Lilies in my valley

This week I found both of these lilies flowering in the bush near Jackal’s Den.  Some welcome colour midst the browns and greens of the summer landscape.

Snake Lily   (edit: – It has been brought to my attention by Ian from Antares Field Guide Training Centre that this is not called a snake lily. We both agree that it is the Scadoxus multiflorus which my book calls the snake lily. Ian calls it a fireball lily. I have done some research and have found that it is called many names including blood lily, torch lily, powderpuff lily, fireball lily, bloedblom, poison root, gifwortel.  No where else have I found it called a snake lily so it seems that my book may be wrong. I am going to try and contact the lady that edited the flower section so see what she says. Thank you Ian)

Ground Lily

At first I thought that the ground lily’s leaves had been eaten by one of our animals but they appear just like this in my plant book too.

Thanks to Sue and Rose for my lovely book. It is so handy.

The Wildlife of Southern Africa – The larger illustrated guide to the animals and plants of the region.  Edited by Vincent Carruthers

Feverfew

How to Use Feverfew for Healing

Feverfew is the herb that has been given eleven different names. References to the plant were found in the works of ancient Greek physicians.

Numerous studies, conducted over the past several years, have shown that feverfew has numerous healing properties. One of its most common benefits is the ability to reduce the frequency and severity of recurring headaches, such as migraines. This is due to the presence of tanetin and parthenolide. One of its active ingredients is borneol which improves general circulation and also helps to stimulate the production of gastric juices. Feverfew also contains camphor, which is an expectorant.

Growing feverfew is easy and although the plant originates in Europe, it will grow in most climate zones except for where it is really cold. In these cases it can simply be grown indoors. . It has attractive light green leaves with a pungent scent and many clusters of pretty white flowers. Feverfew favours full sunlight in well drained soil and will flower from early spring through to the first frost.  Flowers, leaves and stems can be harvested for medicinal use.  The most simple and the fastest way of getting the most out of the medicinal benefits of Feverfew is to make an herbal tea.

Tea

Simply add an ounce of the fresh or dried flowers to a pint of boiling water.
Allow to steep for 5 to 10 minutes then strain.

It can be drunk either warm or cool and can be taken as a general tonic to boost well being or to ease anxiety or depression. If you drink half a cup twice a day, you should begin to notice the benefits within a week.

Another way to use feverfew is by making a tincture.

Tincture

To use this method you will need a large jar and fill it with either 300 grams of fresh chopped flowers, leaves and stems or 200 grams of the dried herb.

To this, add 1 liter of liquid – usually a 25 percent alcohol/ water solution is used made with vodka, which helps with preservation and also sweetens the taste.

If you prefer to make a non-alcoholic tincture then you will need to replace the vodka with distilled water or vinegar.

Cover the jar with a brown paper bag and leave it to steep in a cool place for 2 to 3 weeks.

Feverfew tincture can be taken in a dose of 4 to 6 drops every half hour.

You can also make an organic cream from feverfew, for topical use.

Cream/ointment

Mix together

• 25 g of beeswax and
• 25 g of water-free lanolin
• 100 ml grape seed oil,
• 25 ml of glycerine and
• 75 ml. of distilled water

gently heat the blend

• add 50 g of dried herb

stir into the mix to obtain an even distribution.

allow to stand for a few minutes

Strain the mixture and pour the cream into an airtight jar, sealing the lid once it has cooled.

Use caution when eating the fresh leaves as they can cause inflammation of the mouth. To prevent this problem, you can sauté the leaves before eating them.

Do not use feverfew while you are pregnant or if you are on blood thinning medication.

The tincture can be used to reduce arthritis pain by taking ten to twenty drops every half hour for up to five hours. The tincture is more effective if it is made from fresh leaves rather than dried leaves.A poultice can be made for stomachaches by steaming a half cup of leaves and applying the leaves to the area when they are as hot as you can tolerate. Capsules are available at health food stores that can be taken daily as an effective way to control allergies 

Recommendations from users

• I recently won a thirty year battle with migranes. Feverfew works  miracles, and everyone with headaches should try it., but first make sure you have taken your magnesium citrate, calcium citrate, and riboflavin(b-2)  – this acts as a cytalyst for the herb, as with migranes your blood vessles are spasming and need the muscle relaxtion that magnesium provides, also your cells tend to work better together. Taken all together, it will make you believe you are working on the cause.
• My 8 year old son had horrible migranes almost everyday. Someone told me about this miracle cure and I am so glad they did! My son hasn’t had one migrane since he started taking a supplement with feverfew, magnesium, and riboflavin. He is a completely different child now and I am so so happy I met the woman who told me about feverfew.

Read more about this great herb here.

Related Articles

• The Benefits of Feverfew (brighthub.com)
• Can Herbs Help Heal My Headaches? (everydayhealth.com)
• Herbal Remedies for Headache Pain (everydayhealth.com)

The snuff box tree

The snuff-box tree (oncoba spinosa) is a really pretty tree to have in your garden.  I have two in the area between the cottages and they are about to get their summer foliage.  What brought the tree to my attention is it’s unusual hard-shelled fruit  which are traditionally used to make little snuff boxes by cutting off the point at the top and scraping out the fruit pulp.  My dad made me a little snuff-box when he visited recently.  A small stick is then carved to use as a plug to close the snuff-box.  I just don’t have any snuff and I don’t intend to start using it so I must find another use for it.  The husks also lend themselves to craft work, being painted or engraved.

The snuff-box tree grows up to 5 m, but may sometimes reach a height of 8 m. The bark of this plant is mottled grey and rather smooth. The leaves are dark, glossy green in colour and somewhat leathery and hairless. The margins are coarsely toothed. It bears large (90 mm wide) showy, sweet-scented, white flowers with masses of yellow, overlapping stamens in the centre . Flowers somewhat resemble a fried egg and in Zimbabwe it is called the fried-egg flower.

This tree occurs in the northeastern part of South Africa, primarily in Mpumalanga and further north.

The pulp of the fruit is edible, but is seldom used for that purpose. In African medicine the roots are used in the treatment of dysentery and bladder complaints.

Large yellow fruit, to 9cm in diameter, have a flavour very similar to almond meal. The tree is a source of chaulmoogra oil, valued for its medicinal properties and was used to treat leprosy around the world in the late 1800′s and early 1900′s.

If the fruit are left to dry with the seeds inside they it make amusing rattles for children and are also used as anklets and armlets for dancers to add rhythm when performing.

It is a protected tree in South Africa.

I have so many interesting trees on my farm – maybe I should start selling their seeds?

Image via Wikipedia