Herbs of Utnapisjtim: Achillea Millefolium

Firstly, thanks to Danbones for the heads up on Achillea ==> www.abovetopsecret.com...

Commonly known as yarrow, Achillea millefolium is a common plant in the Asteraceae family. In Norway we call it 'ryllik' and it grows just about everywhere in the Northern hemisphere, along the road, along gardens and fields... everywhere there is sunlight, being a sturdy, drought resistant one.

It's a popular medicinal plant and also used for cooking. Early in spring it tastes kinda sweet, but later in the season it becomes more and more bitter. However I like the taste and chew it straight up whenever I pass it. Being rich in vitamin-C, it was used to cure skurvy, and is a good supplement in cases of colds and the flu, especially those feverish ones. I've also noticed that it temporarilly cures bad breath. It's rich in anti-bacterial agents (documented), so it's good for healing wounds etc. and it has some pain releaving properties and was often used for toothache. It clogs blood, so if you've got a bleeding nose, stuff some leaves (not the flowers) up there and the bleeding stops. Another method is to grind dried herb to snort for curing more serious, reoocuring nosebleeds. A decoction may be taken against hemorrhoids, either internally or used with an enema.

Yarrow was even used as a replacement for hops in beer, due to it's bitterness and was rumoured to making beer stronger, containing some thujone (atleast it's believed), same as in wormwood, a main ingredient in absinthe.

Good for tea, either for it's healing properties, or simply for it's great taste. Distilled into an essencial oil, it has a dark blue hue, and without being too sure I guess this was one of but a few sources of organic blue dyes back in the day. Ointment made from the leaves is good for healing wounds, ulcers, and in the Orkneys it's used for dispelling melancholy. If you see the first flowering yarrow in spring, you are granted a wish by the gods it's said, and has been used as decoration in weddings said to ensure a long and lasting relationship

Some may have noticed a certain Greek god contained in the name of this one. And you are right of course. In Homer's Illiad, we can read about the centaur Chiron, who conveyed herbal secrets to the humans, and taught Achilles to use yarrow on the battle grounds of Troy for healing wounds and infections.

Sources:
www.amazon.com...
www.botanical.com...
en.wikipedia.org...
Yarrow at witchipedia

reply to post by Utnapisjtim


Thanks for the info. I love herbal remedies. Its amazing how many natural medicines surround us on a daily basis.

BELIEVERpriest
reply to post by Utnapisjtim

 

Thanks for the info. I love herbal remedies. Its amazing how many natural medicines surround us on a daily basis.

Absolutely. And often, the more common the herb/weed the more powerful medicinal properties.

PS: These threads are being moved to the Survival forum in the future, so if you wonder where they are, they're in Survival

Yarrow is one of my favorite medicinal herbs. I have a big area in the yard with yarrow. I also like dandelions, burdock, clover, and thistles. They have so many good properties and grow wild in my yard. I keep trying to get them growing where I want them to grow, but they don't cooporate with me, so I decided they could choose where they wanted to grow and I would work around them.

S&F for telling others about these. Watch out though, overconsumption of yarrow can lead to kidney stones and possibly some clots in the blood. The part that makes it heal ulcers and cuts also causes problems in the body if over eaten. I don't know if the oxalates go into tea. Oxalates are in plants to make them more tolerant to the cold..sort of like the antifreeze and food chemical propylene glycol.

We do not have to wait for a shtf scenario to use some of these natural medicines. They were used extensively by our ancestors.

Utnapisjtim

Some may have noticed a certain Greek god contained in the name of this one. And you are right of course. In Homer's Illiad, we can read about the centaur Chiron, who conveyed herbal secrets to the humans, and taught Achilles to use yarrow on the battle grounds of Troy for healing wounds and infections.

Chiron is one of my favourite 'archetypes', the wounded healer.

Yarrow is such an easy plant. It is reasonably drought tolerant, and manages well in most soils, so good for those difficult areas where little else will grow.

Nice thread...when I had a garden I grew a number of different yarrow cultivars, but never thought to consume it. I now work at a church which was once a monastery and I want to incorporate some of the traditional apothecary plants that they would have grown there into the churchyard garden I am revitalising. I shall add this one to my wish list. Thanks

rickymouse
Yarrow is one of my favorite medicinal herbs. I have a big area in the yard with yarrow. I also like dandelions, burdock, clover, and thistles. They have so many good properties and grow wild in my yard. I keep trying to get them growing where I want them to grow, but they don't cooporate with me, so I decided they could choose where they wanted to grow and I would work around them.

Indeed. Dandelion is one of my favorites too. It's rich in vitamin-C and leaves are great for salads (just cutt away the stems along the center of the leaves, they are rather bitter).

