100 New Herbs

Family Lamiaceae

Species: Salvia hispanica

Origin: Peru, Mexico, Guatemala, Argentina

Plant: Annual

Height: Up to 2.5 m

Soil: Thrives in well-dug, well-composted soil

Exposure: Full sun

Propagation: Seed

Uses: Culinary, medicinal

Chia has recently become a buzzword and a ‘new’ health food, found on health store shelves and trendy restaurant menus. However, it is in fact an ancient plant, used by humankind for over 3 000 years. Pre-Columbian Aztecs and Mayans used the seed as a staple in their diet, together with corn and beans; they also used it medicinally, as a trade currency, and in religious ceremonies. It is said that chia gets its name from the Mayan word for strength as it is a near-complete food with a superb nutritional profile.

Old records describe chia as a grain cooked with millet and sesame, as a medicinal tea boiled with mint, as a ‘meal’ ground and used in sun-baked flat breads, and pressed to extract its exceptional oil. Old paintings show fields of ripe chia being harvested, with mature plants shaken over great spreads of white cotton fabric to collect the seeds, as is still done in Mexico. Today, chia is an attainable plant for the home gardener. It grows quickly and easily, producing attractive blue flowers and abundant seeds.

Nutritionally, the chia seed is worth its weight in gold! Its extremely high omega-3 fatty acid content puts it in the top 10 health foods worldwide. Today, the need to balance essential fatty acids in the diet is of vital importance. We need to decrease omega-6 intake (which has become very high on our modern diet) and increase omega-3 consumption. Chia stands out as a light in this regard, particularly as salmon, previously a major source of omega-3, is showing high levels of contamination from polluted rivers.

Chia seed is not only rich in omega-3 fatty acids, but also rich in anti-oxidants and dietary fibre, and it has the extraordinary ability to form a soft gel if the seeds are soaked in water, making it a comfortable laxative, a digestive, and a colon cleanser. Chia seed is also a good source of the B-vitamins and folic acid, and it is gluten-free. It is rich in amino acids and produces a balanced protein when mixed with other grains.

The seed has high levels of calcium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, magnesium, copper and iron – in fact, it contains six times more calcium, 11 times more phosphorus and over four times more potassium than milk does.

Chia’s iron content is also higher than that of other iron-rich sources such as spinach and lentils, which again shows what an asset it can be in our daily diet.

The seed contains no peanut or tree nut allergens, and it has a long life.

Plant in full sun and dig in a large amount of rich compost. Space seedlings at least 50 cm apart, as each bush grows about 2 m in height and 1 m in spread, and keep the area well watered. I make a furrow along the plantings and run water gently into the row. Water twice a week, or three times a week on hot days, and let the water run in slowly and deeply, as chia is a fast and robust grower and hangs limply if it dries out. The plant can survive intensely hot, dry summers and also takes the cold, but remember that it is a summer crop and not frost-tolerant.

In early spring, fill a deep cutting tray with fine, rich compost mixed with topsoil (half and half). Water thoroughly. Sprinkle the chia seeds thinly, and cover them with finely sifted topsoil, just enough to cover the seeds well. Stand the cutting tray in a bigger, shallow tray of water to keep the seeds moist from below. Seedlings appear quickly. Plant them in small, compost-filled pots when they are big enough to handle. Keep them in semi-shade and do not let them dry out. Move the pots into full sun, little by little, until the seedlings are sturdy enough to plant out permanently. This method ensures a hundred per cent germination rate. Self-sown chia germinates in the area and transplants easily when it is about 10–15 cm in height. So, once you have it, you will always have it!

When the seed heads are pale, dry and papery and the plant begins to turn dry and yellow, cut and shake it, or rub the seed heads between the hands, and blow off the chaff. Keep seeds in airtight glass bottles in the kitchen to add to breads, cereals, biscuits, stews, salads and stir-fries. Reaped chia plants are extremely valuable in the compost heap.

‘Chia fresca’ is a refreshing beverage and a favourite drink in Mexico and Central America, made from cool lemon juice, honey and chia seeds. In health-conscious homes the seeds are added to breakfast porridge, muesli, fruit salad, Bulgarian yogurt, smoothies, juices, mashed potatoes, stir-fries, soups and stews, as well as breads, baked pies, tarts and even pizzas, giving us the many health benefits that sustained the Aztecs and Mayans long ago.

The seed can also be ground to a nutritious flour in a coffee grinder or food processor, and added to other flours to make bread, scones and biscuits, or simply add the seeds to your favourite recipes. I find that two tablespoons added to scone dough, biscuit dough or pancake mix works well, but adjust according to how you find it most delicious. Store the flour in an airtight container in a cool, dark cupboard or your refrigerator. Chia flour can also be used as an egg substitute for those following a vegan or vegetarian diet.

Remember that heating essential fatty acids leads to loss of their nutritional benefit, so it is always best to eat your chia seeds raw, or sprinkle them over cooked food after the food has cooled slightly. If you are lucky enough to find chia seed oil to purchase, check that it has been cold pressed.

Chia brittle and seed bars

Chia muesli

Chia is listed in ancient pharmacopoeias for its multiple medicinal benefits, ranging from brain health, digestive health and cardiovascular health to endurance, longevity and as an anti-inflammatory. Today, these benefits are all being demonstrated by modern science.

Chia’s high omega-3 content makes it a superb brain food. Omega-3s are known to support brain development, promote efficient nerve transmission, and protect against cognitive decline such as in Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

In terms of digestion, chia is again a winner, as its fibre-rich gel soothes the digestion and cleans the colon. A healthy colon is absolutely vital to good health, allowing one to absorb nutrients more efficiently and eliminate waste without the unnatural delay often seen on our modern western diet. Chia’s gel-forming action also slows the conversion of carbohydrate to sugar, which stabilises blood glucose levels.

To relieve constipation, soak half a cup of seeds in one cup of warm water until the seeds are soft and gelatinous. Take two or three teaspoons of this pleasant mixture with water until the stomach works well. Start first thing in the morning and take a teaspoon at intervals with water; usually three teaspoons are sufficient. Chia tea is excellent for nursing mothers and babies.

TO MAKE THE TEA: Boil half a cup of chia seed in 2–3 cups of water for 15 minutes, then cool to comfortable warmth and sip through the day. The ancient Aztecs gave teaspoons of chia tea to babies between feeds as a gentle laxative. In the case of acid reflux in adults, take half a teaspoon of seeds in the mouth with a little water and chew gently. Swallow with sips of water.

Chia is known as a valuable endurance food, especially for long-distance athletes, as it is high in protein, fibre and essential fats. Ancient Aztec runners used it as a potent energy food and carried pouches of seeds with them for staying power.

Vitamins C and E are also present, making chia a longevity food and anti-ageing herb that helps to alleviate degenerative diseases and long-term illnesses such as cancer and heart disease. Studies have shown that omega-3 lowers blood pressure in people with hypertension and is an excellent anti-inflammatory for those with joint aches, and chia’s calcium and boron content supports long-term bone health.

Chia seed oil has been used in healing lotions and creams through the centuries to treat the chest and throat, for coughs, flu and phlegm, for skin ailments, and to increase energy and vitality.

Family Asteraceae

Species: Chrysanthemum × morifolium

Origin: China, parts of Europe

Plant: Perennial flower

Height: Up to 75 cm

Soil: Deeply dug, richly composted soil

Exposure: Sun

Propagation: Cuttings

Uses: Culinary, medicinal

Who would think that the common chrysanthemum, grown for florists, is actually a valuable medicinal plant? Leaves and flowers are so rich in exceptional health-promoting vitamins and minerals that it was recorded as a medicine in the first century AD in its native China. It was used as a medicinal tea and healing poultice, and appeared prominently in China’s fascinating cuisine.

Choose a small-flowered yellow chrysanthemum for medicinal and culinary use, the way the Chinese pharmacopoeias advised, as the yellow petals are particularly beneficial. The single-flowered chrysanthemum was always illustrated in the early texts. Today there are several colours of chrysanthemum, including plants with pink, white, burgundy, bronze and even red petals, to fill the autumn garden with their long-lasting beauty.

Chrysanthemum found a ready market in the 18th century as a cut flower, exhibited by Chinese growers in exquisite bouquets shaped like fans. This secured its place as a commercial flower, with white remaining the most popular colour, particularly for weddings. However, we have forgotten many other uses.

Plant out in a large, deep hole filled with good compost mixed with topsoil, and water. Sink the plant into the hole, making sure that the roots come into contact with the water immediately, and make a small ‘dam’ around it. Water daily until it settles; thereafter fill the ‘dam’ with water three times a week. Flowering time is autumn. Divide the clump in late winter. Once the flowers have faded, prune off the flowering heads at the base of the stems, as this encourages new flowering stems. Chrysanthemum is a tough perennial.

Start your collection off with easily acquired chrysanthemum pot plants, which contain several rooted cuttings in one pot. Once they have bloomed, cut off the spent flowers and plant out the rooted cuttings without separating them.

Original Chinese texts advise that the yellow flowers should be dried in the sun to reduce bitterness for culinary purposes.

Chrysanthemum plantations in China are grown largely as food, known as ‘ju hua’. The flowers were once used to give ale its bitter flavour, and they were steamed as a vegetable. Both the leaves and bright flowers are still used in many recipes, including stir-fries and fritters, and the flowers are used to make a syrup served over soft cakes and pancakes, with cream or yogurt. A delicious chrysanthemum flower pickle is served with tender steamed bamboo shoots and rice, but it needs to be experienced to get the taste! The chilli is intensely hot, so experiment when making your own.

Chrysanthemum pickle

A bitter tea was made centuries ago to lower high blood pressure and relieve the headaches, insomnia and dizziness often associated with it. The tea was described in one of the first medical records in the first century AD. Today, this tried-and-tested medication has medical science behind it. The tea was also used to treat convulsions, as well as tinnitus (ringing in the ears), angina and heart palpitations, and its anti-bacterial properties were known to counter sore throats, infected acne, and a range of pathogens causing inflammatory conditions.

TO MAKE THE TEA: Simmer two cups of chrysanthemum flowers and two cups of fresh blackjack leaves and sprigs (see p. 52) in eight cups of water for 10 minutes. Strain, cool and pour into a sterilised jug or screw-top bottles. Store in the fridge. Sip half a cup of warmed tea 3–4 times through the day, and use it warmed up as a wash or lotion. Use up the quantity in two days, then repeat.

The tea can also be used as a cooling and antiseptic wash to lower fever, clear infections and detoxify the body. Soak cotton-wool pads in the tea and wash the infected area, discarding each pad after applying once.

The leaves also make an excellent antiseptic poultice for infected scratches, boils, sores and wounds.

Use steamed flowers over red, tired, sore eyes, and rest for 15 minutes. Wipe the outside of the eyes with cotton-wool soaked in chrysanthemum tea, cooled to comfortable warmth.

The Chinese ‘barefoot doctors’ recommend a cup of chrysanthemum tea as a daily treatment for eye fatigue and exposure to computer radiation.

In our high-tech world, chrysanthemum could become a valuable new medicine, helping us to cope with increasing stress.

Family Lauraceae

Species: Cinnamomum verum

Origin: Sri Lanka and parts of India

Plant: Evergreen tree

Height: Up to 12 m

Soil: Thrives in a deep, compost-rich hole

Exposure: Full sun

Propagation: Cuttings

Uses: Culinary, medicinal

Cinnamon is probably the most loved spice in the world. It was popular in Egypt, Rome and the Middle East from the early centuries, and formed part of the spice trade that continues to this day. It was so highly valued that it was given as a gift to royalty; it was also used as altar incense and to flavour wine, and the Hebrew bible mentions it numerous times.

Cinnamon is a valuable health builder and was traditionally used as a remedy for colds, digestive problems and diarrhoea. Half a teaspoon of cinnamon powder in the diet daily can help to rectify many health problems. It is used extensively as a flavouring in the culinary world, from oatmeal and cappuccino to apple crumble and tea, and in the cosmetic industry it is gaining a reputation for protecting the skin against the elements and restoring elasticity and circulation.

Sri Lankan cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) is known as ‘true cinnamon’, while ‘Chinese cinnamon’ (Cinnamomum cassia) is coarser and more spicy, but less fragrant. Both are sold as cinnamon and used interchangeably for most culinary purposes.

