1) Yarrow (Achillea millefolium).

Many uses are listed for yarrow (leaf and flower), but my Latvian mother-in-law pointed out one I've not seen mentioned. A tea (or infusion) made from yarrow flowers will stop nausea. The stronger the better. It's a bitter drink, moderate it with honey. Yarrow leaves work as well or better, but are more bitter. Yarrow is found in all temperate zones of the U.S.

Links:

http://www.healthy.net/library/books/hoffman/materiamedica/yarrow.htm (Includes directions for making the infusion)

http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/y/yarrow02.html

yarrow before flowering

yarrow in flower

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/herbhunters/yarrow.html

2) Comfrey Symphytum officinale

My own use of comfrey has been as a palliative for a stomach condition I considered to be precursor to ulcers. Many other uses are reported. An infusion is made of the dried leaves (if using fresh leaves crush them first). The root (dried or fresh) yields a stronger-tasting tea. Again, honey may be used to moderate the taste.

Current medical opinion holds that long-term use may be harmful. I found no ill effects from a 1- or 2-week course of comfrey tea. As an external poultice, comfrey is reported to heal wounds and topical ulcers.

Links:

http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/c/comfre92.html

http://www.gardenweb.com/forums/load/herbal/msg061548521959.html Several people discuss their experiences with comfrey.

http://onhealth.com/ch1/resource/herbs/item,15978.asp

Comfrey plant, illustrations

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), October 18, 1999

Answers

And my free demo has a lot of info
on the medicinal use of the native
plants of the NW.

Download Flora

-- spider (spider0@usa.net), October 18, 1999.

Nutritech sells an herbal first aid kit:

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A free catalog is available.

-- walt (longyear@shentel.net), October 18, 1999.

Thanks Tom!

For anyone who's interested. Hops, (the stuff they use in the beer brewing process) tea works very well as a sleep aid, or to relax you if your are really stressed out. I had insomnia a few years ago & this really helped. Hops doesn't taste that great, so I mixed it with another relaxing herb (mint for example) to improve the taste.

-- Deborah (infowars@yahoo.com), October 18, 1999.

Camomile (sp?) tea also works as a mild sedative.

-- biker (y2kbiker@hotmail.com), October 18, 1999.

Comfrey is one of my favorite herbs - be careful though - I have read quite a bit about it and apparently the reason it can be dangerous is due to its healing effect: It stimulates new tissue growth. This is good when needed but if routinely used internally it has been found to cause throat growths/tumors (the likelihood of abnormal cells forming is higher/odds are better when cells are stimulated to reproduce faster than normal.) I have seen it work wonders but please use it with respect for it's powerful medicinal properties.

-- Kristi (securxsys@cs.com), October 18, 1999.

Yarrow also has shown itself successful in lowering some fevers. Tastes nasty, though.

Comfrey is also an excellent livestock feed -- dry the leaves by cutting the plant at the ground level several times during the growing season and hanging in shade. Critters prefer the leaves crumbled and added to grains or other feeds. Pigs will eat fresh leaves; goats kill for it; rabbits enjoy a leaf every now and then.

I've used comfrey as a poultice and as an ointment (in a base of olive oil/lard with a dash of beeswax; "boil" a couple handsful of dried leaves in about a cup of oil until the herb is blackened and the oil is quite dark; strain and save oil, throw herb away; add grated beeswax while still hot; shake to melt; put hot ointment in half-pint canning jar; seal after it has cooled) -- and it is a miracle in its ability to prevent bruising and relieve pain. Go ahead, give it a try -- hammer that thumbnail and then dip in comfrey ointment....pain is gone in seconds, and you'll keep the nail.

FDA said that continuous internal use may lead to liver complications; one death attributed to comfrey use by 1996. More people die of bee stings or lightning strikes, though.

The Henry Doubleday institute in England also found that an acre planted to comfrey, with repeated harvesting every 4-6 weeks during the growing season, could produce tons of the "hay" (seems like they said 50,000 pounds per acre of FRESH leaf, weighs less as hay). Also, they found that using comfrey as a base for compost gave phenomenal growth to tomato plants -- I recall a photo of Doubleday employees harvesting tomatos off of plants as tall as houses.....

And, if nothing else, they're attractive plants that are perennial, with big tropical-looking leaves and pretty, tiny, bell-shaped purple flowers that attract butterflies and bees.

-- Anita Evangelista (ale@townsqr.com), October 19, 1999.

If I recall correctly, the trouble with comfrey came from the bloom of the early hippy vegetairans. Comfrey was supposed to have a good deal of protein value and some folks turned to eating it in inwise amounts as a protein source.

-- flora (***@__._), October 21, 1999.