Herb Lore - Chervil to Crab's Claws
Herb 71: Chervil
Common Name: Chervil (also known as Garden Chervil, Sweet Cicely)
Latin Name: Anthriscus cerefolium
Medicinal Parts: Leaves, Seeds
Habitat: Scarlett Meadows, Lemoyne. Cultivated in gardens, preferring cool, shaded spots.
Medical Use:
Diuretic and blood cleanser. Used to provoke urine and remove kidney stones.
Helps to expel retained afterbirth and soothes pleurisy.
Often eaten as a nutritive tonic in the spring.
Preparation Methods:
Eaten: Leaves used in salads or broths.
Juice: Pressed and drunk.
Herb 72: Chickweed
Common Name: Chickweed (also known as Stellaria)
Latin Name: Stellaria media
Medicinal Parts: Leaves, Stems
Habitat: Almost all regions, especially in shaded, damp ground and cultivated land.
Medical Use:
Highly cooling and emollient. Used externally to treat hot skin inflammations, ulcers, and rashes.
Used internally for hot coughs and to clear spleen obstructions.
An excellent source of nutrients (vitamins and minerals).
Preparation Methods:
Poultice: Herb bruised or mashed and applied externally.
Eaten: Leaves eaten in salads.
Juice: Pressed and mixed with water.
Herb 73: Chicory
Common Name: Chicory (also known as Succory, Wild Endive)
Latin Name: Cichorium intybus
Medicinal Parts: Root, Leaves, Flowers
Habitat: The Heartlands, New Hanover. Common on roadsides, open fields, and chalky soil.
Medical Use:
Highly effective for clearing liver and spleen obstructions (jaundice).
Cools the heat of the stomach and liver, helping to settle fevers.
Root used as a coffee substitute and bitter digestive tonic.
Preparation Methods:
Juice: Leaves and flowers pressed.
Decoction: Root roasted and ground (coffee) or boiled.
Herb 74: Chives
Common Name: Chives (also known as Rush Garlic)
Latin Name: Allium schoenoprasum
Medicinal Parts: Leaves, Bulbs
Habitat: Saint Denis, Lemoyne. Cultivated in gardens; prefers full sun and rich soil.
Medical Use:
Warming and diuretic. Used to provoke urine and expel wind.
Acts as a mild stimulant for the appetite.
Similar to garlic, it is a mild antiseptic and blood cleanser.
Preparation Methods:
Eaten: Raw in salads or cooked.
Herb 75: Cinchona
Common Name: Cinchona (also known as Peruvian Bark, Quina)
Latin Name: Cinchona officinalis
Medicinal Parts: Bark
Habitat: Bayou Nwa, Lemoyne. Tropical high-altitude tree (imported, or possibly cultivated in controlled conditions in the South).
Medical Use:
The specific, most powerful remedy for intermittent fevers and malaria (due to the quinine content).
Bitter tonic used to stimulate the stomach and aid digestion.
Used to treat gangrene and chronic ulcers.
Preparation Methods:
Decoction: Bark boiled in wine or water.
Powder: Dried bark powdered.
Herb 76: Cinnamon
Common Name: Cinnamon (also known as Cassia Bark)
Latin Name: Cinnamomum verum
Medicinal Parts: Bark, Essential Oil
Habitat: Imported spice, sold in Saint Denis. Tropical evergreen tree.
Medical Use:
Highly warming and aromatic. Used to aid digestion and move wind (carminative).
Stops diarrhea and fluxes.
Helps to strengthen the heart and is used for colds and chills.
Preparation Methods:
Powder: Dried bark ground and consumed.
Decoction: Bark boiled.
Herb 77: Clary
Common Name: Clary (also known as Clear Eye, See-Bright)
Latin Name: Salvia sclarea
Medicinal Parts: Leaves, Seeds
Habitat: Hennigan's Stead, New Austin. Prefers dry, open, sunny locations and chalky soil.
Medical Use:
Seeds are soaked to extract a mucilage used to clear the eyes of foreign bodies or inflammation.
Used to strengthen the back and soothe menstrual cramps.
Helps with nervous headaches.
Preparation Methods:
Mucilage: Seeds soaked in water and applied to the eye.
Infusion: Leaves steeped in wine.
Herb 78: Cleavers
Common Name: Cleavers (also known as Goosegrass, Clivers)
Latin Name: Galium aparine
Medicinal Parts: Whole Herb, Juice
Habitat: Almost all regions, favoring hedgerows, thickets, and damp, shaded areas.
Medical Use:
Excellent diuretic and lymphatic cleanser. Used to clear urinary obstructions and kidney issues.
Cools the body and treats scrofula (swollen glands).
Used as a wash for skin eruptions and burns.
Preparation Methods:
Juice: Pressed from the fresh herb.
Infusion/Tea: Herb steeped in cold or hot water.
Herb 79: Cloves
Common Name: Cloves (also known as Caryophyllus)
Latin Name: Syzygium aromaticum
Medicinal Parts: Flower Bud, Oil
Habitat: Imported spice, sold in Saint Denis. Tropical evergreen tree.
Medical Use:
Highly warming and antiseptic. Used to relieve toothache and mouth pain (topical anesthetic).
Strengthens the stomach and stops vomiting.
Dispels wind (colic/flatulence).
Preparation Methods:
Oil: Applied topically to the tooth/gum.
Decoction: Buds boiled.
Chewed: Whole bud chewed.