Cinnamon needs a deeply dug hole, and rich compost mixed with topsoil. Water the tree slowly and deeply once a week, or twice weekly in very hot weather, and build a strong ‘dam’ around it to retain the water. Give it a barrow of compost twice yearly and in the dry months spray the foliage with water now and then. It is an attractive tree that can be shaped; new leaves are palest buttery yellow but change to ruby red, and as they mature they become glossy green. It is resilient to heat, drought and strong winds.

Propagation is by cuttings, snipped just above a growing point. Press at least 10 cm well under the soil and plant 2–3 cuttings in one bag of mixed topsoil and compost. Keep the cuttings protected and shaded. I find propagating cinnamon a slow and erratic business, but I persist as I am sometimes lucky. The little trees need to establish really well before being planted out in their permanent positions.

Use branches that you have pruned, and strip the bark. Cut into wide strips, then scrape off the outer bark and fold and roll the inner bark to form quills. Let them dry. To make cinnamon powder, grind a few quills in a seed grinder or coffee mill. Keep the powder in a screw-top glass jar in a dark cupboard.

Cinnamon powder is used in so many ways: in sweet treats such as biscuits, pastries, desserts and ice-cream; in savoury foods such as curries, pickles, meat products, and sweet potato and butternut dishes; and in beverages like coffee, hot chocolate, chai tea, mulled cider and wine. In all instances it imparts its warm aroma and taste. The bark oil is rich in cinnamaldehyde, which is what gives it its exquisite flavour and scent. Cinnamon combines especially well with orange and honey. Remember to add a stick when boiling rice to give the rice a delicate fragrance. The tough, fresh leaves are sometimes used to flavour juices, liqueurs and alcoholic mixes.

Cinnamon oil

A surprising number of ailments can be treated with cinnamon: cold extremities and poor circulation, colds and influenza, nasal congestion, high cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure, indigestion with colic, flatulence and bloating, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, arthritis, rheumatism, candidiasis, gastroenteritis, fever, bleeding and infections, painful spasms and muscular aches and pains.

Cinnamon tea is wonderful for those who feel the cold and have chilblains and poor circulation to the hands and feet.

TO MAKE THE TEA: Pour a cup of boiling water over half a teaspoon of cinnamon powder; stir with a cinnamon stick and sip slowly (add a fresh leaf if you have one). Take a cup in the morning and one in the afternoon. Due to its carminative effect, the tea can also be used to relieve indigestion. Cinnamon bark and leaf oils have anti-bacterial, anti-microbial and anti-fungal properties.

Family Poaceae

Species: Cymbopogon nardus

Origin: Sri Lanka, Java

Plant: Perennial grass

Height: Up to 1 m

Soil: Richly composted, deeply dug

Exposure: Full sun

Propagation: Clump division

Uses: Medicinal, commercial oil extraction

Citronella grass is a member of a fascinating genus of perennial grasses found in the warm temperate areas of Asia and Europe. It is valued for its rich and powerful oil, which makes it an excellent insect repellent. The volatile oil with its citral content, of which citronella is its main constituent, is used as protection against the Anopheles mosquito that carries malaria. Interestingly, citronella grass grown in Java yields twice as much fragrant citronella oil as citronella grass grown in Sri Lanka.

Used in soaps and creams, the oil has antiseptic, anti-spasmodic, diuretic, deodorant and anti-fungal properties and is favoured worldwide to keep ants, fleas, ticks, moths, mosquitoes and flies out of the home. Citronella grass will protect you and your household throughout the summer from mosquitoes and flies, and is a wonderful investment.

Synthetically copied citronella oil does not have the same value, so be sure of the source when you buy the oil. For pure citronella oil, choose a reputable essential oil dealer. Making your own oil from the grass is infinitely preferable – and it is easy to grow. Do not confuse citronella grass with lemongrass: they are quite different!

At a glance, lemongrass and citronella grass look similar, except for the perennial tuft at the base. Citronella exhibits a smoother, darker, more compact growth and the leaf has a characteristic citronella smell. A major difference from lemongrass is that citronella grass has a long, grassy plume that occurs in its third year at the end of summer. Be on the lookout for the original citronella grass, which has been offered for sale as ‘lemongrass’ in the herb section of some nurseries, confusing everyone.

Plant citronella grass in full sun, spaced 2 m apart, as the perennial clump quickly expands into graceful, long leaf blades. A deeply dug, richly composted area is essential for the rewards this precious grass offers. Water twice or three times a week to ensure good leaf growth and development. Remember, citronella grass originates from tropical and subtropical areas only, and frost will damage it severely – so be sure of ample winter protection.

Pull small tufts off the main plant and immediately replant them into compost-filled bags, to allow them to establish. When they are well established, plant them out into the sun, spaced 2 m apart.

I allow the clumps to develop for several years before splitting and dividing. During spring, in the early stages of propagation, whole clumps can be broken apart and the fragrant leaves cut off, leaving a rooted section 30 cm long for planting. If this is kept protected, watered and shaded, its growth is assured, and by midsummer new, strong plants emerge, ready for planting out in the garden. Create a sturdy dam around each plant, and water twice or even three times a week.

In my years of lecturing on the medicinal values of essential oils, making citronella oil became a favourite activity with most students, and we grew many clumps of the richly fragrant citronella grass.

To make the oil, in a double boiler simmer three cups of finely chopped citronella grass blades in a cup of almond oil, stirring frequently and pressing the leafy blades well down with a spoon. Simmer the liquid for 30 minutes, keeping the saucepan covered when not stirring. Allow to cool, covered, overnight. The next morning, reheat the liquid for 10 minutes, then strain it through a muslin-lined, new sieve and pour it into dark glass bottles.

The pale yellow liquid with its rich, lemony scent makes an excellent massage oil for muscular aches and stiffness. Diluted 1 in 10 in a carrier oil, it can be applied to the affected area. Citronella oil relaxes tense shoulder muscles and can be massaged over rheumatic aches and pains. If blended with a few drops of rose geranium essential oil or lemon essential oil, it makes a comforting foot oil and eases sinus or nasal congestion and other discomforts from flu, colds, coughs and fatigue. It lowers fever, aids digestive problems and eases menstrual aches and pains.

Add two teaspoons of pure citronella oil to 1½ litres of warm water, shake it up well and use it as a room spray, shaking frequently to disperse the oil. Spray yourself, too, when sitting outside on the patio on hot summer nights. Alternatively, make citronella grass ‘tea’ and use it as a spray.

TO MAKE THE ‘TEA’: Boil up two cups of grass pieces in two litres of water for 10 minutes, then cool and strain the liquid and pour it into a spritz-spray bottle.

Use citronella oil as an excellent mosquito repellent on your dog. Moisten a pad of cotton-wool in warm water, squeeze it out, and spread several drops of citronella oil onto it. Gently rub this over the dog’s ears and fur.

On plantations in Sri Lanka, harvesters reap the flowering heads and long stalks and tie them in bundles to dry, for burning in the fire as an insect repellent.

Citronella also has a remarkably calming effect. Sri Lankans use the leaf blade as a tea to ease sleep patterns and encourage relaxation, particularly in the tropical heat (add ¼ cup of fresh leaf to one cup of boiling water, let it stand for five minutes, then strain). Drop a few drops of citronella oil onto a candle and burn it in a safe place, out of draughts and away from anything flammable. The pleasant citronella scent will refresh stale air, ease headaches and help everyone stay calm and relaxed.

In China, this powerful oil has become a traditional medicine for treating rheumatism, and tiny bottles of the oil are for sale in the markets and on street corners everywhere. Also in China, poultices of citronella leaf blades, warmed in hot water, tied in muslin cloths and held in place with a hot-water bottle, are applied over the stomach and back to ease menstrual and digestive pains.

Tuck fresh citronella leaf blades between a hot-water bottle and its cover and place the hot-water bottle over aching feet and joints. The leaf blades quickly release their fragrance and ease the pain, and, as a bonus, chase away mosquitoes.

Family Rubiaceae

Species: Coffea arabica

Origin: Ethiopia and Africa

Plant: Perennial evergreen shrub

Height: Up to 2 m

Soil: Rich, well-composted, deeply dug soil

Exposure: Shade

Propagation: Seed

Uses: Culinary, medicinal, air-cleaning

There is surely no scent on earth as enticing as freshly brewed coffee, and probably more deals have been made over a cup of coffee than in any other way! Coffee is an acquired taste, and, while too much is not good for you, it also has valuable medicinal uses. It was introduced to Europe from Africa in the 17th century and soon became a crop of global importance. There are four main types:

Coffea canephora, known as Robusta coffee, is an African coffee with a powerful caffeine content, but suboptimal flavour. It is used to make instant coffee.

C. stenophylla is grown in the highlands of Sierra Leone. It has an exceptionally delicious and rich flavour, very similar to Mocha.

C. liberica, known as Liberian coffee, is grown in Malaysia and Guyana, and is a favourite with the locals.

C. arabica is probably the most widely used coffee in the world today. The first plantings were in the Yemen, against the cool mountains. Dutch merchants smuggled the beans into Brazil and Indonesia, searching for suitable tropical climates for cultivation.

Plant out in the shade in a deep hole, filled with topsoil and compost. Add water. Sink the little tree, freed from its bag, into the hole, and press it down firmly. Make a ‘dam’ around the tree so that the water is retained and, reaches its roots. Spray the leaves each time you water it. The coffee tree is an excellent air cleaner and, as it also does well in a large pot on a shady patio or in a large airy room, it is an important environmental plant for purifying the air. Spray the leaves frequently.

Propagation is from the ripe fruit drying out on the branches. Left unpeeled and un-tampered with, the dry fruit often falls from the slender tree and roots quickly in the soft moist soil below. Dig up the small plants carefully and keep them shaded, moist and protected until strong enough to plant out permanently.

Pick the ripe red coffee cherries when they are starting to darken to a maroon colour. Strip off the sweet cherry flesh and use it dried and chopped in pancakes, breads and fruit drinks as it is rich in vitamins C, D and E and the minerals potassium and phosphorus. Roast the well-washed beans on a roasting tray at 120°C for two hours; toss and stir the beans frequently. Switch off the heat and leave the tray in the oven to cool. Grind the beans in a coffee grinder. Dried beans can be stored in the fridge.

Black coffee is used in baking and to make iced coffee and liqueurs like Tia Maria. It is a stimulant and not a health food, so be careful how you eat and drink coffee as it can be addictive. Roasted beans are sometimes dipped into a chocolate coating (coffee and chocolate are very complementary) and eaten as a snack, but they can cause an allergic reaction. Coffee extracts are also used in cola-type soft drinks.

Coffee beans contain around 0.32 per cent caffeine when fresh. Chlorogenic acid, the stimulant, is also a diuretic, and even if the bean is decaffeinated it can be an allergen to some people, causing sleeplessness, over-excitement, palpitations, trembling, anxiety attacks, depression and irritability. Interestingly, caffeine from the beans is used in over-the-counter painkillers with aspirin and paracetamol, while homeopathic tinctures made from the unroasted beans are taken for hyperactivity, tension headaches, sleeplessness and sensory overload.

Strong black percolated coffee, with no milk or sugar, is taken to control vomiting and hangovers, and to ease nausea. It is also given after narcotic poisoning. Charcoal derived from roasting the beans is ground finely, and a teaspoon or two, mixed with half a cup of boiled warm water, is an excellent absorbent for stomach upsets after eating contaminated foods. The mixture induces vomiting.

In homeopathy, Ayurvedic doctors use the green coffee cherries before they turn red. These are crushed and used for headaches, and applied crushed and ground to rashes, scalds and itchy areas. A tea made from the crushed green cherries is an old remedy for a headache.

TO MAKE THE TEA: Pour a cup of boiling water over 1–2 teaspoons of the crushed green cherries. Stir well, then strain and sip slowly. Two tablespoons of finely crushed green cherries mixed with four cups of warm water makes a comfortable enema for constipation.

Coffea arabica is on the list of invasive plants and if you want to grow it for medicinal use, permission is required from the Department of Environmental Affairs.

