Bee Balm
These deeply scented herbs have for millennia been the sources of perfume, incense, cleansers, disinfectants, and many essential oils. When it comes to treating health concerns, they are used topically or via inhalation, rarely through ingestion.
BEE BALM
This lanky garden favorite (Monarda spp.) is a midsummer bloomer that also has time-tested medicinal uses. The perennial mint is native to the eastern United States—it was a valued treatment for infections in Native American culture—but has spread to parts of Europe and Asia. The plant can reach two or more feet in height; has a grooved, square stem; paired, toothed leaves; and clustered tubular flowers in rich colors. Healers use the leaves and flowers to ease gas and as a diuretic, stimulant, and antiseptic. It can be taken as an infusion to relieve colds, headaches, gastric and menstrual pain, and insomnia, and when inhaled as steam, it quickly loosens the congestion of bronchitis.
Bee Balm
BERGAMOT ORANGE
With its woodsy citrus odor, the essential oil of bergamot orange is used in one-third to one-half of commercial perfumes. It is distilled from the rind of the orange, the fruit of a small winter-blooming tree (Citrus bergamia) found in Southeast Asia. For many years it has been used to improve circulation, stimulate hormone secretion, maintain metabolism, elevate mood, aid digestion, prevent infection, and ease pain. It also helps to heal skin irritations and eliminate scarring. The extract psoralen was once used in sunblocks, but was found to be carcinogenic in light. Today it is combined with UVA light as PUVA therapy for healing skin ailments such as psoriasis and eczema.
Bergamot orange
EUCALYPTUS
More than 700 species of eucalyptus, or gum trees, occur throughout Australia. The genus originated in South America, where it is no longer native. They are mostly evergreens featuring lanceolate, petiolate, and alternate leaves with a waxy or glossy green surface. The flowers have multiple fluffy stamens in white, yellow, pink, or red and cone-shaped fruits that release rod-shaped seeds. The bark is heavily textured. The oil offers anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antibacterial properties and is used to treat wounds, muscle aches, joint pain, mental exhaustion, and skin problems. One organic compound, cineole—the object of more than a thousand studies—can reduce inflammation and pain and even destroy leukemia cells.
HYSSOP
Minty, slightly bitter hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis) may be used to flavor foods but it is also valued in the production of cologne and administered as a warm tea against colds and flu. The plant, which is native to southern Europe and the Middle East, is a semi-woody evergreen mint that can reach three feet in height, with square stems, oblong leaves, and whorls of scented bluish-purple flowers. Used for purification in biblical times, the herb today is known to have antiseptic, antispasmodic, antidepressant, expectorant, and diuretic properties. It improves circulation and treats female complaints, and its astringent qualities lend it to healing skin conditions such as dermatitis and eczema.
Hyssop
JASMINE
Long a symbol of seduction and sensuality, richly scented jasmine (Jasmimum spp.) is a garden favorite. Native to Persia and India, this evergreen shrub is a climber that can attain 40 feet in length. It bears pinnate green leaves and cascading clusters of white star-shaped flowers. Early Asian physicians esteemed jasmine’s leaves and flowers for treating headache, insomnia, joint problems, gallstones, skin outbreaks, and scabies. The herb is recognized today as astringent, antibacterial, and antiviral; its oil is beneficial to aging skin and will heal sores and abscesses when combined with sesame oil. Studies in Tokyo indicate the herb can increase alertness and stimulate brain waves.
LAVENDER
Lavender’s role ranges from a garden staple and culinary flavoring to a medicinal oil and insect repellent. The two most popular species are English lavender (Lavendula angustifolia) and French lavender (L. stoechas or L. dentata). Native to the Mediterranean, this hardy evergreen shrub bears narrow gray-green leaves and pinkish purple flowers on spikes. The Egyptians applied it as perfume and included it in the mummification process. Healers have used it, topically or inhaled, against insomnia, anxiety, depression, digestive problems, headaches, toothaches, and sprains, and for healing burns. Diffused lavender oil may prevent cellular damage that can lead to cancer and protect the body from the components of diabetes.
Lavender
LEMON VERBENA
Often known as the “queen of the lemon-scented herbs,” lemon verbena (Aloysia citrodora) is native to western South America. When the Spanish introduced it to Europe, it became a vital raw material for the perfume trade. The plant is a deciduous shrub that can reach six feet in height and produces glossy, lanceolate leaves and clustering, aromatic, small white or purple flowers on panicles. Once used as a sedative and to relieve stomach and joint pain, asthma, colds and hemorrhoids, it is known to possess anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, and antioxidant qualities. Today, it is used to aid digestion, relieve arthritis pain, reduce tension, and as an expectorant.
Lemon verbena
PATCHOULI
This herb’s distinctive acrid scent is reminiscent of the 1960s counterculture, but it also has a respected curative history. Originally found in Southeast Asia, it now grows in many parts of the tropics. Pogostemon cablin is an evergreen perennial shrub in the mint family that features serrated leaves and small pinkish-white flowers. For millennia, healers have used this herb to treat skin ailments, heal wounds, and reduce scarring. It provides mood-enhancing effects and possesses antidepressant, antiseptic, astringent, and aphrodisiac properties. In lab tests in India, the plant displayed its antibacterial and antifungal qualities by destroying 20 out of 22 bacterial strains and all 12 fungal strains it was exposed to.
RUE
Also known as herb-of-grace, rue (Ruta graveolens) is an ornamental and medicinal herb with a pungent, soothing scent. Originally native to the Balkan Peninsula, it is now found around the world. The plant reaches three feet in height and bears velvety bluish leaves and bright-yellow flowers that mature into fruit. Rue was once thought to heighten creativity and improve eyesight, making it a favorite of artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Modern healers recommend it for treating headaches, joint pain, insomnia, nerves, stomach cramps, and renal problems as well as skin ailments such as psoriasis. There is some indication that rue, when combined with certain other herbs, may possess antiviral qualities.
SPIKENARD
Sweetly anise-scented spikenard (Nardostachys jatamansi) originated in the Himalayas and was valued in ayurvedic and Greco-Arab medicine as an additive to perfumes and incense, as an essential oil, and for treating insomnia, birthing problems, and headaches. The plant grows to three feet in height and displays green lanceolate leaves and dense clusters of pink, bell-shaped blooms. The root is dried and steam distilled to create the aromatic oil. Healers advise using spikenard oil as a rub for easing nausea, as an inhaled sedative to calm stress, and as an antibacterial facial massage to banish wrinkles. A drop of the oil after a meal will banish indigestion and act as a laxative.
Spikenard
THINK ABOUT IT!
When sweet woodruff dries, its odor of honey and new-mown hay intensifies, making it an ideal addition to potpourris and sachets.
SWEET WOODRUFF
This shade-loving perennial, which is native to North Africa, Europe and western Asia, has been used as a culinary, aromatic, and healing herb. Sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum) forms low, dense mats; the plants display whorls of deep-green leaves and tiny white star-shaped flowers. Early physicians used it to treat liver problems and as a calmative. Today, natural healers recommend it for preventing lung, liver, stomach, and gallbladder disorders, to relieve insomnia and headaches, and as a diuretic. Direct topical applications of the anti-inflammatory leaves are said to help treat skin diseases, swelling, wounds, vein problems, and hemorrhoids.