Wanna Get High?

This is one hallucinogenic plant that you DO NOT want to mess with!! It can kill you. This is called  Datura stramonium, or Jimsonweed, also known as Thorn apple, and Devil’s Snare. 

Jimson weed (“Datura stramonium”) belongs to the nightshade family, which includes among its members such familiar garden vegetables and ornamentals as petunias, potatoes, tomatoes, green and red peppers, and eggplants.

I knew a guy who took some Jimson Weed to get high. He told me he was found naked in the Arizona desert on the side of the road digging for gold.

Just like all of these scary plants, they also have a medicinal value as well as an intense high.

Jimson Weed,

 The leaves and seeds are used to make medicine. Despite serious safety concerns, jimson weed is used to treat asthma, cough, flu (influenza), swine flu, and nerve diseases.

All photographs by Gary Cremese

The Tait Section of the Billings Trail in Norfolk Connecticut

This was a nice little bike ride about a mile and a half one way with almost no intense inclines. I usually push myself with tough trails, but this time I took it easy. The only time I couldn’t ride the trail was a little patch of mud and a few hundred feet at the very end. Right before it connects to Winchester Road it turns into a small path that has to be walked. 

A little more than halfway through the Tait section of the Billings Trail, right where the trail intersects with the Mad River there’s a little rest area with a stone bench that has the words MAD RIVER deeply engraved on the top of the stone seat. I thought it was a nice touch even though the Mad River is more of a brook at this stage.

All of the red flowers you see in he pictures are the Cardinal Flower ( Lobelia Cardinalis). I’ve seen this flower out in the wild before, but never in these numbers. The brilliant deep red color is really a sight. I can’t think of another wild flower that stands out nearly as much as the Cardinal flower. More often than not I’ll add colors in Photoshop to make the reds redder and the greens greener, but this close up picture of the Cardinal Flower is totally natural.

Medicinal useofCardinal Flower:  
Emetic (induces vomiting), expectorant (helps bring up mucus and other material from the lungs, bronchi, and trachea)  and a nervine (calms the nerves). The root is analgesic (a pain reliever), anthelmintic (expels parasites from the body), antispasmodic and stomachic (promotes appetite and aids digestion) . A tea made from the roots has been used in the treatment of epilepsy, syphilis, typhoid, stomach aches, cramps, worms etc. Several Native American tribes used the leaves as a substitute for tobacco. I have also read other accounts that claim some Native American tribes actually used it in a blend with tobacco and some other herbs like Mullein. This makes more sense to me because I have smoked the leaves and though it is a pleasant smoke it’s fairly thin. It lacks the full bodied flavor of tobacco or marijuana etc.

Another interesting plant growing there is the Broadleaf Arrowhead plant(Sagittaria latifolia). It’s called the Broadleaf Arrowhead plant because the leaves look like a giant arrowhead. The leaves are about 12 inches long and about 6 inches wide. It’s also known by other names such as Duck Potato, Indian potato, or Wapato. So you may have figured out that the roots develop tubers which are like potatoes. A potato is a tuber. You can cook the Duck Potato all of the same ways that you cook a regular potato. They say that the taste is similar to a chestnut. It’s hard to make out, but they are in the second to the last picture at the edge of the bog. From the trail I could see the giant leaves, but I needed the binoculars to see the white and yellow flowers of this plant.

All Photographs by Gary Cremese.

Adam Haritan of Learn your land talks about the medicinal                                         benefits of Boneset.

Adam Haritan is an extremely knowledgeable young man. You can tell that he genuinely loves nature’s organisms and wants you to love them as well.  

After watching this video I decided to go looking for Boneset along with Blue Vervain. Little did I know at the time that if you find Boneset you’ll probably find Blue Vervain nearby. So I found both in one shot. 

Boneset has a very familiar bitter taste like many other medicinal plants such as Yarrow only much stronger. Even though the taste is very bitter I consider it to be a nice bitter or an agreeable bitter. If that makes any sense.

Case Study Shows CBD Oil as a Successful Therapy Option for PTSD

Since trauma is an unfortunate fact of life, so is post-traumatic stress disorder. An estimated one in 17 Americans experiences PTSD at some point in their lives.

It’s only in the last 50 years or so that science has really defined PTSD, so psychologists are still working to understand it and build an armory to fight it.

One potential new weapon is CBD oil, a natural, non-intoxicating extract of the Cannabis sativa plant.

Research has already indicated that CBD can have many benefits, but these studies are in the early stages of development.

According to one recent study in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine about human case studies of PTSD sufferers, CBD has the power to combat the debilitating signs of PTSD.

Grindelia Herb Uses and Therapeutic Benefits

The Grindelia flower is the most widely used part of the Grindelia plant, but the whole aerial part can also be used, for therapeutic herbal remedies.

In 1875, Mr. Jas G. Steele of San Francisco made relevant research available and published a report on the effectiveness of Grindelia in the treatment of bronchial asthma.

The research was presented to the American Pharmaceutical Association in 1875 and since then, Grindelia has been seen as a possible treatment in the management of asthma and many other respiratory illnesses.

The use of Grindelia in modern times is also for the relief of respiratory illnesses.

Aside from bronchial asthma, it is also effective in relieving thick mucus secretions thereby restoring airways.

Blue Cohosh Root - Uses and Benefits

Blue cohosh was once used extensively as a medicinal herb by several native American tribes, and many of the herb’s uses were soon adopted by the European settlers.

It was primarily used for ailments related to women’s health, especially during labor and birth. The herb was used to reinforce contractions and restore or speed up slow labor due to lack of muscle strength in the womb.

It was also considered to have relaxing effect during labor and to relieve anxiety and pain during pregnancy.

