sulfur twice monthly from early childhood with no observable ill effects. They believed the drink gave them longevity. Tantric alchemists in India still take metallic mercury in place of food as an elixir of life, although they caution that the body must be perfectly attuned and strengthened to tolerate the intense cosmic infusion of life force. In Indian alchemy, mercury is called rasa, which refers to the subtle essence that is the origin of all forms of matter. The cosmic chaos from which the universe sprang is called the Rasasara or “Sea of Mercury.” The craft of alchemy is referred to as Rasayana or “Knowledge of Mercury.” Go outside on the night of the full moon and gaze up at the silver orb. Relax and try to focus all your attention on the surface of the moon. Relax completely with an open and quiet mind. Become empty and let our closest planetary body influence you. Do this until you feel a real connection. Now, pick up piece of silver jewelry or dinnerware, and hold it in your left hand until it gets warm. You should be able to feel a liquid-like sensation of cool metallic energy. This is what alchemists refer to as the “call of silver.” You are experiencing the metal’s true signature or living correspondence with the moon itself. Try to remember how this feels in your body. Has the taste in your mouth changed? Has your eyesight altered? How does your skin feel.The alchemists prepared an Oil of Silver they used to treat disorders of the brain and cerebellum, reduce stress, balance emotions, improve memory, treat nervous disorders and epilepsy, improve both melancholia and mania. It was also used as a physical purgative and mental purifier. It was said to affect the subconscious mind, see into the past clearly, remove fears and blockages, allow one to unwind, produce “homey” feelings, give a feeling of grace and sensitivity, and enhanced imagination.Using elaborate mixing and heating techniques, Egyptian alchemists tried making gold by changing the proportions of the Four Elements in the base metals or by attempting to speed up natural growth of lesser metals into gold. Around 100 AD, Egyptian alchemist Maria Prophetissa used mercury and sulfur to try to make gold. Around 300 AD, the alchemist Zosimos, whose recipes often came to him in dreams, was working to transmute copper. “The soul of copper,” he wrote must be purified until it receives the sheen of gold and turns into the royal metal of the Sun." A technique known as "diplosis" (“doubling”) of gold became popular. One such recipe called for heating a mixture of two parts gold with one part each of silver and copper. After appropriate alchemical charging that brought the seed of gold alive, twice as much of a gold as originally added was produced. Egyptian alchemists believed that the gold acted as a seed in metals, especially copper and silver. According to their view, the seed of gold grew, eating the copper and silver as food, until the whole mixture was transformed into pure gold.Gold is a stubbornly pure metal when it comes to reacting or even associating with “lesser” elements. That signature explains a lot of the chemical characteristics of gold. Unlike nearly every other metal, there are no plants that contain even trace amounts of metallic gold. There are very few gold ores, because the noblest metal never alloys with the baser metals, but does alloy with the noble metal silver and makes an amalgam with mercury.Gold is extremely ductile, malleable, and sectile, and so soft it can be cut with a knife, which makes gold impractical to use for tools. It is also very heavy. A gold bar is twice as heavy as an equal-sized bar of lead. Furthermore, gold embodies an inner equilibrium of forces that make it pretty much indestructible. Gold never tarnishes like copper or silver or rust like iron and, whether found buried in the ground, at the bottom of the ocean, in an ancient tomb, or in the ring on your finger, it always looks the same. It cannot be damaged by heat and was considered completely inalterable until around 1100 AD, when alchemists concocted a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids known as Agua Regia (“Royal Water”) that could dissolve gold. The immortal metal is endlessly recycled, and all the gold known today is very nearly equal to all the gold that has ever been mined. One ounce of gold can be stretched into a single wire 35 miles long, or it can be beaten to just a few atoms thick. It is the most flexible, enduring, and beautiful of all metals.

