n. an abnormally copious flow from an organ or cavity. Alvine flux is *diarrhoea.
Habitat: Bihar, West Bengal and Assam, up to 900 m.
Ayurvedic: Godhaapadi.Siddha/Tamil: Kattuppirandai.Action: Leaves—astringent and refrigerant (used for ulcers, diarrhoea, uterine and other fluxes).
Aerial parts—diuretic, spasmolytic.... cayratia pedataHabitat: Marshes near the sea.
Features ? This erect plant grows to a height of three feet, and is distinguishable from the Common Mallow by the velvety down covering the stem and leaves. Stems are round, the soft leaves being five-lobed below and three-lobed above. The pinkish- blue flowers appear in luxuriant axillar panicles between July and September. Roots are thick and fleshy, resembling those of the parsnip, and greyish-white outside, white and fibrous internally. The taste is mucilaginous and unpleasant, with only a very slight odour. The roots should be stored in a very dry place, or a yellowish matter of disagreeable smell will form.Part used ? Root and leaves.Action: The root is preferred, as the demulcent, emollient, diuretic and expectorant properties are present here in greater strength.
Marshmallow, usually in combination with other remedies, is takeninternally for coughs, colds and bronchitis. Its diuretic and emollient qualities adapt it to urinary complaints and, as there is no astringent action (indeed, there appears to be some relaxing effect) it is particularly suitable in the treatment of nephritis, cystitis and gravel.The powdered or crushed fresh roots make a first-rate poultice, and the leaves also are used as a fomentation in inflammation. The addition of Slippery Elm powder improves the poultice, and the two remedies are frequently made up into an ointment for skin diseases, boils and ulcers.The leaves are taken as an infusion of 1 ounce to 1 pint of boiling water frequently, in wineglass doses.Culpeper relates a personal story about this herb:"You may remember that not long since there was a raging disease called the bloody flux ; the College of Physicians not knowing what to make of it, called it The Plague in the Guts, for their wits were at ne plus ultra about it. My son was taken with the same disease ; myself being in the country, was sent for ; the only thing I gave him was Mallow bruised and boiled both in milk and drink ; in two days it cured him, and I have here to shew my thankfulness to God in communicating it to his creatures, leaving it to posterity."... marshmallowHabitat: Flourishes in sandy and gravelly waste ground, and is sometimes noticed under garden cultivation.
Features ? Reaching a height of four feet, the thick, erect, un-branched stem isheavily coated with hairs. The large, flannel-like leaves are lanceolate-oblong below, the upper ones becoming decurrent, smaller, and more ovate in shape. Characteristic of the plant, leaves narrow at the base into two wings which pass down the stem, this feature enabling the medicinal Mullein to be distinguished from Verbascum nigrum and various other Mulleins. The flowers, which bloom in July and August, are built of five golden-yellow, rounded petals, and are densely packed on a woolly spike some foot or more in length.Part used ? Leaves and flowers.Action: Demulcent, pectoral and astringent.
A medicine is made by infusing 1 ounce in 1 pint of boiling water, the usual dose being a wineglassful, taken frequently. This is recommended mainly for chest coughs and certain other pulmonary complaints. Mullein has been considered a pile cure for several hundred years, and is still used for this purpose both internally and as a fomentation.Culpeper preferred the root to the leaves and flowers, and advised it to be taken in wine. He tells us that this "is commended by Dioscorides against lasks and fluxes of the belly."... mulleinFAMILY: Cupressaceae
SYNONYMS: Italian cypress, Mediterranean cypress.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION: A tall evergreen tree with slender branches and a statuesque conical shape. It bears small flowers and round, brownish-grey cones or nuts.
DISTRIBUTION: Native to the eastern Mediterranean; now grows wild in France, Italy, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Spain, Portugal, North Africa, England and, to a lesser degree, the Balkan countries. Cultivation and distillation usually take place in France, also Spain and Morocco.
OTHER SPECIES: There are many other species of cypress found throughout the world which are used to produce an essential oil, such as C. lusitanica found in Kenya. With regard to oil quality, however, C. sempervirens is considered superior.
HERBAL/FOLK TRADITION: It was highly valued as a medicine and as an incense by ancient civilizations and it is still used as a purification incense by the Tibetans. It benefits the urinary system and is considered useful where there is excessive loss of fluid, such as heavy perspiration or menstrual loss and diarrhoea: ‘The cones are … very drying and binding, good to stop fluxes of all kinds.’.
The Chinese consider the nuts very nutritious, beneficial for the liver and respiratory system and to check profuse perspiration.
ACTIONS: Antirheumatic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, astringent, deodorant, diuretic, hepatic, styptic, sudorific, tonic, vasoconstrictive.
EXTRACTION: Essential oil by steam distillation from the needles and twigs. An oil from the cones is available occasionally. (A concrete and absolute are also produced in small quantities.)
CHARACTERISTICS: A pale yellow to greenish-olive mobile liquid with a smoky, sweet-balsamic tenacious odour. It blends well with cedarwood, pine, lavender, mandarin, clary sage, lemon, cardamon, Moroccan chamomile, ambrette seed, labdanum, juniper, benzoin, bergamot, orange, marjoram and sandalwood.
PRINCIPAL CONSTITUENTS: Pinene, camphene, sylvestrene, cymene, sabinol, among others.
SAFETY DATA: Non-toxic, non-irritant and non-sensitizing.
AROMATHERAPY/HOME: USE
Skin Care: Haemorrhoids, oily and overhydrated skin, excessive perspiration, insect repellent, pyorrhoea (bleeding of the gums), varicose veins, wounds.
