Description: a creeping perennial with round or heart-shaped leaves with a cobweb-like surface pattern. The flowers look rather like short, tufted dandelions on scaly stems and appear before the leaves in early spring.

Parts used: flowers collected in spring, leaves collected in summer

Actions: anti-catarrhal, antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory, anti-tussive, demulcent, relaxing expectorant, diuretic

Coltsfoot was once one of our most popular remedies for coughs and catarrh — its botanical name comes from the Latin for “cough dispeller” — however, its use has declined in recent years and, indeed, has been banned in some countries due to the discovery of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in the leaves. These chemicals are known, in extremely high doses, to cause liver disease in rats, although there is no firm evidence to suggest that coltsfoot can cause similar damage. Even so, it has fallen from favour and many herbalists advise its short-term use only.

Herbal BeautyThe plant is unusual in that its flowers appear (in early spring) before the leaves, hence its old name filius ante patrem, meaning the son before the father. The flowers can be difficult to find so it is always best to identify your coltsfoot patch during the preceding summer when you gather leaves and then return in spring to collect the flowers. It is a virulent weed and can be very difficult to eradicate from gardens, so is best gathered from the wild.

The yellow flowers can be dried or made into syrups; the leaves can be collected later in the year and similarly processed. Flowers and leaves (or the relevant syrups) are both used in the West, and can be combined as desired, although in traditional Chinese medicine only the flowers are used (also for coughs and catarrh). Coltsfoot is an extremely effective soothing expectorant and anti-catarrhal, especially helpful for irritating and spasmodic coughs, including whooping cough, asthma and bronchitis.

Stinging nettle Urtica dioica

Description: a coarse perennial with ovate, toothed leaves covered with hairs.The flowers are small and green and hang in drooping clusters up to 10 cm long. The plant has creeping yellow roots and can be difficult to eradicate.

Parts used: aerial parts, roots, gathered before flowering

Actions: antiseptic, anti-rheumatic, astringent, blood tonic, diuretic, expectorant, galactagogue, hypotensive, lowers blood sugar levels, important source of minerals, clears uric acid

Stinging nettles were once used in a rather bizarre treatment known as urtication which involved beating paralysed limbs with the plant in an attempt to stimulate sensations.The same remedy was also recommended for rheumatic pains, while the Romans reputedly planted the small annual continental nettle (U. pilulifera) along British roads because they believed the country was so cold they would need to beat their bodies with nettles to keep warm.

Nettles sting because the hairs on their stems and leaves contain histamine, which is a potent skin irritant. Thanks to their ability to “rob the soil” and concentrate minerals and vitamins in their leaves they are a good nutrient and the plant makes a useful “spring tonic” as well as a good supplement in iron-deficient anaemia.

Processing fresh young nettles in a juicer is a good way to make an energising tonic; they can also be cooked in soups to help clear out the stagnations of winter.

Nettles can be used externally in washes or infused oils for irritant skin rashes and the same oil can be used as the base for a massage rub for rheumatism. Internally, nettle tea is a popular folk remedy for rheumatism and can also help to relieve the acute painful stage of gout. In pregnancy, nettle tea makes a useful additional source of calcium and iron and it also stimulates milk flow when breast-feeding. Drinking nettle tea can be helpful for allergic skin rashes, especially those connected with salicylate sensitivity. The plant will also reduce blood sugar levels, so is a useful addition to dietary control of late-onset diabetes.

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