Gold shows a distinct affinity for sulfur and forms an ore with a rare element called tellurium. It is one of the few elements gold easily bonds with. In fact, telluride is rarely found without gold. Gold also appears in minerals that are part of a group of tellurium sulfides called the tellurides. However, the amount of gold in these minerals is really miniscule next to the amount of gold found in its native metallic state. Native gold seems to like the company of the purest white quartz and is also found mixed with deposits of pyrite and a few other sulfide minerals. Gold is six times rarer than silver, and it takes about three tons of gold ore to extract an ounce of gold metal.Around the world, nearly every culture associated their supreme god or goddess with gold. For many centuries only the images of gods graced gold coins, until Alexander the Great began the trend of rulers’ images appearing on gold coins around 30 BC. Even the most primitive societies recognize the sacred properties of gold. For example, the Makuna tribes of modern Brazil believe that gold contains “the light of the sun and stars." The chemical symbol for gold (Au) comes from the Latin word aurum meaning "gold.” The alchemical cipher for gold is a rendition of the sun (A), and gold was considered a kind of congealed light. Sol is the King of alchemy, and his royal purple-red color is revealed in gold colloidal solutions, and red is his symbolic color. Sol Philosophorum was the name the alchemists gave to this living spirit of gold, which they saw as the refined essence of heat and fire. Gold was known and considered sacred from earliest times. Gold became popular because it reminded people of the sun with its warm, life-giving properties. Because of its imperishability, the ancient Chinese thought that gold conveyed immortality to its owners. Egyptian inscriptions dating back to 2600 BC describe these same associations with gold. Gold replaced bartering around 3500 BC when the people of Mesopotamia started using it as a kind of money because of it eternal value. By 2800 BC, gold was being fashioned into standardized weights in the form of rings. People started carried black stones called “touchstones” onto which they scraped a piece of gold to leave a streak. Depending on the brightness of the streak, one could estimate how much gold was in the sample. Around 1500 BC, Mesopotamian alchemists discovered a process for purifying gold known as "cuppellation," which involved heating impure gold in a porcelain cup called a “cuppel.” Impurities were absorbed by the porcelain, leaving a button of pure gold behind. Later alchemists used cuppels to test the quality of their transmutations.Using elaborate mixing and heating techniques, Egyptian alchemists tried making gold by changing the proportions of the Four Elements in the base metals or by attempting to speed up natural growth of lesser metals into gold. Around 100 AD, Egyptian alchemist Maria Prophetissa used mercury and sulfur to try to make gold. Around 300 AD, the alchemist Zosimos, whose recipes often came to him in dreams, was working to transmute copper. “The soul of copper,” he wrote must be purified until it receives the sheen of gold and turns into the royal metal of the Sun." A technique known as "diplosis" (“doubling”) of gold became popular. One such recipe called for heating a mixture of two parts gold with one part each of silver and copper. After appropriate alchemical charging that brought the seed of gold alive, twice as much of a gold as originally added was produced. Egyptian alchemists believed that the gold acted as a seed in metals, especially copper and silver. According to their view, the seed of gold grew, eating the copper and silver as food, until the whole mixture was transformed into pure gold.According to the medieval alchemists, Nature sought continually to create the perfection achieved in gold, and they looked at every metal as gold in the making. Alchemists also thought that the objective of every metal was to become gold, and every metal was tested for corrosion and strength and ranked as to how far it was from gold. Many alchemists felt that mercury was the closest metal to gold and that it could be transmuted directly into gold. Their intuition was correct, for mercury can indeed be turned into gold. Gold and mercury are next to each other on the Periodic Table. Mercury is element 80 (has 80 protons) and gold is element 79 (has 79 protons). In the 1960s, physicists were able to knock out a proton in mercury atoms using neutron particle accelerators, and thereby create minute quantities of gold.Gold is at the head of the metals, paired with what in the medieval mind was the strongest planet, the Sun. The alchemists were obsessed with gold’s signature of perfection. Medieval Italian alchemist Bernard Trevisan speculated, "Is not gold merely the Sun’s beams condensed into a solid yellow?" Seventeenth-century alchemist John French asked fervently: “Is there no sperm in gold? Is it not possible to exalt it for multiplication? Is there no universal spirit in the world? Is it not possible to find that collected in One Thing which is dispersed in all things? What is that which makes gold incorruptible? What induced the philosophers to examine gold for the matter of their medicine? Was not all gold once living? Is there none of this living gold, the matter of philosophers, to be had anymore?”Gold is highly valued in the everyday world too. It is used as coinage and is a standard for monetary systems in many countries. It is used to make jewelry and artwork, and also in dentistry, electronics, and plating. Since it is an excellent reflector of infrared energy (such as emerges from the sun), the metal is used to coat space satellites and interstellar probes. Chlorauric acid is used in photography for toning the silver image. It is also used in medicine to treat degenerative diseases such as arthritis and cancer.Chemist Lilly Kolisko performed experiments with gold chloride and showed its chemical behavior coincided with events that altered the strength of the sun, such as the weakening in solar forces during solar eclipses or their increase during the summer solstice. Moreover, she found that both silver and gold salts seemed to be equally influenced by the sun. In the case of silver, it was the forms or patterns that changed, whereas in the gold, it was the colors that changed. Silver shapes moved from jagged spikes to smooth rolling forms but the colors remained hues of grey, while the basic shape of gold patterns remained the same but the colors changed from brilliant yellows through violet to reddish-purple hues. This work presents an amazing confirmation of how the King and Queen, Sol and Luna, work together in creation, with the female principle representing soul and form and the male principle representing spirit and energy. Kolisko’s innovative work with the metals is presented in the Appendix. Her work has been duplicated by dozens of other chemists and has been confirmed many times.The signatures of gold are invoked in rituals, magical spells, and talismans concerning solar deities, the male force, authority, self-confidence, creativity, financial riches, investments, fortune, hope, health, and worldly and magical power. Gold talismans can be very expensive, but you can make one of gold colored cardboard or write the symbols on it with gold paint or plate an object with gold. Gold jewelry is said to improve self-confidence and inner strength. To charge water with the signature of gold, put a gold object in a glass of water and let sit in the sunlight for 6-10 hours.During sunrise or sunset, face the sun and try to feel it archetypal presence. If not too bright, gaze into the rising or setting sun and try to see the metallic solar disk of which the Egyptian alchemists spoke. Relax and try to focus all your attention on the golden sphere. Relax completely with an open and quiet mind. Become empty and let the presence at the center of our solar system influence you. Do this until you feel a real connection with the distant sun. Continue facing the sun as you pick up a piece of gold jewelry or a vial of pure gold flakes (such as sold in some novelty shops) into your right palm. You should be able to feel a electric warmth building. That eerie, warm vibration is not your imagination. It is what alchemists refer to as the “call of gold” – the resonation of the metal with its “planet.” You are experiencing the metal’s true signature or living correspondence, and for gold, this is the most perfect expression of all materials. If you can connect with this archetype, you will realize that it a very personal as well as divine presence. As Above, so Below. This is perfection on all levels of your mind, body, and soul resonating with the perfection inherent in the Whole Universe.For those with weaker wills or loss of contact with the divine presence, gold represents a psychological cure. The solar essences gives great ambition, courage, self-re-liance, dignity, authority, and the ability to manage oneself and others. The creative principle, no matter how small and insignificant it is within us can be enhanced to a great degree by tapping into the solar archetype. Just as the Sun represents the di-vine creative force in our immediate solar system, gold represents the same thing in our inner temperament. For lasting manifestation, the golden temperament needs to be firmly grounded in the world, and the danger at this phase of transformation is that the individual become too focused on the workings Above and forget his or her connection to the real world. Gold and the blazing Sun correspond to personal ambition, courage, and creative energy and vitality, but without a constant effort to remain pure and alive in the real world, the golden temperament can quickly transmute into the leaden qualities of despair, poor self esteem, lack of confidence, and impurity. Most important for the golden temperament, however, is to realize that once having reached this plateau, one has certain personal and karmic obligations. The golden attitude of this temperament is what brings the rewards of health, wealth, and happiness through synchonistic responses from the universe. Go against these archetypal powers at this level of achievement and even the slightest deviation from the golden path of righteousness and personal integrity can have disastrous and immediate consequences. The alchemists transmuted the Gold temperament using the operation of Coagulation.Chrysotherapy is the name given to healing with gold. The mystical metal has been used for both spiritual and medical purposes as far back as ancient Egypt. Over 5,000 years ago, the Egyptians used gold in dentistry and ingested it for mental, bodily, and spiritual purification. The ancients believed that gold in the body worked by stimulating the life force and raising the level of vibration on all levels. In Alexandria, alchemists developed a powerful elixir known as “liquid gold,” which reportedly had the ability to restore youth and perfect health. In ancient Rome, gold salves were used for the treatment of skin ulcers, and today, gold leaf plays an important role in the treatment of chronic skin ulcers. The great alchemist and founder of modern medicine, Paracelsus, developed many highly successful medicines from metallic minerals including gold. In medieval Europe, gold-coated pills and “gold waters” were extremely popular. Alchemists mixed powdered gold into drinks to "comfort sore limbs," and today, it is widely used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. In the 1900s, surgeons implanted a $5.00 gold piece under the skin near an inflamed joint, such as a knee or elbow. In China, peasants still cook their rice with a gold coin in order to help replenish gold in their bodies, and fancy Chinese restaurants put 24-karat gold-leaf in their food preparations.The alchemists believed that gold represented the perfection of matter, and that its presence in the body would enliven, rejuvenate, and cure a multitude of “dis-eases.” Gold is never corrodes or even tarnishes, is completely non-toxic, and exhibits no interactions with other drugs. Gold is the only heavy metal that has a right-hand atomic spin and is therefore easily tolerated by the body.The alchemists believed that gold represented the perfection of matter, and that its presence in the body would enliven, rejuvenate, and cure a multitude of “dis-eases.” Gold is never corrodes or even tarnishes, is completely non-toxic, and exhibits no interactions with other drugs. Gold is the only heavy metal that has a right-hand atomic spin and is therefore easily tolerated by the body.Sun-ruled plants affect the soul in its positive phase of manifestation, which manifests on the personal level as our idea of ourselves as a progressive unified entity. Solar herbs help us realize our evolutionary epoch as an individual among many other individuals, helping to synthesize and synchronize our goals with those of the macrocosm. In this sense they are ego fortifiers, but with a divine purpose.Solar herbs heal inferiority complexes, bolstering people and giving them a sense of purpose beyond the norm. The Sun represents the Christ and Osiris consciousness in man, as well as Hercules in his monumental strength. For those with weaker wills, Sun ruled herbs will provide the springboard for more posi-tive action; they also bestow the quality of generosity to our souls. Solar plants, when alchemically charged, will reveal the divine purpose of our solar system, and will let you be-come aware of the will of God in manifestation. Solar essences give great ambition.