Circulation Muscles And Joints: Cellulitis, muscular cramp, oedema, poor circulation, rheumatism.
Respiratory System: Asthma, bronchitis, spasmodic coughing.
Genito-urinary system: Dysmenorrhoea, menopausal problems, menorrhagia.
Nervous System: Nervous tension and stress-related conditions.
OTHER USES: Employed in some pharmaceutical products; used as a fragrance component in colognes, after-shaves and perfumes.... cypress
FAMILY: Rosaceae
SYNONYMS: Summer damask rose, Bulgarian rose, Turkish rose (Anatolian rose oil), otto of rose (oil), attar of rose (oil).
GENERAL DESCRIPTION: Small prickly shrub between 1 metre and 2 metres high, with pink, very fragrant blooms with thirty-six petals, and whitish hairy leaves. It requires a very specific soil and climate.
DISTRIBUTION: Believed to be a native of the Orient, now cultivated mainly in Bulgaria, Turkey and France. Similar types are grown in China, India and Russia; however, India produces only rose water and aytar – a mixture of rose otto and sandalwood.
OTHER SPECIES: There are many different subspecies: the Turkish variety is known simply as R. damascena. ‘Trigintipetala’ is the principal cultivar in commercial cultivation, known as the ‘Kazanlik rose’. Bulgaria also grows the white rose (R. damascena var. alba) or the musk rose (R. muscatta) which is used as a windbreak around the damask rose plantations. See also cabbage rose and the Botanical Classification section.
HERBAL/FOLK TRADITION: ‘The damask rose, on account of its fragrance, belongs to the cephalics; but the next valuable virtue that it possesses consists in its cathartic quality ... oil of roses is used by itself to cool hot inflammations or swellings, and to bind and stay fluxes of humours to sores.’.
Rose hips are still current in the British Herbal Pharmacopoeia, mainly due to their high vitamin C content (also A and B). For further general properties, see entry for cabbage rose.
ACTIONS: See cabbage rose.
EXTRACTION: 1. Essential oil or otto by water or steam distillation from the fresh petals. 2. A concrete and absolute by solvent extraction from the fresh petals.
CHARACTERISTICS: 1. A pale yellow or olive yellow liquid with a very rich, deep, sweet-floral, slightly spicy scent. 2. The absolute is a reddishorange or olive viscous liquid with a rich, sweet, spicy-floral, tenacious odour. It blends well with most oils, and is useful for ‘rounding off’ blends. The Bulgarian type is considered superior in perfumery work, but in therapeutic practice it is more a matter of differing properties between the various types of rose.
PRINCIPAL CONSTITUENTS: Mainly citronellal (34–55 per cent), geraniol and nerol (30–40 per cent), stearopten (16–22 per cent), phenyl ethanol (1.5–3 per cent) and farnesol (0.2–2 per cent), with many other trace constituents.
SAFETY DATA: Non-toxic, non-irritant, nonsensitizing.
AROMATHERAPY/HOME: USE See cabbage rose.
OTHER USES: See cabbage rose.... rose, damask
FAMILY: Asteraceae (Compositae)
SYNONYMS: Estragon (oil), little dragon, Russian tarragon.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION: A perennial herb with smooth narrow leaves; an erect stem up to 1.2 metres tall, and small yellowy-green, inconspicuous flowers.
DISTRIBUTION: Native to Europe, southern Russia and western Asia. Now cultivated worldwide, especially in Europe and the USA. The oil is mainly produced in France, Holland, Hungary and the USA.
OTHER SPECIES: The so-called French tarragon or ‘sativa’, which is cultivated as a garden herb, is a smaller plant with a sharper flavour than the Russian type and is a sterile derivative of the wild species.
HERBAL/FOLK TRADITION: The leaf is commonly used as domestic herb, especially with chicken or fish, and to make tarragon vinegar. The name is thought to derive from an ancient use as an antidote to the bites of venomous creatures and ‘madde dogges’. It was favoured by the maharajahs of India who took it as a tisane, and in Persia it was used to induce appetite.
‘The leaves, which are chiefly used, are heating and drying, and good for those that have the flux, or any prenatural discharge.’. The leaf was also formerly used for digestive and menstrual irregularities, while the root was employed as a remedy for toothache.
ACTIONS: Anthelmintic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, aperitif, carminative, digestive, diuretic, emmenagogue, hypnotic, stimulant, stomachic, vermifuge.
EXTRACTION: Essential oil by steam distillation from the leaves.
CHARACTERISTICS: A colourless or pale yellow mobile liquid (turning yellow with age), with a sweet-anisic, spicy-green scent. It blends well with labdanum, galbanum, lavender, oakmoss, vanilla, pine and basil.
PRINCIPAL CONSTITUENTS: Estragole (up to 70 per cent), capillene, ocimene, nerol, phellandrene, thujone and cineol, among others.
SAFETY DATA: Moderately toxic due to ‘estragole’ (methyl chavicol); use in moderation only. Possibly carcinogenic. Otherwise non-irritant, non-sensitizing. Avoid during pregnancy.
AROMATHERAPY/HOME: USE
Digestive system: Anorexia, dyspepsia, flatulence, hiccoughs, intestinal spasm, nervous indigestion, sluggish digestion.
Genito-urinary system: Amenorrhoea, dysmenorrhoea, PMT.
OTHER USES: Used as a fragrance component in soaps, detergents, cosmetics and perfumes. Employed as a flavour ingredient in most major food categories, especially condiments and relishes, as well as alcoholic and soft drinks.... tarragon
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