Family Malvaceae

Species: Gossypium herbaceum

Origin: India, Africa

Plant: Shrub, perennial

Height: About 1 m

Soil: Deeply dug, loamy soil

Exposure: Full sun

Propagation: Seed sown in spring

Uses: Culinary, medicinal

The Indians introduced cotton to Egypt in 500 BC, and later to China. The fine white fabric woven from the cotton ‘wool’ became so popular for its ‘breathing’ properties and summer coolness that trade increased and commercial crops extended. In addition, there was trade in oil from the seeds and valuable medications from the root, leaves and flowers. The seed oil is used in margarine, soaps, shampoos and animal feed.

Today, cotton is used as a potent anti-viral, anti-bacterial, natural antibiotic and a treatment for fevers, herpes and HIV sores, and for dysentery and gastroenteritis. Its antibiotic properties are under particular investigation in light of the declining efficacy of patented antibiotics.

Cotton is usually treated as an annual in order to keep pests and diseases under control. However, I cut my perennial plantings back hard in early spring and douse frequently with a strong brew of khakibos (Tagetes minuta) and wilde als (Artemesia afra). Be on the lookout for whitefly, mildew and even black aphid attack.

Seeds must be sown in situ in spring; around 26–30°C is best, in full sun and in deeply dug well-composted soil. Space the seeds 60–80 cm apart and watch for germination. Plant new seeds if they do not germinate (usually 14 days). I soak the seeds in hot water overnight before planting. Do not allow the soil to dry out and keep weeds under control or you will lose sight of the rows. Cover with a light layer of dry leaves to deter birds and keep the area moist. Check twice daily in the heat as this is the crucial time. Once established, give the rows a long, slow watering 2–3 times a week.

Wait for the seed heads to burst open. Reap the clean cotton balls before the rain, and before the wind blows them away. Be alert as the crop matures relatively quickly. It takes a little time to work the seed out of the enveloping white fibres. Deseed quickly so that the cotton balls remain clean, and store in boxes lined with brown paper.

To collect root bark at the end of summer, dig up the cotton plant once the cotton has been reaped. Cut off the roots, wash well and scape off the bark with a sharp knife. Dry the bark in the shade. Once dry, store in a glass bottle.

Our cotton plantings are surrounded by rosemary, lavender, tea tree and garlic chives. It is largely thanks to these plants that we have had very little need to spray for insect attacks. One gardener in particular keeps a careful eye on our cotton as he grew it as a child, which is why our cotton has been so successful.

The seed is rich in a heavy, bright orange oil sold for cooking and salad dressing, especially in parts of the eastern Mediterraean. It contains an active ingredient known as ‘gossypol’, which is removed before the oil is sold as it was found to cause infertility in men. In China, cottonseed oil is a popular cooking oil and is perfectly safe with the gossypol removed.

The leaves, hibiscus-like flowers, and root bark are gathered fresh during the growing season for use in poultices, lotions, soaps, washes and teas. The bark is scraped off year-old cotton roots and dried for use in a much-loved tea to lower fevers and to reduce inflammation, rheumatic aches, muscle strain and aching backs. The root bark tea relieves painful menstruation and the cooled tea is used on thrush, wounds and herpes sores.

TO MAKE THE TEA: Add ½ cup of bark to a cup of boiling water, and simmer for five minutes. Allow it to cool, strain, and sip slowly.

Fresh green cotton leaves can be warmed in hot water and applied to stiff, sore areas as a poultice, held in place with a hot towel. Together with a cup of cotton leaf tea, this will soon relieve pain.

TO MAKE THE LEAF TEA: Pour a cup of boiling water over ¼ cup of fresh cotton leaves. Let the tea stand for five minutes. Stir frequently, strain and sip slowly. This tea remains popular for feverish headaches, menopausal discomfort and rheumatism aches.

Cotton root massage cream is a real comforter on aching feet, legs and backs. It can also be applied on skin rashes, sprains and arthritic aches. The cream is very soothing for those with fibroids or slow-healing wounds, and eases inflammation quickly.

Cotton root massage cream

Family Primulaceae

Species: Lysimachia nummularia

Origin: Europe

Plant: Perennial

Height: 5 cm

Soil: Richly composted, moist soil

Exposure: Sun to partial shade

Propagation: Rooted runners

Uses: Medicinal

Creeping Jenny has a long history in its native Europe and is often shown in paintings growing at the feet of a warrior, as it was known as ‘soldier’s woundwort’. It was taken to distant battlefields, packed in moss and wrapped in bulrush leaves in the soldiers’ travelling bags. Teas made from the herb were given to wounded soldiers to heal internal bleeding, and the sprigs were bound as a compress to staunch wounds. Centuries later the wisdom of these early applications has been confirmed as creeping Jenny has now been proven to have styptic qualities.

The herb was also considered an excellent respiratory medicine. Creeping Jenny tea, sweetened with honey and spices, became a ‘hot toddy’ in the drinking taverns as a remedy for coughs, colds and bronchitis. Later the monks made syrups from the leaves and flowers with honey and aniseed, sold this effective and pleasant cough mixture to travellers and used it from their cloister gardens to heal the sick. And so the plant spread, into Asia and beyond, as a wound healer and a respiratory medication.

Creeping Jenny was one of the first herbs to be recorded in the early pharmacopoeias, often illustrated with its small, bright yellow, cup-shaped midsummer flowers, growing wild along stream edges or in moist, cool canals or trenches. Today it is on the antique plant lists, but needs to regain its rightful place as a useful medicinal herb in our home gardens. Use it as a spritz-spray to cool off and to tone the skin.

Plant out in well-dug, richly composted, moist soil in full sun or in partial light shade. The herb spreads evenly and attractively. Water it twice or even three times a week and watch its gentle progress. It covers easily, finding places against curbs, rocks or stepping stones, and demands little attention other than watering. Where the runners touch the ground they root, so keep the soil moist and lightly cultivated all around it.

Creeping Jenny, with its small, heart-shaped, evergreen leaves, is popular with landscapers today. In areas that experience a cool and rainy summer it will offer its little flower cups to the bees.

Creeping Jenny runners root quickly. Chop them off with a sharp spade and press immediately in bags of richly composted, moist soil. Keep them watered, shaded and protected. After two months, gradually move the now sturdy little plants out into the sun for a short while, increasing the time each day. Remember that the native habitat of this herb is along the moist edges of streams in Europe, so keep it well watered.

Pick the leafy sprigs throughout the year to make into tea. Use either as a lotion or with honey as a tea.

Creeping Jenny tea has been used for centuries to ease coughs, sore throats and bronchitis, and to loosen phlegm. The tea, taken three or four times during the day, was also a valued remedy for diarrhoea, digestive disturbances, colic, flatulence and nausea.

TO MAKE THE TEA: Pour a cup of boiling water over ¼ cup fresh sprigs; let the tea stand for five minutes and then strain and sip it slowly.

A healing lotion can be made for use on rashes, grazes, sunburned skin, acne, oily skin, itchy skin, sore, tired feet, and insect bites. Always wash the area before spraying with creeping Jenny lotion. It can also be added to the bath, or applied to children’s scratches and scrapes on cotton-wool pads. It is safe for children to apply by themselves. This lotion was once a popular beauty aid as it refines the pores and tones the skin, and on a hot summer’s day the lotion quickly cools a hot, flushed face.

Creeping Jenny has astringent qualities and it contains saponins, tannins and salicylic acid that make it a valuable haemostyptic (a substance that stops bleeding). In rural Europe today, clean, fresh sprigs are still used as a dressing on cuts and grazes to stop bleeding. Still called soldier’s woundwort, it remains a favoured herb.

Creeping Jenny lotion

Family Lamiacaeae

Species: Plectranthus amboinicus

Origin: Ambon in the Maluku Islands, possibly Africa

Plant: Succulent aromatic sub-shrub

Height: 50 cm

Soil: Any soil

Exposure: Light shade, partial shade

Propagation: Cuttings

Uses: Culinary, medicinal

This aromatic, sprawling plant is an evergreen perennial, with more common names than any other plant I have come across. Recorded in many countries such as Spain, Cuba, France and India, it has remained a popular culinary herb, with many traditional recipes. I first tasted it in Spain, fried with freshly caught fish. It occurs naturally in Africa from Kenya to northern KwaZulu-Natal, eaten as a relish with bread and tomatoes. It is literally never available on the markets, I am told, as it is a ‘traditional herb’ used for many ailments and a revered part of traditional medicine.

Cuban oregano thrives in richly composted soil in light shade, with a slow, twice-weekly watering. Other than tidying up the sprawling subshrub and in cold areas covering it with a fleece, it requires no attention. During the winter it tends to become ‘woody’ and untidy, but it soon recovers. I dig in compost around the edges of the clump and cut off untidy dry stems. Cuban oregano also does well in big pots near the kitchen door for quick pickings, in full sun, and with a light watering on alternate days.

Take as many cuttings as you can for the spring and summer ahead. The best way to start a sturdy plant is to root small tip cuttings in sandy soil. When untidy, dry stems are cut off the main plant; these can be rooted in moist, sandy, soil-filled pots for planting out into the garden in light shade in early summer. This is an extraordinary plant and well worth nurturing.

Pick fresh leaves all through the year, except in the coldest months. The leaves are always eaten fresh and added at the last minute to stews and soups, pickles and relishes.

Cuban oregano is only ever used fresh. The scent of the thick juicy leaves is almost camphorous, minty and strong, like oregano with thyme and coriander mixed in. Snip off succulent leaves and slice into stir-fries, dip into batter and serve with fish, chop up and add to soups and sauces, and add to sandwich spreads with home-made mayonnaise – it is delicious! Very few recipes refer to Spanish thyme or Cuban oregano and traditional recipes are unrecorded, so I have discovered how to use this herb myself.

It is delicious with cheese. In Spain, flat breads or crêpes are sold with luscious tomato and shallot fillings, spiced up with lots of fresh Spanish thyme, grated cheese, and a grinding of black pepper and coarse sea salt, as a popular street food. A Cuban-style tomato and onion spread, with cooked, mashed haricot or kidney beans and finely chopped fresh Cuban oregano, is used to flavour meat, chicken and egg dishes. It is dried and crumbled as a savoury ‘dressing’.

Cuban oregano pasta

This extraordinary herb has remained one of the most valuable herbs for easing chest, abdominal and digestive ailments, and even postpartum pains, and has a steady and easy laxative effect. It is an ancient folk remedy, much used in India, particularly, where it is made into a cough mixture with fresh ginger root and lemon juice. Cuban oregano tea eases indigestion, colic, bloating and heartburn; it also relieves respiratory ailments such as asthma and bronchitis and clears phlegm as it is a valuable expectorant and a natural antibiotic.

TO MAKE THE TEA: Pour a cup of boiling water over ¼ cup chopped fresh leaves; let the tea stand for five minutes, then strain, add a squeeze of lemon juice and sip slowly.

The herb is listed in ancient pharmacopoeias for headaches, both as a tea and as an external poultice of leaves soaked in hot water and applied to the temples. It is also useful for burns, infected grazes, and insect bites.

Cuban oregano cough mixture

Family Cupressaceae

Species: Cupressus sempervirens

Origin: Mediterranean area and Western Asia

Plant: Evergreen tree

Height: Up to 20 m

Soil: Rich, deeply dug

Exposure: Full sun

Propagation: Seed, cuttings

Uses: Medicinal, perfumery, cosmetic, insecticidal

The striking Italian cypress has been one of the most widely grown conifers around the Mediterranean Sea for over 5 000 years. For centuries monks made a healing ointment from the scented foliage to dress wounds, bruises and slow-healing saddle sores; wounds were also treated using the crushed young green cones, which have antiseptic and styptic properties. The monks’ treatment for varicose veins and haemorrhoids is still made today from the remarkable oils, resins and astringent components.

Cypress is a striking tree, tall and narrow, with a yielding but resilient tip. It needs space and distance to be appreciated. Roadsides lined with cypresses and gateways flanked with the trees make eye-catching landmarks. Interestingly, oil from the foliage forms the base for one of the oldest and most loved perfumes of the world, the ‘chypre’ perfume, while cypress wood was made into altar rails, church pews, and benches in the courts of justice, as no wood borers or insects ever harm it.

The tree needs full sun and a huge compost-filled hole to begin its life. Over 20 years it becomes imposing and its tough roots lift up pathways and crack walls, so be careful where you plant it. It grows quite quickly and can take below-freezing temperatures, but it is happier in the warmth of the Mediterranean area where it thrives.