www.azothalchemy.org/metals.htm

The next sick cat in the family. My sister had to take Sethi to the vet yesterday evening. He hadn't eaten for about two days which is even more unusal for him than for other cats as he is normally always hungry. Yesterday afternoon he started to vomit and my sister decided that it was better to have a vet take a look at him. Apparently the vet believes that Sethi has eaten something wrong. He now receives antispasmodic agents and antiacids. Later in the evening my sister called me and asked me to come over as Sethi didn't feel like taking his medicine at all. As I have been trained by my cats I have more experience when it comes to getting medicine into a cat. The procedure has to be repeated twice per day. Sethi will love me ! :)

April 29, 2017 is "The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day"

Pharmaceuticals photography.

Bellis perennis is a common European species of Daisy, often considered the archetypal species of that name.

It is thought that the name "daisy" is a corruption of "day's eye", because the whole head closes at night and opens in the morning. Chaucer called it "eye of the day".

Daisy is also a common girl's name and is a nickname for girls named Margaret, which originally comes from the Latin word for daisy.

Several chemical compounds are derived from the fresh or dried flowers and leaves of Bellis perennis, a common perennial herb.

The flower heads contain saponins, tannin, organic acids, an essential oil, bitter principle, flavones, and mucilage.

Daisy is claimed to have anti-inflammatory and astringent properties.

The Iroquois Indians used the daisy as a GI aid. It has also been used as a mild analgesic, an antidiarrheal, an antispasmodic, an antitussive, an astringent, and an expectorant. When used as an infusion, daisy was reported to treat arthritis, catarrh, diarrhea, hepatic and renal disorders, and rheumatism and to act as a blood purifier. Few data are available to support these claims.

