Yellow dock Rumex crispus

Description: a biennial growing to around I 50 cm in height with a robust tap root and long-stalked ovate leaves up to 50 cm in length.The flowers are purple and thistle-like, appearing from early summer to mid- autumn and followed by hooked fruits.

Part used: root

Actions: alterative, bitter tonic, bile stimulant, laxative

Yellow dock is generally found growing in wild, grassy places, waste land and along the road side.The plant is able to concentrate iron from the soil in its roots thus making a valuable iron tonic in anaemia: in the past herbalists sprinkled iron filings around their yellow dock plants to produce iron-enriched specimens.

Herbal BeautyYellow dock is mainly used as a cleansing remedy for skin and rheumatic problems. It contains anthraquinone glycosides which encourage peristalsis by irritating the gut lining, so have a purging effect; the plant is also useful for stimulating liver function and for itching skin conditions and shingles.

In Galenical medicine, yellow dock was considered as sufficiently cooling to purge the “choleric” humour or yellow bile. Culpeper considered it more effective than its close relatives sorrel and red dock and also recommended the seeds — no longer commonly used in herbal medicine — as a remedy for diarrhoea and stomach upsets. In homoeopathy, yellow dock extracts are used in cough mixtures and to relieve irritated sore throats.

Use the root in decoctions for rheumatic pains and digestive complaints.

Elder Sambucus nigra

Description: a large shrubby tree with pinnate leaves and tiny, scented cream flowers borne in flat bunches in early summer.The purple berries ripen in late autumn.

Ports used: flowers collected in spring and berries in autumn; the bark, leaves and root have all been used in the past — collect the leaves in summer after flowering. Actions: anti-inflammatory, anti-catarrhal, diaphoretic, diuretic, emollient (flowers), laxative (berries and bark)

In the Middle Ages, many people believed that the elder tree was inhabited by a spirit known as the “elder mother” whose permission was needed if ever the tree was to be pruned; inevitably felling elders was considered as a guarantee of bad luck, although branches from the tree placed over doors and windows were believed to keep witches away and ward off the Evil Eye. According to Maud Grieve, author of the well- known Modern Herbal (1931), country people in the I 920s would still doff their hats when passing an elder tree as a salute to this otherwise forgotten sprite.

Such respect was understandable, since the elder was a complete medicine chest.The leaves formed the basis of a “green ointment” for sprains and strains, the inner bark is a strong purgative, the berries — a good source of Vitamin C — protected against colds and infections, while the flowers are strongly anti-catarrhal.

Today we mainly use the flowers as a soothing anti- catarrhal and diaphoretic remedy, although they are also topically anti-inflammatory and emollient and make a very effective hand cream: elder flower water (from distilling the flowers) was a favourite in the I 8th century for whitening the skin and removing freckles.

Elder flowers also appear to strengthen the mucous membranes, so can increase resistance to irritant allergens. Drinking elder flower tea in early spring can help reduce hay fever symptoms later in the year. An infused oil of elder leaves also makes a useful alternative to the old “green ointment” to treat bruises and minor injuries.

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Yellow dock Sufficiently Cooling to Purge; Elder kills Pain of Sprains and Strains