2007-02-08 08:44![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
nightrythm
nightrythmNo really, I speak of herbs and not the green stuff that people are known to smoke.
I've been reading "Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West" by Michael Moore (1979 Museum of New Mexico Pres - ISBN: 0-89013-104-x), on my commute. It's increadibly informative and the whole reason I bought it is because it discusses the plant life that can be found right outside my door (more or less). Most herb books are increadibly general and tend to discuss European herbs, or they focus primarily on the East and the Great Plains. [Side note: I must pick up a field guide to California plants. While his descriptions are detailed and there are pictures, I've forgotten more on plant biology than I remember.]
I made a marvelous discovery this morning. My grandmother used to give me wormwood tea for my cramps. It grew in her garden, smelled awful and tasted worse. I can still feel the flavor in the back of my throat if I think about it too hard.
I've tried to research the plant before, but never got beyond corelating a Latin name to the Spanish name. My mom and I both knew that my grandmother called the plant "estafiate", and i was able to find out one day that it's Latin name is Artemesia Frigida, but I had never pursued beyond that.
This morning, I was reading the entry on Wormwood and everything finally clicked. He talked about how the hot tea could help with cramps and in a later section said something specifically about "estafiate". It's amazing how knowledgable and stupid I feel at the same time. I feel like the moment I knew it was Artemesia anything, I should have automatically known it was Wormwood. But now I know, and I can make the world's nastiest tea when I'm crampy. Although frankly, I'll probably cut it with mint or something else palatable, and oh yeah, lots of honey, lots and lots of honey, 'cause *shudder* that stuff is awful *ick*.
Also of note: Sagebrush is a sub-species of Wormwood and has the same medicinal qualities.
I've been reading "Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West" by Michael Moore (1979 Museum of New Mexico Pres - ISBN: 0-89013-104-x), on my commute. It's increadibly informative and the whole reason I bought it is because it discusses the plant life that can be found right outside my door (more or less). Most herb books are increadibly general and tend to discuss European herbs, or they focus primarily on the East and the Great Plains. [Side note: I must pick up a field guide to California plants. While his descriptions are detailed and there are pictures, I've forgotten more on plant biology than I remember.]
I made a marvelous discovery this morning. My grandmother used to give me wormwood tea for my cramps. It grew in her garden, smelled awful and tasted worse. I can still feel the flavor in the back of my throat if I think about it too hard.
I've tried to research the plant before, but never got beyond corelating a Latin name to the Spanish name. My mom and I both knew that my grandmother called the plant "estafiate", and i was able to find out one day that it's Latin name is Artemesia Frigida, but I had never pursued beyond that.
This morning, I was reading the entry on Wormwood and everything finally clicked. He talked about how the hot tea could help with cramps and in a later section said something specifically about "estafiate". It's amazing how knowledgable and stupid I feel at the same time. I feel like the moment I knew it was Artemesia anything, I should have automatically known it was Wormwood. But now I know, and I can make the world's nastiest tea when I'm crampy. Although frankly, I'll probably cut it with mint or something else palatable, and oh yeah, lots of honey, lots and lots of honey, 'cause *shudder* that stuff is awful *ick*.
Also of note: Sagebrush is a sub-species of Wormwood and has the same medicinal qualities.
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