The plant also has reportedly been used externally in compresses and bath preparations for treating skin disorders, wounds, and bruises.

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Featured on Explore 11/10/2008

Flower of the week in unforgettable flowers

Wetenschappelijk: Chelidonium majus

Scientific name: Chelidonium majus

Nederlands: Stinkende gouwe

English: Greater Celandine

Français: Grande Chélidoine

Deutsch: Schöllkraut

Wetenschappelijk: Chelidonium majus

Familie: Papaverfamilie, Papaveraceae

Geslacht: Chelidonium, Gouwe

Medicinale werkingen

Hier staan de medicinale werkingen beschreven met de reden waarom stinkende gouwe een geneeskrachtige werking heeft:

Doordat het de secretie van de alvleesklier verhoogt werkt het bloedsuikerverlagend.

De urine- en zweetdrijvende werking maakt stinkende gouwe tot een geneesmiddel tegen oedemen, verminderde nierfunctie, nierstenen, artritis, artrose en jicht.

De bloedsomloopstimulerende eigenschappen in de kleine haarvaten maken dit kruid tot een geneesmiddel tegen oogbindvliesontsteking, tranende en brandende ogen en grijze staar.

Omdat het de lever, gal en darmwerking stimuleert is dit een goed geneeskruid tegen de huidaandoeningen eczeem, psoriasis, ringworm en hoofdroos.

Vanwege de kalmerende en licht narcotische werking van chelidonine wordt dit kruid ingezet tegen nervositeit, rusteloosheid, stress, angst en slapeloosheid,

Stinkende gouwe kan in een dieet tijdens de chemokuur worden gebruikt omdat het antitumoraal werkt.

Uitwendig gebruik

Melksap van sttinkende gouwe remt ongebreidelde celdeling en staat om deze reden te boek als antitumorale stof. Het breekt de eeltlaag, het eiwit van de hoornlaag, af; in medische termen heet dat een keratolytische werking. Het gaat zowel virussen als bacteriën tegen en het werkt derhalve ontstekingsremmend. Het melksap wordt gebruikt om de volgende huidaandoeningen te bestrijden:

Wratten, goedaardige huidtumoren,

Eelt, likdoorn,

Schimmelinfecties,

Oogbindvliesontsteking en

Hoornvliesvlekken

Mens en Gezondheid

English

plant for the future

Greater celandine has a long history of herbal use]. Traditionally it was employed as an ophthalmic to treat and clear the eyesight whilst in modern herbal medicine it is used more as a mild sedative, antispasmodic and detoxifying herb, relaxing the muscles of the bronchial tubes, intestines and other organs. The latex is much used externally to treat warts. Caution should be employed, especially when the plant is used internally however, because it contains toxic alkaloids, The leaves and the sap are acrid, alterative, anodyne, antispasmodic, caustic, cholagogue, diaphoretic, diuretic, hydrogogue, narcotic, purgative. They are used in the treatment of bronchitis, whooping cough, asthma, jaundice, gallstones and gallbladder pains. The plant is harvested in the spring as it comes into flower, it is best used fresh, but can also be dried for later use. The roots can also be used, these are harvested in the autumn and dried for later use. The plant has anticancer properties and is analgesic. It is an important component of a stomach ulcer drug. The plant has an abundant acrid bright-orange sap that stains the skin strongly and is powerfully irritant. It is used as an external treatment to get rid of warts, ringworm and corns and has also been used to remove films from the cornea of the eye. The plant contains the alkaloid chelidonine, which is similar to the alkaloid papaverine found in poppies. This alkaloid has antispasmodic and sedative effects on the bile ducts and bronchi. However, results have been inconsistent, especially if the preparation is not fresh]. The plant also contains the alkaloid sparteine, which restores normal rhythm to feeble arrhythmic myocardia. The German Commission E Monographs, a therapeutic guide to herbal medicine, approve Chelidonium majus for liver and gallbladder complaints.

Folkloric

Extract of the plant used as antispasmodic and treatment of epilepsy.

Centrranthus ruber

Famiglia: Valerianaceae

Sinonimi: Valeriana rubra

Nome comune: Camarezza comune, Valeriana rossa

Distribuzione:

La specie è originaria dei paesi del bacino del Mediterraneo (Europa meridionale, Nord Africa e Asia minore.

In Italia è comune nel centro-sud e nelle isole. Anticamente era usata come pianta ornamentale, ciò ha contribuito alla conservazione della specie e alla sua diffusione in tutte le parti del mondo.

Le foglie giovani vengono utilizzate nelle insalate, mente in medicina è apprezzata per le sue proprietà sedative, antispasmodiche e antinevralgiche, a volte come sostituto della valeriana. Gli imbalsamatori la utilizzavano nel loro lavoro.

Bibliografia: La flora della Sardegna

Centrranthus ruber

Family: Valerianaceae

Synonyms: Valeriana rubra

Common name: Camarezza common, Red Valerian

distribution:The species is native to the countries of the Mediterranean basin (southern Europe, North Africa and Asia Minor.

In Italy it is common in the center-south and the islands. In ancient times it was used as an ornamental plant, which has contributed to the conservation of the species and its spread in all parts of the world.

The young leaves are used in salads, mind in medicine is valued for its sedative, antispasmodic and antinevralgiche, sometimes as a substitute of valerian. Embalmers used it in their work.