A long, slow, weekly watering and the occasional barrow of compost is all the cypress tree needs.

Cuttings taken from the branch tips, dipped into water and then into rooting hormone, seem to grow the best. Pressed into moist soil in large pots, several cuttings seem to protect one another, and if kept moist will set roots, but be patient. Allow to mature in the pot until sturdy and vigorous. Plant when well established, spaced 4–5 m apart.

Harvest fresh sprigs throughout the year for oils, lotions, washes, soaps and creams. Cypress is very versatile and soothing.

With its pine, camphene and sylvestrene components, cypress makes an excellent lotion that deodorises and also helps to clear problem skin on the face, chest and back. Simmer a large saucepan of fresh cypress foliage and crushed cones in enough water to cover for 20 minutes. Cool and keep it covered, before straining. Use as a wash and lotion and store excess in the fridge. Add it to bathwater and tie a bunch of fresh cypress foliage under the hot-water tap to ease sore muscles and rheumatic pains and to cleanse oily skin. Also add this lotion to the rinsing water after shampooing the hair to remove excess oiliness and to cleanse and tone the scalp.

Cypress essential oil has excellent anti-rheumatic, anti-spasmodic, diuretic, antiseptic and tonic properties, and is made from the foliage, cones and slender branches. Try making a relaxing and pain-relieving massage oil to release neck and back pain and aching legs. The steam-distilled oil also forms an excellent antiseptic astringent base added to a good aqueous cream. Cypress cream is excellent for varicose veins and haemorrhoids; it can also be used as a wound dressing, or massaged into bleeding gums, cellulitis, cramping muscles and rheumatic joints. Massage it onto the chest for coughing and to ease asthmatic breathing, and over the kidneys and lower back for menopausal and bladder problems.

Cypress massage oil

Cypress cream for varicose veins and haemorrhoids

Ancient civilisations made cypress foliage and cones into incense and today cypress incense is still used by the Tibetans for purification rituals. The foliage and cones can also be mixed with lemon rind, cinnamon sticks and lemon, clove and camphor oils to make a fragrant potpourri that is insect repellent.

Ancient history tells the story of a young Greek man, Cypres, who tended a beloved deer. One day, while running with it, he accidently fell against the deer, piercing it with his sword. The deer died of its wound and the young Cypres, stricken with grief, begged the god Apollo to allow him to mourn the deer forever. And so he was turned into a cypress tree, the symbol of mourning and eternal life. To this day cypress trees are found in graveyards worldwide.

Family Lamiaceae

Species: Lamium album

Origin: Eurasia, North America

Plant: Low-growing perennial

Height: Up to 25 cm

Soil: Deeply dug, well-composted

Exposure: Partial or light shade

Propagation: Rooted tufts

Uses: Medicinal

The deadnettle family is so named as it does not have the ‘sting’ of stinging nettles, and yet it has the same-shaped leaf and flower. Lamium is an interesting genus of around 50 species that include annuals and rhizomatous perennials, as well as the attractive, often bicoloured garden varieties, known just as ‘lamium’. These ornamental cultivars have pretty white or pale pink flowers and variegated leaves, and can be used in the same way as deadnettle from Europe.

In Europe, Asia and all around the Mediterranean, the taller, more prolific deadnettle has remained a folk remedy for centuries, picked in the wild and made into tea as a decongestant. Today it grows wild as a common weed, and the garden ornamentals that thrive in dappled or light shade have become increasingly popular for their variegated leaves and smaller, neater growth, making them very attractive as edging plants.

Known as the ‘woman’s herb’ for its role in correcting bleeding after childbirth, the history of this gentle herb tells of its use in external washes and lotions and as a decongestant tea. It has the typically two-lipped flowers of Lamiaceae and today these, with the leaves, are still used in lotions and washes. The flowers and leaves are the main parts used, and are dried for the winter months, but in ancient pharmacopoeias the whole plant was cut, leaving the strong roots to resprout.

Deadnettle draws much interest as a neat, small and pretty perennial, and few realise its important role in history, particularly for the women of Europe and Asia. This ancient, almost-forgotten herb, used only in landscaping, needs to be brought into light as a ‘new herb’. It can become a simple and effective comfort to so many women, particularly rural women, who live far from modern-day help.

Available from most nurseries, this pretty little variegated perennial makes an interesting groundcover. It is easy to grow your own from rooted cuttings. You will be enchanted with this small, neat variety that demands long, slow watering only two or three times a week and less often in winter.

Propagate in late winter and early spring, either by lifting the clump and pulling or clipping it apart to form tufts, or by neatly slicing off clumps from the mother plant. Be sure to use a sharp spade. Quickly re-root in moist, compost-rich soil in a protected area.

Allow the new little plants to settle and grow strong in a shaded area, out of the wind. Once they are well established, move them into dappled shade before planting them out into their permanent positions. Use rich compost in the soil and dig in a lot of rock dust and bone meal to ensure sturdy perennial growth.

Pick leafy sprigs as needed and use them either fresh or dried in teas and lotions, in the same way the much bigger and taller variety is used in its countries of origin.

In North America, the taller and more prolific wild deadnettle is harvested in late summer and autumn and dried to use in teas, washes and lotions during the long, cold, snowbound winters. Deadnettle tea can be found at market stalls in many areas.

Ancient uses are varied and still effective today, and this slightly bitter, astringent little herb is still sipped as a tea by many women who struggle with excessive bleeding or other menstrual symptoms, bloating, or painful discharges throughout the month. Deadnettle tea is also used to treat coughs, colds and phlegm, as well as male prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate gland). It is applied as a wash or lotion to treat the scalp for dandruff, and poultices of warmed leaves are used to treat bruises.

A tea made with leafy deadnettle sprigs (with the flowers included in spring) will help to ease the flow of urine, decreasing pressure and discomfort.

TO MAKE THE TEA: Pour a cup of boiling water over ¼ cup of sprigs, leave it to stand for five minutes, then strain and sweeten it with a touch of honey, if preferred, and sip slowly. This pleasant tea is also used to treat digestive disorders, sipped slowly and as hot as is comfortable. Combined with maize silk (see p. 138) it is recorded in ancient herbal records in Europe and Asia.

Deadnettle bath infusion

Deadnettle lotion

Family Orchidaceae

Species: Dendrobium nobile

Origin: China, Korea, Taiwan, the Himalayas

Plant: Epiphytic perennial

Height: 30–50 cm

Soil: Compost in small pots

Exposure: Shade, humidity

Propagation: Clump division in spring

Uses: Medicinal, cosmetic

Nollie Cilliers / Plantae Orchids

This delicate and breathtakingly beautiful plant dates back to at least 2000 BC. It is still used in Taoist medications and longevity formulas that are now listed in modern pharmacology. At one time I painstakingly collected the tiny drops of sap or nectar that form at the base of each flower stem and used this to prepare a delicate skin cream for around the eyes, much as the Chinese emperors did centuries ago.

Today dendrobium orchids are cultivated as hothouse plants by dedicated orchid lovers, giving us mere mortals a chance to see paradise! You can buy dried dendrobium stems at Chinese shops, where you will also find it sold as a patent remedy for longevity and as a tonic herb. It is often known by its Korean name ‘suk gok’.

Orchid growers will guide you on orchid compost and the feeding of dendrobiums, as they are basically tree epiphytes (the Greek word ‘dendron’ means ‘tree’). The plant is semi-evergreen, with nourishment stored in its strong ‘pseudobulbs’. When the life cycle of the mother plant ends, it produces little offsets, continuing the life of the plant.

Mist spraying is essential; in a hothouse this achieves the humidity that the dendrobium thrives in. Misting the plants is therefore a daily, even twice-daily task that must not be neglected. The leaves should also be cleaned frequently with soft sponges and cloths rinsed in clean water to which a little apple cider vinegar is added. This replicates the way that rain washes away dirt on the leaves in the rainforests that are its home.

Due to its popularity, dendrobium is now grown commercially in laboratories by micropropagation in sterile conditions. Seed is another method of growing the dendrobiums, and orchid growers also divide the plants carefully in spring to establish small new plants.

The flowering stem is the part used medicinally. The stems should be cut before they flower, gathered at the end of the summer and dried. Bundles of dried stems, brown and gnarled, are available in Chinese and Asian markets to be made into medicinal teas.

Dendrobium tea is used to reduce the fever of malaria, to ease vomiting with pain and spasm, and to relieve gas in the abdominal region; it also acts as a tonic to the lungs. Dendrobium is considered to be an important herb for increasing saliva in a dry mouth and in cases of severe thirst.

TO MAKE THE TEA: Pour a cup of boiling water over ¼ cup chopped and crushed stems; let the tea stand covered for 5–10 minutes. Stir it often, then strain and sip slowly. In the case of feverish colds and flu, and for dry coughs, sweeten the tea with a little honey. This has been a favourite remedy for centuries in China and Malaysia, often taken with grated fresh ginger root.

Dendrobium orchid tea remains one of the most important treatments for kidney health and replenishment. It was recorded for this use in early medicinal texts and used as such for many generations. Fresh stems known as ‘shi hu’ are used in soups with celery and parsley to ease bladder and kidney infections.

Many families in China grow their own dendrobium orchids in the house to use medicinally, and use the flowers in the bath and washing water. Orchid bath salts were made to cleanse, invigorate and replenish old cells, and were once sold as ‘the Emperor’s beauty bath’. Some consider these orchids to be an aphrodisiac.

In Europe the dendrobium orchid is grown as an anti-pollutant house plant, clearing acetone, formaldehyde and pollutants arising near the home such as petrol fumes, smoke and industrial toxins.

A chemical known as moscatilin, which is found on the stems of the Dendrobium orchid, is under research for potential anti-cancerous properties.

Emperor’s beauty bath

Become aware of the fragrance of these flowers: they smell of cut grass in the morning; sweet rich honey at midday; and primrose as the sun sets, poignantly reminiscent of springs long gone.

Family Pedaliaceae

Species: Harpagophytum procumbens

Origin: Kalahari to Namibia, Angola, Botswana

Plant: Perennial groundcover

Height: 10–12 cm

Soil: Dry sandy soil

Exposure: Full sun

Propagation: Cuttings

Uses: Exceptional medicinal herb

Devil’s claw is one of Africa’s most cherished healing plants, today with new uses and increased exposure. It is now a registered medication available worldwide. Interestingly, harpago has a bitter taste, like several of the valuable herbs in this book, such as vasaka (asthma tree) and sweet Annie (artemesia). Remember that with bitterness come the extraordinary healing qualities that make devil’s claw so exceptional.

Two species are well known within this genus, namely Harpagophytum procumbens and H. zeyheri. H. zeyheri grows on the slopes of the Magaliesberg Mountains, where my small farm is located. Both herbs have incredibly vicious seeds that are notorious for lodging in the hooves of cattle, causing lameness, pain and infection. Both plants spread, and have pretty, grey-green leaves and mauve-pink tubular flowers with a yellow throat. The root, known as Harpagophyti radix, is used medicinally throughout the regions where it traditionally grows.

Although experimental nurseries have been initiated, devil’s claw is still mainly harvested in the wild. Many years ago I was asked by the pharmaceutical industry to trial both harpagos, and although H. procumbens is prolific on the Magaliesberg plateaus, it did not thrive. At that time the herb was only used to treat arthritis, but today’s research shows its extraordinary efficacy for an expanding list of ailments. Tests are being carried out for harpago sleep capsules, digestive stimulants and gallbladder and pancreas treatments, with no side effects.

Plant out in sandy soil, in full sun, and water three times a week. Devil’s claw forms a spreading groundcover, and the tubers or swollen roots make it a vital medicinal plant.

Devil’s claw grows fairly easily from rooted runners, but never from seed. I find that taking runners, carefully clipped off the mother plant, works best in the first rains of the hot spring weather. Settle the runners into moist sand-filled bags. Keep them in light shade and water carefully, as this is a drought survivor plant. Once it is growing strongly, plant out permanently.

Tubers are lifted throughout winter when the plant becomes dormant, and dried for use. Store them in glass jars in a cupboard.

Today, most doctors recommend harpago tablets as the safest option. In 1997, the German pharmaceutical company Sertürner Arzneimittel succeeded in vegetatively propagating and cultivating a high-quality chemotype of H. procumbens in Namibia, and excellent medicinal products are now available worldwide.

