Natural Living: Benefits from medicinal herbs from the great outdoors

Mother Nature has given us a medicine cabinet right in our backyard. Knowing what to harvest and how to use these miracle remedies allows us to take advantage of the medicinal benefits they offer. This certainly comes in handy when one is hiking or biking and someone in the party gets injured and is too far away from town to seek immediate medical intervention. Here are a few herbs in our area that come in handy for issues that arise when we’re playing in the great outdoors.

Yarrow

Yarrow is a beautiful and an incredibly useful plant that grows practically everywhere. Yarrow is a magical herb that can stop bleeding almost instantly, but can also increase circulation when taken internally or used externally to promote blood flow in bruises or varicose veins. There have been many accounts of hikers using yarrow to pack fresh wounds while out in the wilderness to inhibit bleeding.

Yarrow’s healing abilities have been known for an immeasurable amount of time and have even been made famous in our myths of Achilles. Yarrow, also called woundwort and other similarly devised names, has been used on battlefields to heal soldiers’ wounds as far back as we have sad tales of war. It can be powdered and sprinkled on wounds, not only to stop bleeding but also to dull pain, and as an antiseptic herb to prevent infection.

Yarrow’s abilities are not limited to wounds however. Taken internally it can open pores for cleansing and to release a fever. Yarrow is frequently used as a tea at the first sign of a cold or flu. The tincture or tea can be used for bladder infections. Yarrow is anti-microbial, astringent, anodyne, and reduces inflammation.

Here’s a great use of yarrow to keep the bugs away.

Yarrow insect repellent: Gather enough yarrow leaves and flowers to fit snugly in a jar. Infuse with vodka for two to six weeks. Strain.

Pour desired amount into a spray bottle and add catnip and lavender essential oils.

Arnica

Arnica Montana, member of the Asteraceae family, is also called Leopard’s Bane, Mountain Daisy and Wolf’s Bane. It’s a perennial that grows up to two feet tall, its stems are round and hairy; off shooting are bright green leaves that are slightly hairy and toothed on the upper surfaces, and yellow flowers, two to three inches long.

The main component in Arnica is sesquiterpene lactone, known to reduce inflammation and heal pain. When applied topically, Arnica stimulates white blood cells, which help to fight infection and heal injuries. In addition, Arnica attracts blood to the area applied; this warming property incites healing of joint and muscle pain, bruises and other injuries.

The anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory qualities lead to the main Arnica medicinal uses: pain reduction; bruise and sprain healing; decrease swelling; post operation support.

Arnica can also be useful to shorten the time of recovery following physical trauma and heal after overexertion.

Arnica massage oil: Gather 1/4 cup of fresh arnica flowers and put in a 12-ounce glass jar. Pour one cup of jojoba, almond or peanut oil to jar. Massage a small amount of arnica oil onto bruised or sore muscles for relief of pain. Don’t take internally.

Sulphur-Flower Buckwheat

Sulphur flower, buckwheat bush, sulfur buckwheat is a native, low-growing, woody perennial commonly found on dry, sunny exposures on rocky slopes and ridges throughout the West. Flower stems 3 to 16 inches tall are topped by clusters of tiny sulfur yellow flower heads. Flowers range from yellow to orange or reddish.

Tribes throughout western North America traditionally used different parts of the sulphur-flower buckwheat plant to treat a variety of ailments. The Klamath used a poultice of the leaves on burns to soothe the pain. The Cheyenne made a tea from powdered stems and flowers that was used as a gynecological aid for lengthy menses. The Paiute and Shoshone made a poultice of mashed leaves, and sometimes roots, to treat lameness or rheumatism, and took a hot decoction of roots for colds or stomachaches. The Kayenta Navajo used the plant as a fumigant or to induce vomiting for gastrointestinal ailments.

Make sure you’re quite certain you’re confident in choosing the correct herbs you harvest in using them for these remedies. You can get a good plant book with detailed pictures at your local book shop.

Stay tuned next week for more medicinal herbal remedies.