Bibliography: The flora of Sardinia

Centrranthus ruber

Familia: Valerianaceae

Sinónimos: Valeriana rubra

Nombre común: Camarezza común,Valeriana roja

Distribución: La especie es originaria de los países de la cuenca mediterránea (sur de Europa, norte de África y Asia Menor.

En Italia es común en el centro-sur y las islas. En la antigüedad se utilizaba como planta ornamental, lo que ha contribuido a la conservación de la especie y su difusión en todas las partes del mundo.

Las hojas jóvenes se utilizan en ensaladas, mientras que en medicina se valora por su propriedad sedante, antiespasmódico y antinevralgiche, a veces como un sustituto de la valeriana. Los embalsamadores utilizaban en su trabajo.

Bibliografía: La flora de Cerdeña

Folkloric

· Unripe fruit used for dysentery.

· Ripe fruit is antiscorbutic.

· Seeds and green fruit are astringent.

· Flowers are antispasmodic.

· Infusion of leaves used as sudorific, antispasmodic and emetic.

· In some cultures, the fruits and leaves are used for tranquilizing and sedative properties.

· Juice of ripe fruit used as diuretic and for hematuria and urethritis.

· Flesh of soursop used as poultice to draw out chiggers.

·Decoction of leaves used of head lice and bedbugs.

· Pulverized seeds and seed oil effective for head lice.

· Fruit used as a bait in fish traps.

· Decoction of leaves used as compresses for inflammation and swollen feet.

· Poultice of mashed leaves and sap of young leaves used for eczema and skin eruptions.

· Flowers used to alleviate catarrh.

· Used as tonic by Chinese and Malays.

· In Mexico used as pectoral, antiscorbutic and febrifuge; seeds and green fruit used as astringent and for dysentery.

· In Yucatan juice of the fruit is used for dysentery.

· In Cameroon, leaves used for diabetes.

· In Antiles and Reunion, infusion of leaves used as sudorific.

· In the Peruvian Andes, leaf tea is used for catarrh and crushed seeds for parasitism.

· In the Peruvian Amazon, bark, roots and leaves used for diabetes, as sedative and as antispasmodic.

· In the Brazilian Amazon, the oil of leaves and unripe fruit is mixed with olive oil and used externally for neuralgic, rheumatism and arthritis pains.

source: stuart xchange

Folkloric

Extract of the plant used as antispasmodic and treatment of epilepsy.

source: stuart xchange

Centrranthus ruber

Famiglia: Valerianaceae

Sinonimi: Valeriana rubra

Nome comune: Camarezza comune, Valeriana rossa

Distribuzione:

La specie è originaria dei paesi del bacino del Mediterraneo (Europa meridionale, Nord Africa e Asia minore.

In Italia è comune nel centro-sud e nelle isole. Anticamente era usata come pianta ornamentale, ciò ha contribuito alla conservazione della specie e alla sua diffusione in tutte le parti del mondo.

Le foglie giovani vengono utilizzate nelle insalate, mente in medicina è apprezzata per le sue proprietà sedative, antispasmodiche e antinevralgiche, a volte come sostituto della valeriana. Gli imbalsamatori la utilizzavano nel loro lavoro.

Bibliografia: La flora della Sardegna

Centrranthus ruber

Family: Valerianaceae

Synonyms: Valeriana rubra

Common name: Camarezza common, Red Valerian

distribution:The species is native to the countries of the Mediterranean basin (southern Europe, North Africa and Asia Minor.

In Italy it is common in the center-south and the islands. In ancient times it was used as an ornamental plant, which has contributed to the conservation of the species and its spread in all parts of the world.

The young leaves are used in salads, mind in medicine is valued for its sedative, antispasmodic and antinevralgiche, sometimes as a substitute of valerian. Embalmers used it in their work.

Bibliography: The flora of Sardinia

Centrranthus ruber

Familia: Valerianaceae

Sinónimos: Valeriana rubra

Nombre común: Camarezza común,Valeriana roja

Distribución: La especie es originaria de los países de la cuenca mediterránea (sur de Europa, norte de África y Asia Menor.

En Italia es común en el centro-sur y las islas. En la antigüedad se utilizaba como planta ornamental, lo que ha contribuido a la conservación de la especie y su difusión en todas las partes del mundo.

Las hojas jóvenes se utilizan en ensaladas, mientras que en medicina se valora por su propriedad sedante, antiespasmódico y antinevralgiche, a veces como un sustituto de la valeriana. Los embalsamadores utilizaban en su trabajo.

Bibliografía: La flora de Cerdeña

[two pills three times a day] No need for medical prescription. No secundary effects. :-)

Modern evidence supports its effects as an anhidrotic, antibiotic, antifungal, astringent, antispasmodic, estrogenic, hypoglycemic, and tonic.

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El terme "Salvia officinalis" és una redundància de "planta medicinal que cura". Així Salvia prové de la combinació del mot llatí salvare (que cura) i l'epítet officinalis (medicinal)

The term "salvia officinalis" is a redundance: medicinal plant that heals. salvia comes from the latin "salvare", to heal, and "officinalis" means medicinal.

fluidr...

Look at the back legs on this guy..:) His bags are pack but he wants more..:)

youtu.be/AM3Cf_eofpo

More Info.

The therapeutic virtues of the poppy, this beautiful plant that cheers fields and roads, are concentrated in the soft velvety petals: a sedative, hypnotic, antispasmodic and antitussive. It is ideal for people of all ages who suffer from insomnia from recurrent but not chronic.