Herb 80: Coltsfoot
Common Name: Coltsfoot (also known as Foal's Foot, Coughwort)
Latin Name: Tussilago farfara
Medicinal Parts: Leaves, Flowers
Habitat: Grizzlies East, Ambarino. Found in clay soil, roadsides, and disturbed land, often in cool areas.
Medical Use:
Specific remedy for coughs, asthma, and all lung disorders (due to mucilage and expectorant properties).
Leaves smoked or steeped for shortness of breath and consumption.
Flower water used for eye inflammation.
Preparation Methods:
Syrup: Leaves/flowers boiled with honey.
Infusion: Leaves steeped.
Smoke: Dried leaves burned and inhaled.
Herb 81: Comfrey
Common Name: Comfrey (also known as Knitbone, Boneset)
Latin Name: Symphytum officinale
Medicinal Parts: Root, Leaves
Habitat: Big Valley, West Elizabeth. Prefers moist, shaded areas, banks of streams, and ditches.
Medical Use:
Unparalleled in healing broken bones, wounds, and internal injuries.
Root poultice applied to heal bruises, sprains, and fractures (knitbone).
Leaves used internally for coughs and to stop internal bleeding.
Preparation Methods:
Poultice: Root or leaves mashed and applied externally.
Decoction: Leaves or root boiled (internal use should be cautious).
Herb 82: Coriander
Common Name: Coriander (also known as Cilantro, Chinese Parsley)
Latin Name: Coriandrum sativum
Medicinal Parts: Seeds, Leaves
Habitat: Saint Denis, Lemoyne. Cultivated in warm, sunny gardens.
Medical Use:
Carminative (moves wind). Used to relieve colic and flatulence.
Seeds counteract the strong purgative effects of other medicines.
Used for fevers to induce sweating and is a digestive aid.
Preparation Methods:
Eaten: Leaves in salads.
Powder/Infusion: Seeds ground or steeped.
Herb 83: Costmary
Common Name: Costmary (also known as Alecost, Bible Leaf)
Latin Name: Tanacetum balsamita
Medicinal Parts: Leaves
Habitat: The Heartlands, New Hanover. Grows in dry fields and gardens (often planted near taverns).
Medical Use:
Warming and astringent. Used to stop diarrhea and fluxes.
Clears headaches and strengthens the stomach.
Used as a wash for skin eruptions.
Preparation Methods:
Infusion: Leaves steeped in ale or water.
Chewed: Fresh leaves chewed.
Herb 84: Cotton
Common Name: Cotton (also known as Gossypium)
Latin Name: Gossypium hirsutum
Medicinal Parts: Root Bark, Seeds, Cotton Fibres
Habitat: Scarlett Meadows, Lemoyne. Cultivated crop, requires long, hot, humid summers.
Medical Use:
Root bark is used to provoke delayed menstruation and aid in childbirth.
Seeds are highly nutritive.
Fibres used externally for dressing wounds and burns.
Preparation Methods:
Decoction: Root bark boiled (used cautiously).
Dressing: Fibres applied to wounds.
Herb 85: Couch-Grass
Common Name: Couch-Grass (also known as Dog Grass, Quitch Grass)
Latin Name: Elymus repens
Medicinal Parts: Root (Rhizome)
Habitat: Almost all regions, found widely as a common field and waste-ground weed.
Medical Use:
Excellent diuretic and demulcent. Used to soothe and cleanse the entire urinary system (bladder, kidneys).
Relieves urinary infections, kidney stones, and dropsy (edema).
Preparation Methods:
Decoction: Root boiled in water.
Juice: Pressed from the fresh root.
Herb 86: Cow Parsnip
Common Name: Cow Parsnip (also known as Hogweed, Masterwort)
Latin Name: Heracleum sphondylium
Medicinal Parts: Root, Seeds
Habitat: Grizzlies West, Ambarino. Grows in damp, fertile soil, hedgerows, and open woods.
Medical Use:
Warming and carminative. Used to break up wind and relieve colic.
The root is used to treat epilepsy and is a stimulant.
Note: The sap can cause severe blistering (phytophotodermatitis) when exposed to sun.
Preparation Methods:
Decoction: Root boiled in wine.
Poultice: Root mashed and applied externally (with caution).
Herb 87: Cowslip
Common Name: Cowslip (also known as Paigle, Fairy Cup)
Latin Name: Primula veris
Medicinal Parts: Flowers, Root
Habitat: Big Valley, West Elizabeth. Found in moist meadows, fields, and open woods.
Medical Use:
Flowers are a mild sedative and nervine; used to treat insomnia, nervous tension, and headache.
Root is a mild expectorant (used for coughs).
Excellent for relieving melancholy and strengthening the brain.
Preparation Methods:
Infusion/Tea: Flowers steeped.
Syrup: Flowers pressed with sugar.
Herb 88: Crab's Claws
Common Name: Crab's Claws (also called Frogbit)
Latin Name: Hydrocharis morsus-ranae
Parts Used: Whole plant and leaves
Habitat: Bayou Nwa, Lemoyne. An aquatic plant that floats in ditches, ponds, and slow-moving waters.
Medical Uses:
- Very cooling and astringent, used to halt bleeding and diarrhea.
- Alleviates inflammation and helps cleanse ulcers.
- Employed in washes for sore eyes.
Preparation Methods:
Juice: Extracted and applied externally.
Decoction: Boiled and ingested.