From the Earth to the Bar

By Kyle Branche
www.KylesCocktailHotel.com
Source: Andrew Chevallier’s Encyclopedia of Medicinal
Plants

Part 5 – 8 Entries

Artichoke – Barley – Cardamom – Corn – Echinacea –

Nutmeg and Mace – Prickly Pear - Sesame
 Artichoke
Cynara scolymus ( Compositae )

Part used – Flower heads, leaves, roots

Native to the Mediterranean region, it thrives in rich soil in warm temperate

climates. Plants that are commercially grown are renewed after 4 years.
Picked in early summer when the flower heads are unopened, along with leaves.

Perennial herb growing to 5 ft, with large thistle-like leaves, white beneath and
gray-green above, and very large purple-green flower heads.
Greatly valued by the ancient Greeks and Romans.

A Mediterranean home recipe uses fresh artichoke leaf juice mixed with wine or
water as a liver tonic. Good for diabetics, as it significantly lowers blood sugar.

A valuable medicinal plant, the leaves benefit the liver against toxins and
infection. All parts of the plant have bitter constituents and stimulate digestive
secretions. This also benefits the lowering of blood cholesterol levels.

Barley
Hordeum distichon ( Gramineae )

Part used – Seeds

Cultivated in temperate regions worldwide.

The seeds are harvested when mature.

Annual grass growing to around 3 ft, with an erect hollow stem, lance-shaped
leaves, and ears with twin rows of seeds and long bristles.

Barley has been consumed since neolithic times, a period of human culture
beginning around 10,000 BC, and characterized by the invention of farming and
the making of technically advanced stone implements/tools.

Actions – Excellent as a form of porridge or barley water. It is soothing to the

throat, providing nutrients easily, such as proteins, sugars, starch, fats, and B
vitamins. It also acts as a demulcent, soothing sores, swelling, and inflammation to
the gut and urinary tract. It also aids digestion of milk, and a treatment for fever.
 Cardamom
Eletteria cardamomum ( Zingiberaceae ) – Elaci (Hindi)

Part used – Seeds

Native to southern India and Sri Lanka, it grow abundantly in forests at

2500–5000 ft above sea level. Also cultivated in southern Asia, Indonesia,
and Guatemala.

A perennial growing to 15 ft, with mauve-marked white flowers, and very long
lance-shaped leaves. Harvested by hand in dry weather autumn just before
the pods start to open, and are dried whole in the sun. Each pod contains up to
20 aromatic dark red-brown seeds.

One of the oldest spices in the world, it was used extensively in ancient Egypt
to make perfumes. Used in Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years as an
excellent remedy for digestive problems.

Actions – Carminative, aromatic, antispasmodic, digestive stimulant,

tonic, eases stomach pain, aphrodisiac.

Preparations – Infusion, tincture, essential oil

Corn
Zea mays (Gramineae) – Maize, Cornsilk, Yu Mi Shu (Chinese)

Part used – Fresh meal (corn), cornsilk (stamens) – dried or fresh

Native to the Andes and Central America. Propagated from seed in spring, it is
cultivated universally as a food crop. The cornsilk is harvested with the ripe
cob in summer, then separated and dried.

An annual grass reaching 10 ft, with plume-like male flowers.

The female flowers produce cobs.

Corn meal has been used by Native Americans for a wide range of ailments.
The Aztecs gave a corn meal concoction for dysentery, “heat in the heart”,
and to increase breast-milk production.

Actions – Urinary demulcent, diuretic, gently lowers blood pressure,

and mildly stimulated bile secretion. Corn Silk also has a beneficial effect on the
kidneys, by reducing stone formation, and is also helpful with chronic cystitis.
 Echinacea
Echinacea angustifolia & E. Purpurea ( Compositae ) – Purple Coneflower

Part used – Root (fresh and dried), flowers

Native to the central parts of the U.S., it is now grown commercially in Europe
and the U.S.. The flowers are gathered in full bloom. The roots of 4-year old
plants are lifted in autumn.