Is also indicated in cases of nerve irritation, palpitation and mild anxiety. The petals of the poppies are included in mixed formulations to combat persistent and irritating cough. For its mucosal protective effect, the poppy is also recommended in case of gastritis and gastrointestinal spasms.

The best way to enjoy the benefits of drinking it in tea poppy is usually accompanied by other plants such as lemon balm, or valerian hawthorn, and liquid extract or syrup. The precautions that we should consider focusing on women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, the presence of alkaloids, and is not advisable to administer to children under three years.

Folkloric

- Leaves as poultice for abscesses.

- Decoction of roots and leaves for fevers, kidney stones, and cystitis.

- Decoction of leaves used to induced diuresis for purpose of treating kidney stones.

- Sitz-bath of boiled leaves, 500 gms to a gallon of water, for rheumatic pains of waist and back.

- Used in upper and lower respiratory tract affections like sinusitis, asthmatic bronchitis, influenza.

- Applied while hot over the sinuses. Used for wounds and cuts.

Fresh juice of leaves to wounds and cuts.

- Poultice of leaves applied to the forehead for relief of headaches.

- Tea is used for colds and as an expectorant; likewise, has antispasmodic and antidiarrheal benefits.

Postpartum baths.

- In Vietnam, decoction of fresh leaves used for cough and influenza or as inhalation of vapour from boiling of leaves. Poultices of pounded leaves applied to hemorrhoids; an alcoholic maceration used as liniment for rheumatism.

- 3% ethanol solution used to soothe itching.

- In Thailand, dried leaves are chopped, made into cigarettes and smoked for treating sinusitis.

- For fever, leaves boiled and when lukewarm used as sponge bath.

- Decoction of roots used for fever.

- Decoction of leaves, 50 gms to a pint of boiling water, 4 glasses daily, for stomach pains.

- In SE Asia widely used for various women problems. Postpartum, leaves are used in hot fomentation over the uterus to induce rapid involution. Also used for menorrhagia, dysmenorrhea, functional uterine bleeding and leucorrhea.

- Roots used for menorrhagia.

- Decoction of roots and leaves used for rheumatism and arthritis; also used for treatment of postpartum joint pains.

- Poultice of fresh leaves applied to affected joint.

- In Chinese and Thai medicine, leaves used for treatment of septic wounds and other infections.

- A sitz-bath of boiled leaves used in the treatment of lumbago and sciatica.

- In Chinese medicine, used as carminative, stimulant, vermifuge, expectorant, and sudorific.

source: stuart xchange

Folkloric

· Unripe fruit used for dysentery.

· Ripe fruit is antiscorbutic.

· Seeds and green fruit are astringent.

· Flowers are antispasmodic.

· Infusion of leaves used as sudorific, antispasmodic and emetic.

· In some cultures, the fruits and leaves are used for tranquilizing and sedative properties.

· Juice of ripe fruit used as diuretic and for hematuria and urethritis.

· Flesh of soursop used as poultice to draw out chiggers.

·Decoction of leaves used of head lice and bedbugs.

· Pulverized seeds and seed oil effective for head lice.

· Fruit used as a bait in fish traps.

· Decoction of leaves used as compresses for inflammation and swollen feet.

· Poultice of mashed leaves and sap of young leaves used for eczema and skin eruptions.

· Flowers used to alleviate catarrh.

· Used as tonic by Chinese and Malays.

· In Mexico used as pectoral, antiscorbutic and febrifuge; seeds and green fruit used as astringent and for dysentery.

· In Yucatan juice of the fruit is used for dysentery.

· In Cameroon, leaves used for diabetes.

· In Antiles and Reunion, infusion of leaves used as sudorific.

· In the Peruvian Andes, leaf tea is used for catarrh and crushed seeds for parasitism.

· In the Peruvian Amazon, bark, roots and leaves used for diabetes, as sedative and as antispasmodic.

· In the Brazilian Amazon, the oil of leaves and unripe fruit is mixed with olive oil and used externally for neuralgic, rheumatism and arthritis pains.

source: stuart xchange

Primroses have a very long history of medicinal use and have been particularly employed in treating conditions involving spasms, cramps, paralysis and rheumatic pains.

They are, however, considered to be less effective than the related P. veris (Cowslip). The plant contains saponins, which have an expectorant effect, and salicylates which are the main ingredient of aspirin and have anodyne, anti-inflammatory and febrifuge effects.

The roots and the flowering herb are anodyne, antispasmodic, astringent, emetic, sedative and vermifuge.

An ointment has been made from the plant and used for treating skin wounds.

And very beautiful too (in my opinion, far prettier than the cultivated and brightly coloured varieties!).

I took these flowers today of my fruit trees that are flowering. They are tropical fruits so the names may not be familiar to some people.

The FOURTH is the Santol. In the native state in the jungles of Borneo this tree can grow to 40 metres. The grafted varieties these day reach 8 to 10 metres. Mine is grafted and growing on the footpath as I ran out of room in the yard. Here is some information about the Santol:-

Santol looks like overgrown apples but doesn’t share their flavor. “The santol,” wrote P.J. Wester; one of earliest Americans who had done extensive research on tropical fruits, “its one of the most widely distributed fruits in the Philippines. The tree is hardy, of vigorous and rapid growth, and succeeds well even where the dry season is prolonged. The fruit is produced in great abundance, in fact in such profusion that large quantities annually rot on the ground during the ripening season.”

