ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, May 2, 1996 TAG: 9605020012
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
COLUMN: Hoein' & Growin'
SOURCE: KAREN YOUNG\MASTER GARDENERS OF THE NEW RIVER VALLEY
Your grandparents may have told of how their grandparents used plants found in the New River Valley medicinally in teas and poultices.
Although their healing properties, discovered by trial and error, have not changed much over the centuries, it is important not to try to make teas and poultices from any of these plants without approved recipes and instructions for use.
One such plant is yarrow (soldier's woundwort, thousand weed or dog daisy), an aromatic perennial common throughout our region and easily grown from seeds or root divisions planted in the spring or fall.
With its more than 100 biologically active compounds, yarrow has been used for over 2,500 years in teas, astringents and poultices to treat fevers, headaches, hemorrhaging, hypertension, pneumonia, flu, colds, toothaches and wounds.
According to legend, yarrow's genus, Achillea, was named for Achilles who first used it in the Trojan War to heal his soldiers' wounds. Because it contains high concentrations of copper, nitrates, and phosphates, yarrow benefits nearby plants and the soil when grown in your garden.
The first settlers introduced the perennial chicory (blue dandelion, wild endive), which many people doubtless consider a weed difficult to eradicate because of its long taproot.
The Romans brewed chicory in a tea to relieve liver ailments and upset stomachs. The leaves were made into poultices to reduce swellings, inflammations and rashes.
Quickly adopted by native Americans, chicory spread to roadsides here, and in western states is grown commercially. In a modern medicinal herb garden, chicory is valued for its lovely violet-blue flowers, which close in the noontime sun but remain open on cloudy days.
The common milkweed (silkweed) grows wild in fields and waste places, but also may be cultivated in a garden to attract butterflies. It is a native perennial herb with milky juices, large opposite leaves, pink-purple clusters of flowers, and large grayish-green seed pods.
The milkweed is home to the monarch butterfly from egg through adulthood. Its leaves produce a milky, acrid, poisonous juice whose nasty taste protects larvae and adults from predators.
American Indians used the milkweed as a laxative and a medicinal herb to alleviate respiratory and back problems, eradicate warts and ringworm, and treat "gravel" (kidney stones).
Early settlers found it relieved rheumatism, cancer and tumors. It was also a folk remedy for asthma, bronchitis, coughs, fevers, moles, sores, and wounds. Beds, pillows and life jackets during World War II were stuffed with the silky down of the seed pods.
Another perennial plant, yucca (soapweed), which can reach a height of 9 feet when it flowers, has stiff, spine-tipped, oblong leaves with fraying threads on their margins.
Yucca grows wild in sandy soils and as a cultivated plant in gardens and yards. Once established, a yucca will bloom every year regardless of the amount of rainfall.
Yucca's deep taproot makes soapy, detergentlike suds when agitated in water (hence the name soapweed) that helped cure open ulcers, rashes and other skin disorders.
Its leaves contain salicylic acid and work like aspirin as a pain reliever for arthritis, headaches, and muscles.
American Indians used the root in poultices for sores, skin diseases and sprains. They also used the root's juices to stun fish in the water, causing them to float to the surface where they were easily caught.
Unlike the others, jewelweed (spotted Touch-Me-Not) is an annual that grows 3-5 feet tall. It has red-spotted orange blossoms that hang in pendant-like fashion at the end of slender stalks, and seed pods that spring open when lightly touched.
Jewelweed is found in most of our area, but prefers the shady soils of mountainous woods. Its crushed leaves are a well-known folk remedy for poison ivy, and the sting of nettles is soothed when washed with raw juice from crushed leaves and stems.
Jewelweed has also been used as a poultice for bruises, burns, cuts, eczema, insect bites, sores, sprains, warts and ringworm.
This is a short list of the many medicinal plants found in this area. For further information on these and other interesting medicinal plants, consult your local library or extension office.
Karen Young is a Master Gardener Intern. She will become a full-fledged Master Gardener when she completes 50 hours of volunteer time.
LENGTH: Medium: 85 linesby CNB