Devil’s claw has bitter, astringent properties. It offers reliable painkilling relief for arthritic and rheumatic pains and reduces chronic inflammation. It also stimulates the lymphatic and digestive systems, and is helpful after chemotherapy.

Traditional African uses are even more fascinating. The herb is taken as a tea for arthritis, rheumatism, gallbladder and pancreas problems, neuralgia, ankylosing spondylitis of the spine, as well as to ease sleep, to clear toxins from painkilling drugs, and to reduce swelling and inflammation after a fall, or torn muscles and ligaments. Half a cup of the tea is sipped for heartburn and indigestion.

TO MAKE THE TEA: Lightly simmer 1½ cups root pieces in six cups water for 20–50 minutes. Press and stir the roots constantly, then leave the brew to stand covered until cool. Strain and keep it in a glass bottle in the fridge. Take two tablespoons daily, sipped slowly, either warmed or cold.

New tests are proving that harpago may become a mainstream anti-inflammatory used to treat headaches, sinus and neck spasms, and I have found the leafy sprigs and flowers to be very successful in a cream or oil to soothe muscle pain and inflammation. I have also used the crushed grapple hooks from the seeds in oils, creams and lotions. In Namibia, the leaves and flowers are used as an external application on boils and infections. They are heated in hot water and applied as hot as can be tolerated to the area, held in place with a crepe bandage with a hot-water bottle over it.

Devil’s claw anti-inflammatory oil

Family Chenopodiaceae

Species: Chenopodium ambrosioides now Dysphania ambrosioides

Origin: Mexico, subtropical America, widely naturalised

Plant: Annual

Height: Up to 1 m, sometimes 1.5 m in lush ground

Soil: Any soil, waste-ground weed

Exposure: Sun, light shade

Propagation: Prolific seed

Uses: Medicinal, culinary flavouring

This pungent and vibrant weed from Mexico is so valued for its medicinal uses that it deserves to be recorded as a herb for the future. A Mexican visitor to the Herbal Centre praised it as a herbal tea, an ancient respected medicine, and a food flavouring. He urged me to teach others about it and help to ensure its place in Africa.

I first learned about epazote in veterinary medicine (it is sometimes called wormseed) as it is an excellent astringent herb that destroys intestinal worms. In Spain and Mexico it is commonly dried, compressed and used as a fumigant against mosquitoes and as a natural insecticide.

Plant out in rows, in well-dug, well-composted soil in full sun, spaced 50 cm apart (mark clearly so that the young plants are not weeded out). Water them daily until they establish, thereafter three times a week, more often in hot weather. The herb is multistemmed and has small-toothed leaves and a mass of tiny green panicles of flowers through the summer. These dry into abundant green-brown fruit, each with one seed inside.

Epazote self-sows easily and transplants readily when very young. Scatter the ripe dry seeds into seed trays filled with a mixture of compost and topsoil. Cover with a thin sprinkling of soil, and stand the tray in a bigger tray of water so that it keeps moist from below. When the seedlings are big enough to handle, they can be pricked out and planted into compost-filled bags, two to a bag, and kept shaded until they start to grow strongly. Move the bags into the sun for an hour, increasing the time daily until they are sturdy enough to plant out permanently.

As epazote is a bushy annual, pick fresh leaves and use as needed. Dry leaves for use in winter. Dry trays of leaves in the shade and store them in screw-top glass jars.

When epazote is planted between rows of tomatoes, no whitefly or aphids come near. It also protects and shades melons and pumpkins beautifully.

In Mexico, epazote is considered to be a flavouring herb that eases the digestion, and many traditional dishes have fresh epazote leaves as a treasured ingredient. Epazote relish, served with corn, is included in the religious celebratory feasts. It varies from town to town and has remained popular for centuries.

Epazote relish

Old pharmacopoeias record epazote as a muscular anti-spasmodic and a pain reliever; it is also said to increase perspiration, to dissolve and clear mucus and to ease asthma. Warmed leaves and flower inflorescences applied to muscle spasms, sprains and contusions have been a much-used remedy, especially in Spain, Turkey and Mexico, where it grows prolifically. Massage oil, made from the herb and olive oil, is popular too.

Epazote tea, also known as ‘Jesuit tea’, is made at pharmacies in Spain to help with breathlessness, painful coughing, asthmatic tight chest and mucus. It is also given to calm fear and tension, to promote menstruation, to increase urination, to ease breast milk in nursing mothers, and to soothe indigestion, colic and nausea.

TO MAKE THE TEA: Pour a cup of boiling water over ¼ cup fresh herb; let the tea stand for five minutes, then strain and sip slowly. To soothe the stiffness and pains of arthritis and gout, take half a cup of the tea daily, the way the Mexicans do. Take no more than one cup per day for 7–14 days; more than that is not recommended as it is a powerful herb.

Epazote tea is also used to clear worms from the body. Grind one tablespoon of fresh epazote leaves into a cup of boiling water until thoroughly mixed. Do not strain but sip slowly, a little at a time, on an empty stomach. Do this on three consecutive mornings. In the case of dogs, cats, cattle and horses, use a syringe to squirt small amounts into the animal’s mouth. Use ¼ cup for small dogs and cats, and two cups for horses and cattle.

The herb has excellent anti-bacterial, antiseptic and anti-fungal properties. Use it as a wound wash on rashes, sores, inflamed mosquito bites and infected areas. Used in the bath, it quickly clears athlete’s foot and bacterial infections.

Epazote massage oil

Epazote antiseptic wound wash

Family Zingiberaceae

Species: Alpinia galanga

Origin: China and Southeast Asia

Plant: Perennial

Height: Up to 2 m

Soil: Rich, deeply dug, well-composted soil

Exposure: Partial shade

Propagation: Rhizomes

Uses: Culinary, medicinal

Galangal is becoming better known and more easily available to spice lovers, and is certainly one of the most important anti-bacterial and anti-fungal herbs known today. It is often confused with ginger and is a soothing digestive, but it has its own remarkable medicinal values, including as an anti-ulcer treatment. The German nun and herbalist, Saint Hildegard of Bingen, described the herb as ‘the spice of life’, given to humankind by God as a panacea to ward off ill health and maintain good health. As a woman of wisdom she was right about many things, including the value of this herb!

Plant out in a light, shady area in deeply dug, richly composted soil. Space plants 70 cm apart. A long, slow watering twice weekly will ensure sturdy and prolific rhizomes to the end of the summer. Give each plant half a cup of rock dust every month and water it in. The leathery leaves are considered to be air cleaners, and a weekly spray of water over them ensures fresh clear air around the home.

Lift the rhizomes in autumn when the top growth shows signs of yellowing and drying (in tropical areas this may not happen, but winter is the time to lift and replant small rhizomes for the next crop). Plant the rhizomes in well-mixed compost- and topsoil-filled bags and keep them moist, but not saturated. Keep the bags in the shade, in a warm, well-ventilated area away from strong, cold winds. New shoots will appear in spring. Once the top growth is strong and healthy in early summer, establish the plants in their permanent place.

Harvest rhizomes after the plant dies down in winter. Cut away any top growth, and wash the rhizomes well. Peel them with a potato peeler and slice finely. Use either fresh, for pickles, or dried and pounded to a powder.

Galangal is an excellent digestive herb that imparts a full, rich flavour. Like ginger, it is much used in Southeast Asian cuisine, especially to enhance chicken and fish dishes. It is often combined with onions, garlic and chillies, which are pounded and crushed together using a strong mortar and pestle – the taste that emerges is addictive. Add a teaspoonful at a time to curries, vegetable soups and stews, and lift these simple dishes to gourmet level.

The root can be bought ready pickled in Asian shops as ‘pink ginger’, thinly sliced and ready to eat with cold meats, and in salads and sauces. For deliciousness that cannot be beaten, try making your own.

Pickled ‘pink ginger’

Galangal was listed in ancient Indian and other Asian pharmacopoeias as a stomachic, an anti-inflammatory, an expectorant, a warming herb for abdominal pain, a digestive for sour belching (the flowers are edible too), and as a treatment for hiccups, gastric ulcers, respiratory ailments and rheumatoid arthritis.

Arabian physicians introduced the spice to Europe 1 000 years ago and it was cultivated there as a popular medicinal herb. Galangal tea was used to treat mouth and stomach ulcers, as well as infected gums, indigestion and stomach pain. Today’s uses are still in line with those of the early Arabian physicians, including gentle doses as a digestive tea. The tea was considered a jewel for exhaustion and nervousness, as an anti-fungal and anti-bacterial treatment, and for nausea, seasickness and vomiting. Modern research is verifying these traditional uses.

TO MAKE THE TEA: Pour a cup of boiling water over two slices of crushed galangal root (equivalent to one teaspoon), stir well, and add a touch of honey if liked. Sip slowly, holding it in the mouth before swallowing. Galangal tea (without the honey) is now being taken for candida, with positive results.

Juicy galangal leaf sprays and roots are still fed to Arabian horses to put ‘fire’ in them; it is mixed in with their oats and grasses, as was done centuries ago.

Family Asteraceae

Species: Galinsoga parviflora

Origin: South America

Plant: Quick annual weed

Height: Up to 50 cm

Soil: Any soil

Exposure: Full sun, light shade

Propagation: Self-seeds

Uses: Culinary, medicinal

Gallant soldier is a well-known international weed. Its name is apt as it thrives in inhospitable places and it is a true survivor plant. However, it also has extraordinary properties that we need to look at with new eyes. The plant is both a food and a medicine, although few people are aware of its value and potential.

In 1796 it was brought from Peru to Kew Gardens in London, mainly as a food for chickens, caged birds, guinea pigs and rabbits, but it soon spread into the wild. It can become invasive in farmlands and needs to be controlled. As a child I was aware of it in my grandmother’s salads; as a food for our canaries and rabbits; and as a magnificent compost ingredient that heats things up beautifully.

There is no need to cultivate gallant soldier as it will already be in most gardens, except perhaps in the Western Cape.

If you want to grow gallant soldier in a specific area, transplant small seedlings when they are very young into moist soil and keep them shaded for a few days. The seedlings transplant easily.

Pick fresh green leaves and sprigs for salads and for chicken and bird food as needed; you will find new plants through most of the year, except in the midwinter months. Summer leaves and sprigs can be dried for use in winter soups and stews, and, when dried, remain a tasty addition to the hotpot.

Gallant soldier is a luscious ingredient in a fresh green salad. Add the leaves and sprigs to your daily salad bowl, together with celery, spring onions, parsley, lettuce leaves, mustard leaves, kale leaves, slices of avocado, pineapple, sprouts, lucerne leaves and tomatoes. It is a wonderful health builder. The leaves also make one of the garden staff’s favourite lunchtime dishes at the Herbal Centre, with sliced cherry tomatoes, chopped chillies, and a touch of salt and lemon juice, served with hot pan bread.

Add chopped leaves and stems to soups and stews to benefit from the herb’s rich iron and vitamin content and the minerals calcium, magnesium and potassium. Brazilian soups include sorghum and gallant soldier with tomatoes and brinjals, while in Colombia it is added to a richly flavoured, spicy soup with chillies and sweet potato, cooked for holidays and celebrations. Chinese gallant soldier is cultivated as a vegetable and can be found as a herb in many dishes.

Gallant soldier has anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal properties. Chickens that eat the herb seldom get sick, and leaves applied to sores on their legs heal them quickly. I put a tea made from gallant soldier into their drinking water when needed, and they recover rapidly. The herb can also be used to make a lotion to wash or spray wounds.

TO MAKE THE LOTION: Simmer a big bowl of fresh, leafy gallant soldier twigs, stems and flowers in 1½ bowls of water for 20 minutes. Allow the lotion to cool for 10 minutes, then strain and use it to clean wounds.

Treat infected tick and mosquito bites with a poultice of fresh leaves warmed in hot water (first clean the wound with gallant soldier lotion). Where there is bleeding, squeeze the juice from a gallant soldier stem onto the cut and see how quickly it stops the bleeding.

Use the herb in an aqueous cream base and apply it to cuts, grazes and insect bites. Add blackjack leaves (p. 52) if there is any infection, as the two herbs work together beautifully.