Filipino children consider santol as their favorite fruit. In rural areas, wherever you go, you can find santol and mostly it’s your for taking. Inside the fruit there is a white juicy pulp with around three to five seeds. The seeds are up to, two centimeters long. And because the flesh is strongly attached to the seeds, you have to suck it to taste it. The pulp is mostly sub-acid or sour. Filipinos like it in that sour condition and eat the fruit with some salt. The fruit is usually consumed raw without peeling. There are varieties which have sweet flavor and these are used to make delicious marmalade, very popular in markets around Europe and the United States.

Santol is known scientifically as Sandoricum koetjape and called wild mangosteen by English speaking countries. It has also several other names: gratawn in Thai, kompem reach in Khmer, tong in Lao, donka in Sinhalese, and faux mangoustanier in French.

The fruit is believed native to former Indochina and Peninsular Malaysia. Later, it was introduced into Indian, Borneo, Indonesia, the Moluccas, Mauritius, and finally to the Philippines where it has become naturalized. There are two varieties of santol, the yellow and the red rind. The yellow rind is the most common in the country. Santol grows from sea level of elevation to a height of 3,000 feet above sea level. It grows better in deep and organic grounds, with great distribution of rainfall throughout the year, although it tolerates long periods of dry season. The distance of planting from each other is 20 feet to 25 feet.

For maximum yields, it requires fertilization twice a year. Normally, seed trees produce fruit five to seven years after planting. A very productive tree, it can produce between 18,000 and 24,000 fruits per year. [I doubt this is correct. Much too high]The ripe fruits are harvested-by climbing the tree and plucking by hand. Alternatively, a long stick with a forked end may be used to twist the fruits off. The piquant santol can be enjoyed in many ways. In the Philippines, it is dipped in salt and sucked, or scored and sweetened with sugar for a cool glass of santolada. Some Filipino entrepreneurs export santol marmalade in glass jars to Oriental food dealers in the United States and other parts of the world.

In India, santol is eaten raw with spices. With the seeds removed, it is made into jam or jelly. Pared and quartered, it is cooked in syrup and preserved in jars. Since the very ripe fruits are naturally vinous, these can be fermented with rice to make an alcoholic drink. As the fruit is sour when not fully ripe, some cooks use it in mouth-watering sinigang. The famous sinigang na bangus sa santol, as served in Pagsanjan, Laguna, is pink and pristine, with no vegetable at all, just santol seeds and pulp, sweetly sour.

Like most tropical fruits, santol is also valued for its medicinal properties. The preserved pulp is employed medicinally as an astringent, white crushed leaves are used as poultice on itching skin. Some Filipino mothers placed fresh leaves of santol on the body of a child with fever to cause sweating. The leaf decoction is also used to bathe the patient. The bitter bark, containing the slightly toxic alkaloid and a steroidal sapogenin, is applied on ringworm and is also entered into a potion given to a woman after childbirth. The aromatic, astringent root also serves the latter purpose, and is a potent remedy for diarrhea. An infusion of the fresh or dried root, or the bark, may be taken to relieve colic and stitch in the side. The root is a stomachic and antispasmodic and prized as a tonic. It may be crushed in .a blend of vinegar and water which is then given as a carminative and remedy for diarrhea and dysentery. But there’s more to santol fruits than food and medicine, according to Julia F. Morton, author of Fruits of Warm Climates. The bark, for instance, can be used in tanning fishing lines; some Filipino fishermen employed it as such.

Emits an aromatic scent when burned, the wood of the tree is also useful. “If carefully seasoned,” wrote Morton, “it can be employed for house-posts, interior construction, light-framing, barrels, cabinetwork, boats, carts, sandals, butcher’s blocks, household utensils, and carvings.” “(The wood) is fairly hard, moderately heavy, close-grained and polishes well, but is not always of good quality. It is not durable in contact with moisture and is subject to borers.”

But what most Filipinos are not aware of is that those who are fond of swallowing the seeds when eating santol are courting a potentially life-threatening risk. “Most of the time, the seeds will be passed out through the anus during bowel movement,” said Dr. Reynaldo Joson, head of surgery at the Ospital ng Maynila Medical Center. “However, in some cases, the seeds may cause intestinal obstruction by ticking together to form a hard bolus of seeds or by completely plugging the intestinal lumen that has been previously and partially constricted by a disease like a tumor or tuberculosis.”

There was this case of a woman who swallowed 10 seeds of santol. Three days later, she experienced abdominal pain at the left lower quadrant with loose bowel movement. She took various antispasmodics and painkillers, which only afforded temporary relief of the pain. When the pain became unbearable she was brought to the hospital where doctors diagnosed her to have intestinal obstruction. On the fourth day at the hospital, the patient died of multiple organ failure.

Death like hers is unnecessary. Every year, about 200 of such cases occur in the Philippines. Because of this, doctors are urging officials to consider swallowing santol seeds as a public health problem.

Joson said that doctors wonder why santol seeds are being swallowed by Filipinos? “It could be unintentional. If it is intentional, it is most likely eating enjoyment together with the perceptions that the seeds can be swallowed without any adverse effect.”

By Henrylito D. Tacio

youtu.be/ZGwDYBWEDSc

Just a little touch by nature. Oxeye daisies Leucanthemum vulgare also known as dog daisy, maudlin daisy, moon daisy, Herb Margaret, Horse Daisy, Horse Gowan, Marguerite and Baldur's Brow.