Current application of blue cohosh as herbal medicine does not differ significantly from the traditional use.

The herb is still considered by some herbalists and midwives as a tonic for the womb and a remedy that can relieve pain in the uterus and fallopian tubes.

The Amazing Artichoke - Uses and Benefits

The artichoke plant as it is known today is a cultivated form that probably derived from the artichoke thistle or the cardoon (Cynara cardunculus).

The Ancient Romans and Greeks knew the plant and cultivated it as a food crop in southern parts of Europe for centuries. It is believed that both the cardoon and the artichoke originated in Morocco or the Canary Islands.

Today, it’s an important vegetable and is grown on a large scale in many areas of the world with temperate or subtropical climate, particularly in France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, and California in the United States

The herb is often used internally as a tea or in tablet or capsule form to treat liver and gallbladder diseases such as liver damage, cirrhosis, hepatitis, and jaundice.

Herbs with the Most Promising Supportive Information for Increase Fertility

Herbal fertility remedies have existed in every culture for centuries before the development of modern fertility procedures.

Most of these fertility herbs are regarded to be safe when used in the appropriate dosage.

Some of these medicinal herbs are thought to produce the best results when used in combination.

Fertility herbs are usually selected for their time-tested traditional uses as remedies as well as having some supportive scientific information regarding their ability to alleviate the broad spectrum of conditions that can impact a woman’s ability to conceive.

Herbs with the Most Promising Supportive Information for Treating Dementia

t the moment, there is no cure for dementia. Still, there are few conventional medicines that are known to slow the progression of the disease.

Medicinal herbs intended as a treatment should never replace any conventional medication or therapies and should be regarded as an addition or as a supportive therapy.

A large number of patients in the developing world with dementia, where the use of herbal medicines are often the mainstay of therapy, coupled to a global upswing in the use of natural preparations, underscores the need to fully characterize and understand how medicinal herbs can be used in the management of dementia.

While the effects of these natural remedies are varied, it appears that herbs may be useful in the treatment of dementia in three separate ways:

1. Increasing blood flow to the brain.

2. Decreasing the destruction of neurotransmitters critical to proper brain function.

3. Decreasing the level of agitation known to accompany dementia.

In general, when using medicinal plants as a treatment for any disease, caution should always be a key factor, since herbs can interact with other herbs, medications or supplements.

Herbs for Panic Attacks or Panic Disorder

Medicinal herbs for panic disorder or attacks and anxiety are usually not sufficient treatment on their own.

Where herbal medicines can be useful is in lessening the severity of the person’s underlying anxiety and nervousness, thus lessening the frequency and severity of the panic attacks.

These medicinal herbs are either sedatives or tranquilizers (also known as anxiolytic agents) and are either used on a regular basis to reduce the overall feeling of anxiety or sometimes during the actual panic attack if it is prolonged.

Traditionally there has not been much distinction made between tranquilizers and sedatives.

However, pharmacologists have in recent years begun to identify the specific chemical action of these drugs and thus separate out the anxiolytic action from the sedative action.

Horse Chestnut – Uses and Benefits

Although the leaves, bark, and flowers have been used in traditional herbal medicine, it is the big, shiny brown nut of the horse chestnut tree which is of greatest medicinal interest.

From them, an extract is obtained which is used to strengthen the walls of the blood vessels so that blood flow from the veins in the legs back to the heart improves.

The dried conkers contain 3-6% of a mixture of triterpene saponins, known by the common name aescin (escin).

It is aescin which is considered the main active ingredient responsible for the strengthening effect on the veins and capillaries.

Standardized extracts made from the conkers usually have much higher concentrations of aescin (usually 16-20%) than the conkers do in their natural state.

Diabetes Type 2 – 7 Effective Natural Herbs to Control Blood Sugar Levels

Type-2 diabetes is classified as a chronic incurable disease that requires lifelong treatment.

While anti-diabetic drugs have improved patient outcomes greatly, there is a growing need for natural treatments for 2 primary reasons – the risk of side effects from conventional drugs and the spiraling costs of pharmaceutical products.

When we look at natural treatment options, herbs offer the greatest potential for treating and managing diabetes naturally, helping reduce dependence on drugs.

Meadowsweet Uses and Benefits as a Medicinal Herb

The medicinal perennial herb belongs to the plant family Rosaceae.

The genus name “Filipendula” has been derived from two words – “filum,” which means “thread” and “pendulus,” which means “hanging.”

This perhaps describes the root tubers, which hang characteristically from the roots. The specific epithet name “ulmaria” denotes “elm-like”; however, this plant does not appear like the elm!

Filipendula ulmaria is believed to have various medicinal properties such as an anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, diaphoretic diuretic, hemostatic, sanative, stomachic, and tonic.

The fresh root is frequently utilized in a small amount in many homeopathic preparations for various ailments.

The active ingredients present in this medicinal plant are essential oils, flavonoids, phenolic glycosides, salicylic acid, and tannins.

Inktober day 5, St. John’s wort

Mother’s Day is this Sunday so we would love to show you a sweet, sweet dedication.

It is very sweet to dedicate a book to your mother even if it does sound like a competition with a sister who has already done so. Almira does not only dedicate the book to her mother but gives her credit by calling out a mother’s affect: “that she may find the pious sentiments imbibed from herself, in some degree reflected from the following pages, is the wish of her daughter, Almira H. Lincoln.”

Familiar lectures on botany (1832) by Mrs. Phelps Lincoln.

<13/365> Sage on a Windowsill • Shavlíja na pydvykonjí

Kolomija (Kolomea), Ukraine, December 25, 2018 | Konica Minolta Dynax 5D | Industar-61L/Z 2.8/50.