A perennial growing to 20 in, with daisy-like purple flowers

and leaves covered in coarse hair.

One of the world’s most important medicinal plants, echinacea is also the most
highly regarded immune stimulant in Western herbal medicine, with the ability
to raise the body’s resistance to bacterial and viral infections. So beneficial, it is
now being investigated as a treatment for HIV and AIDS.

In Native American medicine, the Comanche used echinacea for toothache

and sore throats. The Sioux took it for rabies and snakebite.
There is an organic juice on the market today, with the flavor and name of
Lemon Ginger Echinacea, as well as tinctures of the herb solo, and with goldenseal.

Actions – Immune stimulant, anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, detoxifier,

antiallergenic, heals wounds, and increases sweating.

Preparations – Tincture (of root, for chronic infections)

Decoction (of root, to treat throat infections)
Capsules (of powdered root, for colds)
Tablets (immune stimulant for infections)

Nutmeg and Mace

Myristica fragrans ( Myristicaceae ) – Rou Dou Kou (Chinese)

Part used – Aril, dried seed kernel

Native to the Molucca Islands (Indonesia), the nutmeg trees

(of which nutmeg and mace come from) are now widely cultivated.
It yields fruit after 8 years, and can continue to fruit for over 60 years.

When fresh, the aril (mace) is scarlet colored, and turns yellow as it dries,
separated from the seed casing it surrounds, which contains the kernal (nutmeg).

Evergreen tree growing to 40 ft, w/ aromatic leaves and small clusters of flowers.
 The volatile oil myristicin, more highly concentrated in the mace,
is known to be a hallucinogenic when over-consumed.

Actions – The principal medicinal benefits stimulate the digestion and treat
infections of the digestive tract. Secondarily, nutmeg has long been valued as
an aphrodisiac, and as a remedy for eczema and rheumatism.

Preparations – Ointment, essential oil, infusion (add a pinch to a peppermint

infusion to treat gastroenteritis), grated nutmeg, and powdered mace.

Prickly Pear
Opuntia ficus-indica (Cactaceae )

Part used – Flowers, fruit, stems

Native to Mexico, and naturalized in semi-tropical regions around the world.

The fruit is harvested when ripe. The stems as required.

Perennial cactus growing to 10 ft, with large spatula-shaped stems covered in

clusters of spines, bright yellow flowers, and round purple fruit.

This fruit is used to make an alcoholic drink in Mexico.

The nutritious fruit contains mucilage, sugars, vitamin C, and other fruit acids.
The flowers contain a flavonoid.

Action – The flowers are an astringent and reduce bleeding,

along with helping problems of the gastrointestinal tract.
They are also taken to treat an enlarged prostate gland.

Sesame
Sesamum indicum ( Pedaliaceae )

Part used – Seeds, seed oil, root

Native to Africa, it is also cultivated in tropical and subtropical areas

around the world. The root is unearthed in summer, and the seeds
collected after the seed capsules have turned brown-black.

Erect annual growing to 6 ft, with lance-shaped to oval leaves, white,

pink, or mauve flowers, and oblong capsules holding many small gray seeds.

In ancient Egypt, the seeds were eaten and also pressed to yield oil, used to
make ointments and burning in lamps. India and China have eaten sesame for
thousands of years, used as a food and a flavoring agent.

Highly nutritious, the seeds contain 55% oil, mainly unsaturated fats,
26% protein, vitamins B and E, folic acid, and minerals (especially calcium).

Actions – The seeds can be prescribed for problems such as dizziness,

tinnitus, and blurred vision (due to anemia). Sesame has a lubricating effect
within the digestive tract. The oil benefits the skin, and is a cosmetic base.

Definitions

Perennial Plant that lives for at least three seasons

Poultice Herbal preparations usually applied hot to

affected area to alleviate and reduce swelling

Purgative A very strong laxative

Qi Vital energy force in Chinese philosophy

Rhizome Underground storage stem

Rubefacient Stimulates blood flow to skin, causing reddening and warming