S&F for telling others about these. Watch out though, overconsumption of yarrow can lead to kidney stones and possibly some clots in the blood. The part that makes it heal ulcers and cuts also causes problems in the body if over eaten. I don't know if the oxalates go into tea. Oxalates are in plants to make them more tolerant to the cold..sort of like the antifreeze and food chemical propylene glycol.

Absolutely. Like with any herb or drug, being responsible and not over-eating is vital, often literally so. Thanks for contributing

KilgoreTrout
Chiron is one of my favourite 'archetypes', the wounded healer.

Yes, wisdom comes out of overcoming.

Yarrow is such an easy plant. It is reasonably drought tolerant, and manages well in most soils, so good for those difficult areas where little else will grow.

It's commonly used in dry soil and windy places, being good at keeping the soil in place due to it's big root-systems

Nice thread...when I had a garden I grew a number of different yarrow cultivars, but never thought to consume it. I now work at a church which was once a monastery and I want to incorporate some of the traditional apothecary plants that they would have grown there into the churchyard garden I am revitalising. I shall add this one to my wish list. Thanks

Good idea!!

BTW: I'll keep these threads coming, and I'll try to post a new plant every day or so for easy access and learning.

Utnapisjtim

KilgoreTrout
Chiron is one of my favourite 'archetypes', the wounded healer.

Yes, wisdom comes out of overcoming.

Indeed it does. Well put.

Utnapisjtim
BTW: I'll keep these threads coming, and I'll try to post a new plant every day or so for easy access and learning.

I've just seen your agrimony one...starred and flagged...I have my copy of Culpepper as a general guide, but the information is a bit dated in terms of plant names, so I shall definately keep an eye out for your threads.

Ta very much

reply to post by KilgoreTrout


I have a few books meself, but mostly in Norwegian, my favorite being the one in the top of my sources for both herbs posted, it's in Am. English and called The Master Book of Herbalism. A great book I love greatly ISBN 978-0-919345-53-9

reply to post by Utnapisjtim

I noticed this is the second herb thread you have made-
I hope you make this into a comprehensive series of threads on lots of herbs,I know a few medicinal plants in the UK,and am always interested to hear of new info on plants,or even to re read stuff I am familiar with like Yarrow.
Some other good ones I have tried for various things-wild garlic,nettle,dandelion,milk thistle,st johns wort.
Feel free to use any of them as future threads if you like.

Silcone Synapse
reply to post by Utnapisjtim

 

I noticed this is the second herb thread you have made-
I hope you make this into a comprehensive series of threads on lots of herbs,I know a few medicinal plants in the UK,and am always interested to hear of new info on plants,or even to re read stuff I am familiar with like Yarrow.
Some other good ones I have tried for various things-wild garlic,nettle,dandelion,milk thistle,st johns wort.
Feel free to use any of them as future threads if you like.

At least garlic, dandelion and nestles will get their own threads later on. I'll focus on the most common of herbs to get people to open their eyes (and mouths) to these common weeds and herbs and hopefully people will realise that many of these common plants are very useful both for their medicinal properties and in cooking and not just annoying weeds.

Great post! I'm currently studying medicinal wild herbalism myself and Yarrow is indeed one of those herbs that is great for everyone to know about as it has sooo many medicinal uses and applications. Yarrow is really useful for colds, helping to break fevers and it encourages perspiration. It is also really beneficial for any circulatory related issues as it works to dilate the capillaries, tone blood vessels and encourage blood circulation and is really great for treating high blood pressure and other circulation issues such as varicose veins and hemorrhoids. Very beneficial for digestive issues as well such as poor or sluggish digestion, colitis, and diverticulitis among others due to its ability to tone and soothe the digestive tract and heal mucus membranes. Helps with UTI issues and infections and is very good for most female issues due to cramping and bleeding etc. As has been stated already, it's a really good one to know for wilderness first-aid as you can just mash up a leaf or two or make a quick poultice and apply directly to the wound it will disinfect, staunch bleeding and help with tissue regeneration and wound healing.

reply to post by Sonder


Thanks for adding Right now I'm preparing a third herb thread about what we in Norway call 'Groblad' which translates roughly into 'Grow-leaf'. Latin is 'Plantago major' and is extremely common up here and abundant in most parts of the world. It's got it's (Norwegian) name because it is perfect for healing wounds, how it helps with regenerating skin and I've used them a lot for burns and cuts. It's truely magic. Unmatched by any modern medicine I know of.

reply to post by Utnapisjtim


That's another really good one, I'm looking forward to reading it when you have it up! Plantago Major is a super common here in North America too, grows literally like a weed pretty much everywhere though it's common name over here is Plantain.

reply to post by Sonder


Indeed. You can find the new thread about Plantain here ==> www.abovetopsecret.com...

