Hemp agrimony Eupatorium cannabinum

Description: A tall, sturdy plant with narrow leaves longer at the base and arranged in opposite pairs. The flowers form in dull pink clusters in late summer and early autumn.

Parts used: aerial parts, collected when flowering; roots collected in autumn

Actions: anti-scorbutic, bile stimulant, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge, laxative, purgative and emetic in high doses, possible immune stimulant

Although little used in mainstream herbal medicine today, willow herb leaves were once dried and used as a substitute (and adulterant) for tea. Maud Grieve records that as late as the 1930s it was drunk regularly

Herbal BeautyAn attractive wild plant generally found in damp places, hemp agrimony has been used since the days of Dioscorides as a laxative for constipation. It stimulates bile flow so can be helpful for liver stagnation and poor digestion. It was popular in the Middle Ages as a wound herb, and this may have been due to its anti-scorbutic action in countering the effects of scurvy.

Hemp agrimony is a useful remedy for colds and chills, helping to reduce fevers and ease coughs. Recent research suggests it may have antibiotic and immunestimulating properties and it has also been found to contain a substance called eupatoriopicrin, which has anti-tumour properties.

As a diuretic and laxative, hemp agrimony can be useful for clearing toxins from the system in arthritis and chronic skin disorders. Poultices of the herb were once used on prurient skin sores.

The herb can be combined with elder flowers and yarrow to ease colds and chills, while a decoction of the root is a good expectorant for coughs and also has a laxative action. An infusion of the flowers and/or leaves can be helpful for rheumatic pains: when fresh the plant has rather more laxative active than when dried, so it needs to be used with caution.

Caution: High doses may cause nausea.

Meadowsweet Filipendula ulmaria

Description: a hardy perennial growing to around 120 cm in height and generally found in damp ditches and hedgerows.The plant has irregular pinnate leaves and large, fluffy, creamy flower heads which smell slightly of aspirin appearing from midsummer to early autumn. Parts used: all the aerial parts, collected when flowering Actions: mild analgesic, antacid, anti-inflammatory, anti- rheumatic, antiseptic, astringent, diaphoretic, diuretic, soothing for the gastric membranes

Meadowsweet’s best known claim to fame is as the herb which gave us the name “aspirin“. In the 1830s chemists first identified a substance called salicylic acid, extracted from willow bark, as an anti-inflammatory and analgesic, and over the following years worked to produce a synthetic drug. By the 1890s, the pharmaceutical company Bayer had finally patented the result and since salicylates extracted from meadowsweet had been involved in the development work, they named the drug aspirin after the old botanical name for meadowsweet, Spiraea ulmaria.

Crushed meadowsweet flowers certainly have an aspirin-like scent and the plant was used in Elizabethan times as a strewing herb to improve the smell of less than clean houses, as well as to flavour wine and ales. Meadowsweet has long been used in much the same way as the proprietary drug — for easing pains and feverish colds and as an anti-inflammatory for arthritic conditions.

Unlike aspirin, which can irritate the gastric lining and in prolonged use lead to ulceration, meadowsweet is extremely soothing and calming for the digestive tract It is ideal for gastritis, indigestion and heartburn and is sometimes even described as having anti-ulcer activity. Meadowsweet infusion is excellent for many minor stomach upsets and taken after meals is good to counter indigestion: for digestive problems it combine well with marshmallow and lemon balm.

Strong extracts of meadowsweet are used by professional herbalists in treating arthritis and rheumatism, although in mild cases a home-made infusion can be useful. Increase the normal proportions to up to 60 g of dried herb to 500 ml of boiling water if need be.

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