Gallant soldier cream

The age-old occupation of ‘foraging’ has come into the mainstream again as people are becoming aware of the high nutrient content of wild plants and weeds. Visitors sometimes bring me bunches of weeds and ask which are safe to eat. Several weeds are very nutritious and have medicinal uses, but ‘when in doubt, leave it out’! At the Herbal Centre we have the necessary information on edible weeds to encourage foraging. However, do not forage near busy roads as plants will be laced with petrol fumes and oily dirt, and do not go into farmers’ fields. Start with the weeds in your own garden.

Family Solanaceae

Species: Lycium barbarum

Origin: China, southern Europe

Plant: Perennial bush

Height: Up to 70 cm

Soil: Richly composted, well-dug soil

Exposure: Sun, light shade

Propagation: Seed, cuttings

Uses: Culinary, medicinal

The goji berry has been revered in China as a nutritional and herbal medicine for thousands of years, and is considered a tonic herb, an adaptogen, an immune system booster and a herb that promotes longevity. Today there is widespread demand for it as a health food. In Britain and in Europe, where the berries grow wild, they are known as ‘wolfberries’, as wolves were apparently often seen resting under goji bushes at the forest edges. In the 1730s in the United Kingdom, the Duke of Argyll ordered two plants from China: a tea plant, Camellia sinensis, and a lycium. The lables were switched and so lycium tea became a reality from then on, earning the name ‘the Duke of Argyll’s tea’.

Plant 2–3 seedlings together, spaced 50 cm apart in full sun, or if it is in a very hot area, plant in light shade. Water 2–3 times a week; make a small ‘dam’ around the little group of plants and run a gentle hose into it. Growth is often slow and spindly, but once it gets going, sprays of fruit will start to ripen along the arched stems. Work in a spade of compost mixed with rock dust each month or every six weeks. Goji berry bushes take two years to start bearing well. Cut back old thin branches in late winter, and prune to shape at least twice during the year to encourage a dense, thick shrub.

In spring, soak the tiny fruits overnight in warm water. Squash and spread the fruit on kitchen paper towel. The following day, spread the seed paper onto a tray filled with a moist soil-and-compost mixture and cover lightly with sieved sand. Water carefully and do not let the soil dry out. Tiny (really tiny) seedlings will appear in 5–6 days. Water gently and keep the tray protected and warm overnight. Open the trays as the days become warmer. When big enough to handle, prick out two or three and plant them into individual pots or bags filled with well-mixed moist compost and topsoil. Gradually bring the pots into the sun, extending the period daily. When the plants show good leaf growth, plant them out permanently.

Berries are dried throughout the summer months for winter use, and the root is dug up during its dormant period in winter for use in decoctions and teas.

Goji berries are considered a superfood as they are particularly nutrient-rich. They can be added to smoothies and to warm and cold tonic drinks; they can also be sprinkled over muesli and salads, and used to make healthy treats and trail mixes when mixed with other dried fruit, seeds and nuts. A small handful of fresh berries and a cup of goji berry tea daily is a respected Chinese ritual that is as popular today as it was centuries ago.

Goji is one of the best-loved remedies in the Chinese pharmacopoeias. The fruit has sweet, tonic properties that lower high blood pressure and high cholesterol. The berry acts on the liver and kidneys and has a cleansing and repairing action.

The root bark is bitter and cooling, and has strong effects on the respiratory system, relieving coughs, colds, fevers, bronchitis and tuberculosis. It is taken as a tea. The same tea, mixed with 10 berries, is used for poor eyesight, dizziness and vertigo, nosebleeds, and menopausal problems such as hot flushes, palpitations and anxiety.

TO MAKE THE TEA: Pour a cup of boiling water over one tablespoon of bark scrapings and chopped root. Stir the tea thoroughly for five minutes, then strain and sip slowly. Take this old remedy twice a day for respiratory conditions and once a day for diabetes.

The berries are extremely high in anti-oxidants and rich in vitamin C, both of which are important in reducing tumour growth. A tea made from the leaves and berries is valuable in treating inflammatory conditions; to make it, pour a cup of boiling water over ¼ cup leaves and berries, stir, and let it draw for five minutes before straining. The berries are also remarkable in repairing the liver against the often debilitating side effects of medications, and they benefit the whole circulatory system, particularly in age-related ailments.

The more I learn about goji berries, the more I understand the ‘claims to fame’ that surround this fruit, and the more I use it, the more I appreciate the vitality and energy it brings. Goji is even recommended after chemotherapy to help repair and invigorate the whole system.

It is best to look for certified organic goji berries, as cheap uncertified ones may be sprayed or artificially coloured. Best of all, grow your own!

Family Vitaceae

Species: Vitis vinifera

Origin: Northwestern Asia

Plant: Deciduous vine

Height: Up to 6 m

Soil: Deeply dug, richly composted soil

Exposure: Full sun

Propagation: Cuttings in winter

Uses: Culinary, medicinal

The grapevine is one of the most cherished and ancient plants and stands out in human history. Egypt started vineyard plantings over 4 000 years ago, and the Romans introduced the grapevine to the best growing areas in France and Italy. All cultivars have been used medicinally, and all parts of the grapevine are used; the leaves, stems and tendrils have anti-inflammatory properties and are astringent and cooling as well as a natural diuretic. Grape treatments were recorded in early pharmacopoeias, and medical research is showing their value.

Plant the vine in a large, deep, richly composted hole in full sun. Make a ‘dam’ around the hole to retain the long, slow, weekly watering, and give it a good dressing of compost in late winter and midsummer. Give the vine good supports; some of the new tendrils will need to be tied and guided. Birds, squirrels, wasps and monkeys all love grapes, so a fine net is needed. Plant sage around each vine as it is a marvellous natural fertiliser and companion. Prune the vines in July. Fruit is borne on new wood, so all the long, thin, twisting branches must be cut away, leaving only the thick, old branches.

Cuttings can be made from the pruned branches; 2–3 nodes need to be underground and 2–3 nodes above. Press the cuttings into bags filled with moist soil and compost, and keep shaded and protected; water daily. Once the new vine begins to sprout, harden it by exposing it to a little sun, increasing the time daily until it is sturdy enough to plant out. It will need six months to grow strong roots.

Pick fresh leaves and tendrils as needed, and fruit when ripe. Cover bunches in fabric bags to protect them.

Use vine leaves in dolmades, soups and stews, and use vine leaves and tendrils in salads, to add health-building minerals and vitamins to the diet. Grapeseed oil is finding its place in gourmet cooking today (it is also excellent for dry skin).

Prepared vine leaves

Grape salad

The nutrient content of fresh grapes (with their seeds and skins) and juice from the leaves and stems is very close to that of blood plasma. This is what has made the grape fast, and grape teas, very valuable in treating cancer. They are also excellent for detoxification, building resistance to infections, regaining vitality, and as a douche for vaginal infections.

A tea of young grapevine leaves and tendrils eases menstruation problems and hot flushes, and relieves arthritic and rheumatic conditions.

TO MAKE THE TEA: Simmer two cups of fresh leaves, tendrils and stems in a litre of water for 20 minutes. Cool the tea for 10 minutes, strain, pour a small glass of hot or cold tea and sip throughout the day.

Vine leaf tea is rich in healing components and is taken for many serious illnesses, such as cancer, diarrhoea, uterine haemorrhages, HIV/AIDS and heart ailments. It is also a panacea for problems like varicose veins, bleeding gums, mouth ulcers, sore tongue and throat infections. Take a small cup morning and evening.

The cooled tea can be used as a lotion, and the warm leaves make a soothing poultice over haemorrhoids and throbbing varicosities. Crushed seeds can be added to vine leaf tea to ease pressure on veins and to build up fragile capillaries. Juice from the springtime stems, as the sap rises, has been used for centuries to make a wash for eye ailments.

The grape cure became a helpful treatment for cancer and other debilitating illnesses around 40 years ago, and is still used. The ideal is to stay in an organically grown vineyard, live and walk daily among the ripening vines, drink vine leaf and tendril tea, eat the grapes, and make fresh grape juice. The cure includes grapeseed oil on fresh vine leaf salad daily, and eating the skins of the fruit.

Family Apiaceae

Species: Aegopodium podagraria ‘Variegatum’

Origin: Europe and temperate Asia

Plant: Perennial groundcover

Height: 15–20 cm

Soil: Compost-rich soil

Exposure: Sun or light shade

Propagation: Creeping rootstock

Uses: Culinary, medicinal, fungicidal

A tough herbaceous perennial, goutweed or ground elder has a strong creeping rootstock that can become seriously invasive. I write here about the variegated form, which is not invasive like its all-green cousin.

Goutweed was brought into the British Isles from Europe by the monks and was grown in their medicinal gardens to heal the sick. The herb soon became known as ‘Bishop’s weed’ as the bishops favoured it for their gout, arthritis and stiff joints.

Ancient herbals offer ground elder recipes for treatment of arthritic ailments, including poultices of hot leaves. It was often planted outside taverns so that patrons could eat a few leaves and ward off gout pains. Because of the plant’s invasiveness, it was grown in pots; today tubs of goutweed can still be found outside European taverns.

This easy-to-grow, pretty perennial thrives in light shade in deeply dug, richly composted, friable soil with a good weekly watering. I grow only the variegated ground elder and it charmingly forms a neat and compact cushion of pretty leaves.

Do not be alarmed when it disappears from sight in winter (set out markers to indicate its site). Cover the spot with rich compost lightly forked in so as not to disturb the roots and water it in slowly and deeply each week. The rewards are tender leaves for salads, soups, teas and stir-fries, and a luscious display of the pretty leaves all summer. It mostly looks after itself. Some nurseries offer it for sale.

Dig off pieces from the mother clump and plant into bags to enable it to establish well, before planting out 50 cm apart in light or partial shade.

I have found ground elder to be compatible with most plants and it suffers no insect damage, even in the hottest areas. Used as a path edging it is attractive and uniform; or use it as an edging plant around a bed of perennials.

When cooking spinach, add a few ground elder leaves to the saucepan; they are delicious served with lemon juice and a grinding of black pepper. In the United Kingdom, goutweed salad is still offered in country inns today, usually with rich meat and vegetable stews.

Goutweed salad

Ground elder has long been used in homeopathic remedies to reduce inflamed, hot sore joints and to ease rheumatism, gout and arthritis. A tea made from the leaves can also be taken for rheumatism, sciatica, backache, stiff neck and shoulder pains.

TO MAKE THE TEA: Pour a cup of boiling water over ¼ cup fresh leaves. Let the tea stand for five minutes, then strain and sip slowly.

Gout compresses were impressive! Finely carded sheep’s wool was made into a flat pad and soaked in a brew of leaves (two cups of leaves boiled in two cups of water with the lid on for 20 minutes). The pad was squeezed out and wrapped around the painful, swollen joint, as hot as could be tolerated, shaped to the joint, bound in place, and covered to keep the heat in. The patient needed only to rest a while for its soothing warmth to penetrate the inflamed area. The brew could be reheated, and the compress reapplied.

Ground elder is listed in some old pharmacopoeias as ‘St Gerald’s Herb’, as St Gerald is the patron saint of gout sufferers, and the herb is known for its ability to relieve this condition.

Ground elder is a natural fungicide – in fact, this is my most common use for it. It has a strong pungent taste and smell and I have used it very successfully on mildewed plants, on sooty mildew, and to eliminate aphids. Spray or splash onto mildewed plants, especially pumpkins and marrows in the midsummer heat. Use for three consecutive days.

Ground elder brew for insects and mildew

Family: Myrtaceae

Species: Psidium guajava

Origin: South America

Plant: Small evergreen tree

Height: Up to 3 m

Soil: Thrives in any soil, loves compost

Exposure: Full sun

Propagation: Seeds, cuttings

Uses: Culinary, medicinal

In my ongoing search for the ‘new natural antibiotics’, guava comes to mind frequently. Its leaves are useful for a wide range of ailments, from persistent coughs to stomach ulcers, diabetes, and more recently, HIV.

This exotic plant is on the list of alien species, so it is not available in nurseries, but my old trees produce good crops of leaves for many an ailment. Visitors ask now for the folk remedies their grandparents used and for the old medicinal plants to make into teas. My years of research have found only the fresh leaves to be effective, made into infusions.