I read an article from long ago addressing emergency care for wounded soldiers. It seems it was taught that taking plantain leaves and wrapping the wound caused the wound to agglutinate and help reduce bleeding. This is probably an oxalate action or possibly something to do with vitamin k in the weed. Plantain is actually good to eat occasionally and very minutely for some stomach problems. It is excellent cooked like cooked spinach, it's negative effects on the blood and kidney and other troublesome stone creation go away with about ten minutes of boiling. A little milk, like making creamed spinach, helps, it ties up the oxalates so they don't enter the body.

This weed in most people's yard is a good food as long as chemicals haven't been sprayed on the yard. Same with dandelions. I am going to process some dandelion roots this year to make tea out of. They need to be roasted then ground. I have a big old early nineteen hundred flour mill that can also be used to grind coffee. You just adjust the adjuster. I also have burdock, I need to get them to grow where I want them to grow so I can get big roots to add to soups. There is little information on the agricultural practices of growing these weeds on the net. That is kind of depressing.

Burdock root is kind of tasty, I got some from the Coop three years back. The tea I made from wild burdock root is good but it makes you all giggly and lowers your heart rate a bit. The old professor I know who comes over for coffee brought some, I told him it needed to be roasted. He roasted it and brought it over, I ground it and made tea. We seemed to be drunk sort of...he had to take a nitro pill to bring his heart rate up. I researched what happened there but couldn't find anything about it. It must slow nitrogen release by the cells, that would cause a reduction in heart rate. My heart rate being 110-120 normally at rest, it didn't bother me much. His was sixty....maybe wild burdock tea is not good for older people with slow heart beat. Especially at night.

Anyone know a craft beer with yarrow? Beer is one of the reasons i'm not a full raw vegan.

It's distilled, but what the heck!

reply to post by Utnapisjtim


thanks for the nod op

this is one every survivalist should know
and..excellent that you are posting these herbs...

i can vouch it works really well and also its stalks are used in the sacred oracle the IChing
which also really works

Yarrow, Heather Tip, Cherry Bark Ale

dramapothecary.com...



it will also keep the bugs off and improve potency when used as a companion plant

rickymouse
I read an article from long ago addressing emergency care for wounded soldiers.

It's very name Achillea goes back to the Greek war hero Achilles who was said to have brought it with him to any battle for cleaning wounds. As you also point out, Plantain is also associated with soldiers for it's wound-healing properties.

Burdock root is kind of tasty, I got some from the Coop three years back. The tea I made from wild burdock root is good but it makes you all giggly and lowers your heart rate a bit. The old professor I know who comes over for coffee brought some, I told him it needed to be roasted. He roasted it and brought it over, I ground it and made tea. We seemed to be drunk sort of...he had to take a nitro pill to bring his heart rate up. I researched what happened there but couldn't find anything about it. It must slow nitrogen release by the cells, that would cause a reduction in heart rate. My heart rate being 110-120 normally at rest, it didn't bother me much. His was sixty....maybe wild burdock tea is not good for older people with slow heart beat. Especially at night.

This you say here should work as a reminder to everyone that people with certain health conditions should avoid experimenting with some herbs. If your ticker is weak, you should probably avoid some plants and foods.

On the other hand, I am curious as to what genus of burdock you prepared. Was it the common large burdock (Arctium Lappa)? And when is it best to harvest the roots (as in what season)? Apart from the professor's heartrate dropping, it sounds like you had a great time though I don't know this plant well enough to agree or disagree, but I'll keep you and the burdock (and the professor of course) in mind when mid-summer is here and it's time to start scavenging for seedbearing herbs. Gathering cuttings and seeds is a great hobby. I don't have room for a garden where I live now, but using time outdoors knowing these plants teaches you where they live in the open, and thereby the entire Earth becomes your garden....

gardener
Anyone know a craft beer with yarrow? Beer is one of the reasons i'm not a full raw vegan.

Sorry, I'm a recovering alcoholic, so these days I mostly drink non-alcohol beers, and if there were yarrow beers out there, chances are slim they are alcohol free. If you don't find any commercial yarrow beers, you could always brew some at home (follow the link in the post just below your's for one recipie, and there are plenty more out there if you search I presume). Home brewing beer is great fun apparently, and can be done by kings and peasants alike, and is surely a noble art.

It's distilled, but what the heck!

Beer is brewed, not distilled. The reason vegans don't drink it much is due to it being fermented, and is alive in a sense Good luck with your quest. Perhaps you should ask King David where he bought his beer, you sure wouldn't end up empty handed either way