The un-opened flower buds can be marinated and used in a similar way to capers

Though ox-eye daisy is sometimes known as goldenseal, it is unrelated to the plant more commonly called goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis).

Ox-Eye Daisy is edible and medicinal. Young spring shoots are edible, finely chopped and sparingly added to salads, said to be strong and bitter, young leaves are cooked as a pot herb. The whole plant, and especially the flowers, used as a medicinal herb is antispasmodic, antitussive, diaphoretic, diuretic, emmenagogue, tonic, nervine and vulnerary. Constituents include Essential oils, Tannin, Saponins, Mucilag, Bitter Principle and Flavones. It has much of the same properties of Chamomile. The flowers are balsamic and make a medicinal infusion for relieving chronic coughs and for bronchial problems. The herb is used in the treatment of whooping cough, asthma and nervous excitability. The root is used successfully for stopping the night-sweats of pulmonary consumption. Externally, it is used as a medicinal lotion for wounds, bruises, and ulcers. A distilled water made from the flowers is an effective eye lotion in the treatment of conjunctivitis. As with everything some people may have an allergic response to the plant.

... around a Hawthorn Tree - doubly magic!

The Hawthorn has many medical properties, among them being antispasmodic, cardio vascular, sedative and a vasodilator.

Young leaves and flower buds can be added to salads. Teas are made from the berries and flowers. Also strong liquor is made from the buds. Berries can be made into a jelly.

The wood has been used for making handles and engravers blocks. Also the wood from the roots was used to make boxes and combs.

It is the tree of True partnership, love and commitment. In ancient Greece the bride and groom would wear hawthorn flowers on their heads and the wedding party would carry burning branches of Hawthorn.

It is said if you dance round a faery ring nine times then you will see the faeries, but if you do this on their sacred days, such as Beltane (May 1), Coamhain (Midsummer), or Samhain (Halloween), then the faeries will be very offended and will take you to Elf Land.

If you stand in a faery ring under a full moon and make a wish, then it is supposed to come true.

Faery rings are also called hags rings because witches were thought to dance in them.

if anyone's interested in druidical rites etc:- www.druidry.org/library/trees/tree-lore-hawthorn

Folkloric

- Bark is reported to be vomitive and aphrodisiac.

- Decoction of bark used for catarrh.

- Tender fruit used as emollient.

- Decoction of bark regarded as a specific in febrile catarrh.

- Gum is astringent; used for bowel complaints. In children, gum with milk, given as cooling laxative. Also used for urine incontinence in children.

- Gum used as styptic, given in diarrhea, dysentery, and menorrhagia.

- In Liberia, Infusion of bark used as mouthwash.

- Infusion of leaves, onions, and a little tumeric, used for coughs.

- Young roots, shade-dried and powdered, is a chief ingredient in aphrodisiac medicines.

- Tap-root of young plant used for gonorrhea and dysentery.

- Bark in diuretic; in sufficient quantities, produces vomiting.

- In Cambodia, bark used for fevers and diarrhea. Also, as a cure for inebriation, used to bring about perspiration and vomiting.

- Malays used the bark for asthma and colds in children.

- In India, roots used for gonorrhea, dysuria, fevers. Decoction of bark used for chronic dysentery, diarrhea, ascites, and anasarca. Tender leaves also used for gonorrhea.

- In Java, bark mixed with areca nuts, nutmegs, and sugar candy, used as diuretic and for treatment of bladder stones. Infusion of leaves used for cough, hoarseness, intestinal catarrh, and urethritis. Leaves also used for cleaning hair.

- In the Cameroons, bark, which has tannin, is pounded and macerated in cold water and applied to swollen fingers.

- In French Guiana, decoction of flowers used for constipation.

- In Mexico, used for boils, insect bites, mange; used as anti-inflammatory; bark and leaf decoctions used as poultices. Bark decoction taken internally as emetic, diuretic and antispasmodic.

- Bark used for liver and spleen conditions, abdominal complaints, flatulence, constipation.

- Leaves used as emollient. Decoction of flowers is laxative.

- In Nigerian folk medicine, used for treatment of diabetes and infections. Leaves used as alterative and laxative, and as infusion for colic in man and in livestock. Seed oil used in rheumatism. Also, leaves used as curative dressings on sores and to maturate tumors.

- Compressed fresh leaves used for dizziness; decoction of boiled roots used to treat edema; gum eaten to relieve stomach upset; tender shoot decoction used as contraceptive; leaf infusion taken orally for cough and sore throat. (34)

- In India and Malaya, used for bowel complaints.

- In the Ivory Coast, mucilage obtained by boiling used to remove foreign bodies from the eye. Also, bark sap given to sterile women to promote conception.

- In West Africa, used for diarrhea and gonorrhea.

Others

- Fibers: Pod fibers are used in the stuffing of pillows, cushions, mattresses and the manufacture and life-preservers.

- Oil: Kapok oil, extracted from the seeds, used in the manufacture of soap; also, a substitute for cotton-seed oil. Also used for cooking and as lubricant.

- Wood: Tree is used for fencing and telephone poles.

- Fresh cake valuable as stock feed.

- Ashes of the fruit used by dyers in Malaysia.

- Study showed the C. pentandra fiber may be useful in recovering oil spilled in seawater.

- Fodder: Sheep, goats, cattle relish the foliage. Pressed cake as cattle feed yields about 26% protein.

source: stuart xchange