Herbs
There are a wide variety of uses of herbs. They are a way of healing, refreshing, flavouring, protecting from infection, protecting clothing from moth attacks and of course the essential oils used in aromatherapy all come from the herb/plant word. They also have some very interesting folklore and fables associated with them which we hope to amuse you with.
The origin of herbal usage is a tricky subject to tackle. We can find references going back as far as records have been kept and I have no reason to suspect that they were not used prior to them being recorded. The history is a little easier to deal with. Culpepper was one of the earliest herbalists to gain general respect and books giving his formulae are still readily available for any of you interested in following up something of the history. I have to say there are some entries that will amuse more than they will educate.
Aspirin as we receive it today is more likely to be made in the laboratory than from the original source, which is the bark of the willow tree. Early aspirin was obtained by grinding the bark to the finest of powders and then forming this powder into pills. It was very much a matter of trial and error as to the quantity required but the ingredients were directly from nature. These days chemists analyze the active ingredients in our natural substances and then mix up their own version form the rows of bottles and jars available to them.
Now far be it from me to be-little this practice but I will be behind them all the way when they produce the first seed that will grow from their bottles and jars. They do not have a container labeled "Life force" to add to their mixtures and compounds.
Well, we hope that has whet you appetite, and that you will be checking in to both the herb and the aromathepay pages to get to know the uses of plants in both the essential oil and the herbal ways. We are hoping that we will be able to post both aspects of the same plant simultaneously on each board.. See you there……….