Plant out in full sun 3–4 m apart. The tree needs a long, slow watering twice weekly (three times a week in very hot weather) to establish its fruiting cycle. Little pruning is needed as the tree forms an attractive shape, but sprawling branches can be trained or pruned. In summer the tree is covered in white blossoms, and the health-boosting fruit ripens in autumn.

Mash whole fruit to a pulp and spread thinly over two layers of paper towel on a stainless-steel tray. Cover with a net to keep fruit flies off, and once dry, store in a sealed plastic box. In spring, lay the seed paper on a seed tray filled with mixed topsoil and compost that has been thoroughly watered. Cover with fine soil about 3 mm thick. Place the seed tray in a bigger tray of water so that it is kept moist from below. The seeds germinate erratically, but grow sturdily once they start. When big enough to handle, prick them out and plant singly in a bag of mixed compost and topsoil. Once established, move them into the sun for an hour each day, increasing the time as the seedlings become stronger. Propagation can also be by means of cuttings.

Leaves can be picked throughout the year; in the tropics and subtropics the tree is evergreen. In colder areas, gather the leaves before the frost and dry them for winter use.

Using guava leaf tea as a base for iced fruit drinks is both a gourmet treat and a health boost. I first tasted this on Réunion Island.

Guava leaf iced drink

TO MAKE THE TEA: Pour a cup of boiling water over two fresh, torn guava leaves. Let the tea draw for five minutes, then strain and sip slowly. One cup a day is the right dose for diabetes, and will relieve dysentery, diarrhoea, high fevers, flu symptoms and persistent coughs. For stomach ulcers, sip a little tea before eating, and have half a cup after a meal. A little fresh ginger, honey and lemon juice can be added to the guava leaf tea for coughs. This delicious and soothing tea can be taken half a cup at a time, 4–6 times a day, to reduce fever and clear infection.

A strong guava leaf lotion has been used for centuries to wash slow-healing wounds, cuts, light burns, sunburn and windburn. Make it fresh daily. It is still used in rural areas today for animals with infected tick and flea bites. In cases of HIV, guava leaf lotion and guava leaf tea taken daily will boost the immune system. The guava (including leaf and fruit) is drawing interest in HIV treatment.

Guava leaves and fruit have antibiotic and anti-carcinogenic properties and guava leaf tea daily helps to control excessive menstrual bleeding. Several other benefits are being researched, including reduced likelihood of stroke as guava leaf tea lowers blood sugar levels and blood pressure.

Guava leaf lotion

Family Caryophyllaceae

Species: Gypsophila paniculata

Origin: Europe and parts of Asia

Plant: Perennial

Height: Up to 70 cm

Soil: Deeply dug, richly composted soil

Exposure: Sun, light shade

Propagation: Seed

Uses: Medicinal

Most people know gypsophila only as a fragile and inspiring cut flower, and few realise that it is a gentle ‘soap’ and medicine too. In the past this pretty perennial was used to treat chest ailments and skin conditions. It was grown in its Eurasian homeland specifically for its root, known as Gypsophila radix. Today, pharmacists make expensive creams and lotions from the root extract to heal persistent skin conditions. There are two varieties of gypsophila: the fine-leaved, flowered, greyish ‘baby’s gyps’, as it is called on the market, and the bigger, white-flowered ‘buttonhole gyps’.

As a young farmer’s wife, I grew billowing rows of gypsophila as a cut flower, which I bunched for the florist in the nearby town, especially for weekend weddings. I became nimble-fingered in tying baby’s breath buttonholes, and making flower pins, table wreaths, church-pew ends and garlands. It was fashionably popular then and was always the first flower on florists’ lists, but no one recognised its gentle healing value. I only became aware of its medicinal uses many years later, and today we grow it in partial shade in our mountainside gardens as a medicinal plant.

Plant out 80 cm apart to allow the baby’s breath to develop into its multibranched, multiflowered beauty, without becoming entangled. Plant it in full sun or in a very hot place in light shade. Baby’s breath needs a long, slow watering three times a week in spring and summer, and once a week or less during winter. Do not spray water on the flowers. Give each plant a handful of rock dust twice during the season and a blanket of mulch in winter. I cut the last flowers as the cold sets in and keep the plants protected. It is an easy perennial with a juicy taproot.

Sow seeds in spring or summer in big trays. Once the tiny seedlings are big enough to handle, prick them out and plant in bags filled with moist soil and compost. Keep them warm and moist in early summer and let them strengthen in the shade. Once they are sturdy, place them in the sun for an extended period each day until they are tough enough to plant out into their permanent positions.

Dig up the roots during their midwinter dormancy. Washed and sliced, they can be used to make extracts, or they can be used fresh in soaps, creams and lotions, the way the monks used them in the distant past, to soothe winter chilblains and dry skin.

According to ancient pharmacopoeias, gypsophila roots and stems were made into a tea used internally as an effective cough and chest remedy, and externally to wash skin ailments.

TO MAKE THE TEA: Simmer two cups of sliced roots and stems in six cups of water in a covered saucepan for 20 minutes. Half a cup is the usual dose, taken for coughs, colds, chesty wheezing and bronchitis. Take this gentle chest-easing tea three times a day for no more than four days. This is how the monks dispensed it, with 1–2 teaspoons of honey and 10 crushed cloves added to the tea.

The same brew (without honey and cloves) was cherished for centuries as a wash to soothe skin ailments, rashes, sun- and wind-burned skin, and dry, irritated and inflamed skin. Try making baby’s breath healing cream and apply it to the skin wherever there is roughness or dryness, using smooth, soft movements. I imagine that the monks made this cream in their cloister gardens to heal the weary. Massage the feet with this cream after a long hot bath; it is especially soothing for children after sport and the elderly after a tiring day.

Soothing baby’s breath skin cream

In medieval times the monks made a wonder brew from gypsophila flower sprays and leafy sprigs. It was strained and used to wash the most delicate linens, cottons and silks. This was considered the correct way to wash church robes and altar cloths, and it is thought that this is why the original gypsophila plants in Europe were found in church gardens and places of worship. Gypsophila was also used as a wash for dry, tender skin and bunches of gypsophila were available from the churches as a skin treatment of great value.

Family Aquifoliaceae

Species: Ilex aquifolium

Origin: Mainly Europe, southern and western Asia

Plant: Evergreen shrub or small tree

Height: 4 m

Soil: Well-composted soil, unfussy

Exposure: Full sun, partial shade

Propagation: Cuttings

Uses: Medicinal

There are around 400 species of evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs in the Ilex genus worldwide; the common English or Christmas holly is itself very variable, often confusingly so. Holly was originally used as a Christmas decoration in the northern hemisphere as it symbolised the continuation of life during the cold and dormancy of winter. The red berries ripen in the cold, and the evergreen, glossy leaves were made into garlands. Holly is steeped in ancient folklore: the Romans used it at their winter solstice Saturnalia celebration, and in Christianity it was associated with Christ’s crucifixion.

In the Middle Ages, monks grew hedges of spiny-leafed holly around their cloister gardens to protect the herbs from grazing animals, and they made warming teas from the leaves to restore ailing parishioners to health. Holly tea was considered particularly useful for chest ailments and rheumatic aches and pains through the bitter winters. Today, holly is recognised as a valuable treatment for a range of chest ailments and for reducing fevers.

Dig a large hole in full sun and fill it with strong, old compost mixed with topsoil; fill the hole with water. Remove the bag from around the now sturdy cutting (see Propagation) and sink it into the hole. Make a ‘dam’ around it to hold water and give it a long, slow, twice-weekly watering (water once a week in winter). Every now and then, during dry times of the year, spray it with water to clear the dust off its glossy leaves. Give the tree a barrow of compost twice a year. To create a holly hedge, space plants 1–1½ m apart in a long furrow to enable easy watering. Holly grows slowly and makes an undemanding and beautiful evergreen shrub in the garden. In our hot South African climate it bears its berries in the cold months of June and July.

Propagating holly is easier than one might think. I have found that cuttings taken from new growth in midsummer are the most successful. Press two cuttings, stripped of their lower leaves, into bags filled with compost mixed with topsoil (wear gloves as the plant is prickly). Keep the cuttings moist and check daily. Place them in a sheltered position with good light, and never let the bags dry out. They take a fairly long time to make sturdy roots, so be patient. Once the new little leaves are formed, start to harden off the cuttings off by placing them in the sun daily for an increasing length of time until they are strong enough to plant out permanently.

Holly tea has been a traditional drink in many European countries through the centuries. It was considered a remedy for fatigue and chills, and was served at inns to travellers making their way through the snow, usually with a dash of whisky ‘to beat the chill’ and a teaspoonful of honey.

The same tea (minus the whisky!) was served before Mass in winter, and the elderly and sick were given holly tea with honey and warming spices like cloves, cinnamon and allspice to mask the bitterness. Gradually ‘spiced sweet holly’ became a much-loved Christmas drink.

Holly tea also lowers fevers and is considered an astringent bitter tea that acts as an excellent diuretic where there is fluid retention, especially around the ankles. Research has been done on holly’s ability to clear toxins from the body, to reduce the appetite in overweight people, and to relieve headaches. Slimmers find holly tea helpful, and at one time holly was a gourmet tea served after rich meals to ease digestion and flush the kidneys. The tea also helps to ease summer hay fever.

TO MAKE THE TEA: Pour a cup of boiling water over three holly leaves. Stir and crush the leaves for five minutes, then strain. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and a teaspoon of honey to take the bitterness away, and sip slowly. This tea eases chesty coughs, and if taken with blackjack tea (see p. 53) regularly through the day it will loosen phlegm, open the chest and ease coughing.

The holly tree was traditionally thought to symbolise life and to give protection against harm. For this reason holly branches were used to adorn the home, and in the Harry Potter series the protagonist’s wand was made from holly.

Family Cannabaceae

Species: Humulus lupulus

Origin: Europe, western Asia and North America

Plant: Perennial climber, male and female on separate plants

Height: Up to 6 m

Soil: Moist, well-drained, humus-rich soil

Exposure: Full sun, partial shade, cool climate

Propagation: Greenwood cuttings, rarely seed

Uses: Culinary, medicinal

The common hop is a treasured herbaceous climber, used since the ninth century to brew beer, although during the reign of Britain’s King Henry VI and King Henry VII it was banned from beer-making as it was considered to be an ‘unwholesome weed’. By the 17th century hop pillows, hop tea and hop bathing were well-established medicinal practices.

North American tribes also used the hops growing wild in their country to treat pain and as a sedative, and by the 17th century it was established in the pharmacopoeias of America and Europe as a safe, calming, sleep-inducing medication. Even the herbalist Culpeper recorded hops as being recommended for headaches, skin lesions, infections, liver ailments and sleeplessness.

In Europe, the autumn picking of hops became a ceremony, with entire villages joining in the celebration. Hop flowers became a symbol of hospitality, feasting and thanksgiving. Today, hop garlands are still used to decorate houses as a sign of welcome.

Plant out 3 m apart on a support or fence in full sun. A cool climate is needed, with good rainfall and moist, richly composted soil dug in around the ‘crowns’. Watering should be long and slow, 2–3 times a week. As the female flower or cone only bears on new wood, vines must be cut to ground level after the autumn picking and cleared off their supports.

Hop vines are difficult to find in South Africa as (I have been told) the breweries ‘own’ the plants. The best area for growing hops is around George in the Cape because of its moist air, cold winters and cool summers.

Young shoots appear at the base in spring and can be clipped off and set into moist, compost-filled bags where they root. Keep them shaded and protected, as they need to establish well before being planted out in the field or garden.

The female flowers (strobili) are picked in autumn when they have fully matured. They can be used fresh as a tea or dried in pillows to aid sleep. Store the dried flowers in brown paper bags in sealed cardboard boxes. Fresh flowers are used commercially for oil distillation.

Summer cabbages and lettuces, radishes and borage all enjoy the light shade offered by the hops vines in cool areas. Chinese cabbage and butter lettuce, considered to be winter annuals, also do well in summer with hops.

The young spring shoots and leaves at the base of the hop plant are delicious steamed. Serve them with butter, black pepper, sea salt and lemon juice as a tender spring vegetable, much like asparagus.

Hop tea made from the female flowers will help to relieve irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease, muscle pain, muscular spasms, headaches, irritability, tension, nervous intestinal spasm and colic.

TO MAKE THE TEA: Pour a cup of boiling water over ¼ cup fresh or dried flowers; let the tea stand for five minutes, then strain and sip. Take one cup twice a day for insomnia (take the second cup at bedtime).

Hop tea can be taken for exhaustion as it helps the body to relax and eases muscular tension. To ease menopausal hot flushes and to help control premature ejaculation in men, take at least ½–1 cup daily. To ease hyperactivity in children, mix half a cup of hop tea with half a cup of liquidised fruit, such as pear, apple or mango, as it is calming.

Hops should be taken under a doctor’s supervision in cases of anorexia to stimulate the appetite, while in cases of fluid retention it acts as a safe gentle diuretic, especially taken as a tea first thing in the morning and again in the early afternoon.

Externally the cooled tea is soothing for herpes sores, itchy weeping spots, skin infections, rashes, eczema and slow-healing ulcers. The herb (even in beer) is contraindicated in depression, grief and anxiety; interestingly, this was noted in the ancient herbals.

A lavender and hops pillow is a popular neck relaxant and a remedy for sleeplessness.

Hops pillow

Family Saururaceae

Species: Houttuynia cordata

Origin: Eastern Asia

Plant: Perennial groundcover

Height: 20 cm

Soil: Moist marshy humus-rich soil or shallow water

Exposure: Sun or partial shade

Propagation: Cuttings and division in late winter

Uses: Culinary, medicinal

Houttuynia is widely grown as an ornamental groundcover in gardens worldwide, yet few of us stop to think about its healing properties. It was named after a famous Dutch physician, Maarten Houttuyn (1720–1794), who recorded its uses. Houttuynia grows wild in its native China, Japan and Vietnam along furrows, at the edges of rice paddies and in moist, shady places. The rhizomatous roots were once sold in marketplaces in small bamboo baskets filled with wet compost. Dr Houttuyn introduced the plant to Holland, and from there it spread to Europe and beyond, first as a medicine and later as a culinary herb.

On 6 August 1945, the devastating atom bomb exploded over Hiroshima and took countless lives, ending the Second World War. Known as ‘doku-dami’ and ‘giâp cã’ in ancient Japan and Vietnam, houttuyinia became better known after many survivors drank it as a tea 2–3 times a day. They recuperated well from the radioactivity, with some living far longer than expected.

Houttuynia thrives in moist ground, but I have grown it successfully in partially shady areas and even in full sun, often with only a deep, once-weekly watering. Dig lots of compost in around it twice a year. One of the plant’s cultivated forms, Houttuynia cordata ‘Chameleon’, is a popular landscaping groundcover in many countries. Its heart-shaped leaves are splashed attractively with creamy yellow and edged with pink. It can be used the same way as the original dark green houttuynia.

Cut off side shoots around the mother plant and plant these in moist, compost-filled pots to root well, before planting out 50 cm apart.

In China and Japan plants are cut off at the base for medicinal teas and culinary purposes. Harvest the leaves to make fresh teas. The leaves and soft tips of the creeping stems can be cut and used in stir-fries and fish dishes; the leaves can also be dried.

I have planted houttuynia in full sun next to fenugreek, parsley and celery, and used it as a path edging. Everything grows successfully with it. It forms a neat groundcover under pomegranate and pawpaw trees and the strong smell from its leaves seems to keep aphids away from nearby plants.

Houttuynia leaves are pungent, strongly aromatic and taste similar to coriander. The strange scent disappears in the cooking. In China, Japan and Vietnam the herb is used as a stir-fry and salad ingredient. Finely chopped leaves are added to meat and chicken dishes in the same way as coriander, and traditional Vietnamese fish stew features the leaves as a tasty garnish.

Houttuynia stir-fry

Houttuynia tea is a traditional Chinese medicine taken for urinary tract infections, coughs, colds and catarrh.

TO MAKE THE TEA: Pour a cup of boiling water over ¼ cup fresh leaves; let the tea stand for five minutes, stir well, then strain and sip slowly. Take 1–3 cups daily.

Fresh leaves are used externally as a comforting poultice for earache, haemorrhoids, inflamed arthritic joints, skin inflammations, abscesses, boils, sores and wounds, mastitis, skin infections, rashes and grazes. To make the poultice, warm the leaves in hot water and apply as hot as is comfortable. Replace the poultice every half hour or hour as necessary. The Vietnamese, Chinese and Japanese use warmed crushed leaves over the temples to relieve headaches.

Today houttuynia is being researched for its role in treating radioactivity. The plant has been used for centuries to clear toxins, reduce fevers and swellings and as a cooling diuretic; now, in our toxic world with its high radiation levels, it is being studied for this additional benefit.

Family Rosaceae

Species: Chaenomeles speciosa

Origin: Eastern Asia

Plant: Deciduous shrub

Height: Up to 1.5 m

Soil: Deep compost-filled hole

Exposure: Sun

Propagation: Cuttings

Uses: Culinary, medicinal

Native to Japan, the flowering quince is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in many parts of the world, and in Japan it is also a treasured bonsai specimen. It is a slow-growing shrub, leafless in winter. The fragile-looking flowers burst forth with the cherry blossoms and provide the first colour in the winter garden.

Flowering quince is recorded in early Chinese medicinal texts, and drawings and paintings depict it espaliered along sun-drenched walls. You will find the flowering quince in old gardens to this day. Fruiting occurs with the heat of the midsummer sun, but winter temperatures need to be freezing for the fruit to develop to its proper size and sweetness.

There are several cultivars, with flowers ranging in colour from pure white and apple-blossom pink to the almost scarlet and salmon pinks we all remember from childhood, when the flowering quince was a popular garden feature.

Japanese quince is available from nurseries as a spring-flowering shrub. Prepare a deep, compost-filled hole in full sun. Sink the plant in by flooding the hole with water; then tear the bag and saturate the roots. Japanese quince does not like to be transplanted, so select your site with care. Keep a large ‘dam’ around it, and flood it with water every 7–10 days in summer and winter. Give it a good barrow-load of compost at the beginning of winter. Frost and icy-cold conditions are needed for the fruit to develop. It becomes a feature plant in late winter – place it where it can be seen and enjoyed!

To create a wall feature, plant the shrub against a wall, using a fan-shaped metal frame for support. The frame needs to be 15 cm away from the wall to allow the branches to breathe. The flowers make a show in very early spring. Prune lightly after flowering.

Propagation is by cuttings or seed from the fruit. Both the fruit seeds and the cuttings root slowly, often taking more than two years to mature. My mother-in-law grew Japanese quince abundantly along a furrow on the farm and used a pick to chop off rooted stems from the sides of the tough, multistemmed shrub. Immediately planted into large, compost-filled, moist bags, this method was far faster than the seeds and cuttings I struggled with. Plant it out when it is strong and vigorous.

Pick the fruits as soon as they are plump and light yellowy-green in colour. They reach the size of a walnut, sometimes a little bigger. The ripe fruit can be stored in the fridge and added to apples or ordinary quinces for jams and desserts.

The miniature fruits are aromatic and taste very much like quince. In China they are called ‘mu gua’ and are enjoyed as both a food and a medicine. The flower petals pulled from their calyxes are edible and look pretty sprinkled over winter salads and fruit salads. I use a scattering of coral pink and white petals on top of a luscious chocolate birthday cake in winter to surprise everyone, as so few flowers are in the garden at that time.

The little fruit of the flowering quince has been an important part of Chinese medicine for centuries. It has anti-inflammatory, digestive and circulatory properties and it is also a much-respected anti-spasmodic herb. It is taken cooked and mashed with honey for rheumatism, arthritis, severe cramps, painful legs, poor circulation and for a weak digestive system. Two or three teaspoons of the cooked, mashed fruit and honey are stirred into a cup of boiling water with two slices of ginger for digestive upsets, vomiting, diarrhoea, poor circulation and for stomach cramps, colic and bloated feelings. Take half a cup at a time, sipped slowly.

Crushed Japanese quince petals, together with extracts of the leaves, are still used today in creams and salves; massage into cold, stiff, tired legs and feet. The ‘barefoot doctors’ of China listed this herb as a treatment for swollen feet and aching legs and made anti-spasmodic muscle rubs. Over-the-counter medications containing the fruit, flowers and leaves are found in Chinese shops and if you describe your symptoms to a Chinese doctor, he will often make up a flowering quince cream for you and urge you to drink this tea.

TO MAKE THE TEA: Pour a cup of boiling water over ¼ cup fresh Japanese quince leaves and sprigs and stir well for five minutes. Strain and sweeten, if liked, with a touch of honey, and sip slowly. In spring, substitute the leaves and sprigs with flowers and buds: this is a soothing tea for digestive cramps and colic.

Japanese quince massage cream

Family Rhamnaceae

Species: Hovenia dulcis

Origin: Japan, China

Plant: Deciduous tree

Height: 10 m

Soil: Sandy soil, well-composted

Exposure: Full sun but does well in partial shade

Propagation: Mainly cuttings; seed in the ripe raisins

Uses: Culinary, medicinal

This is an exciting tree to grow. Young trees are available now in South Africa and are valuable not only medicinally, but also as a food and a natural sweetener. The fleshy ‘rachis’ (succulent fruiting stem) is prized and can be eaten fresh and raw or dried. Pick the fruiting stems when the terminal ‘raisin’ has matured and turned greyish-brown; the more mature the fruits are, the sweeter the little stems.

Extracts from the fruiting stems have been used for well over 500 years in China to treat a variety of ailments, in particular hangovers after alcohol abuse. An extract in the fruiting stems, named dihydromyricetin (DHM), has proven to be an excellent intoxication blocker. The World Health Organisation is encouraging cultivation of the Japanese raisin tree in many countries for this reason.

Plant out in full sun, in a deep, wide hole, filled with compost and light soil, as the tree thrives with good drainage. Build a substantial ‘dam’ around it and give a good, slow watering twice a week. In the tree’s first few years, use a plant fleece during very cold winters so that it can establish well. Later it can take frost and snow, and survive strong winds. However, it does well under the heat of the African sun, provided that it has a good weekly watering. Look out for young trees at specialist nurseries. Reforestation using the Japanese raisin tree as a substitute for eucalyptus is now taking place in some areas, with young trees planted 6 m apart.

Take cuttings from dormant branches at the end of the winter, about 12 cm long, and press into bags filled with moist, well-composted sandy soil. Keep them warm, sheltered and shaded until the summer is under way. Once the leaves form and the trees begin to grow, they can be moved out into the sun for an increasing length of time each day. The growth is quite slow to start off; allow them to establish for at least a year before planting out permanently. The dried ‘raisins’ contain several seeds and are used for propagation in countries like New Zealand.

Watch for the formation of flowering clusters, with a berry at the end. Pick as needed as the berries begin to dry out and, before each winter sets in, collect the ripened fleshy fruit stalks, dry and store in big glass screw-top jars. The stalks can be made into drinks. Tinned or dried Japanese raisin stems and fruits are available in Asian shops (do not mistakenly buy a tin of ‘jiguja’, which is an alcoholic drink made from the fermented fruit stalks). The strong, fine-grained wood from the Japanese raisin tree is harvested to make furniture.

The sweet, juicy stems are used in confectionery and pickles, as a snack food, in sweet-and-sour sauces, and as a delicious tea.

TO MAKE THE TEA: Soak ¼–½ cup fresh or dried stems and berries in two cups of boiling water and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Cool, strain and sip slowly, one cup in the morning and one cup in the afternoon, for constipation, fever, and to treat an overloaded liver. Do this for 4–6 consecutive days.

In the case of intestinal worms in children, give half a cup of the tea early in the morning, as hot as is comfortable, then half a cup with breakfast, also warm, and half a cup midmorning. This can be done for two consecutive days. To bring down a fever, give half a cup of cold tea at least 6–8 times through the day. On a hot day, wring towels out in cold water and place over the feverish patient with a fan to keep the temperature down.

The tea is also taken as a hangover treatment, after a party and immediately before going to bed. A well-known ritual in Japan, China and Korea is to take a hot cup of the tea before and after a celebration where alcohol is consumed. Today, medical science has isolated the active constituents of this remarkable tree, and tablets and capsules are available in several countries, including the USA, for pre- and post-treatment of alcohol consumption.