Description: A robust deciduous tree more than 30 m high, with leaves resembling those of maple or plane on long petioles with stipules. The flowers are of two kinds, the male ones in erect, cylindrical, dense spikes, the female ones in globose clusters at the ends of long, leafless stalks. The fruit is a capsule formed at the same time as the flowers, and resembles a bristly ball. Each capsule contains one or two winged seeds. Read the rest of this entry »

Description: A robust perennial plant with a massive yellow rootstock and grooved, flower-bearing stems up to 2 m high and 3-5 cm thick. It has tough, ovoid to ovoid-triangular leaves with long, thick, smooth, pulpy petioles. From the end of May to June massive panicles of tiny whitish to yellowish flowers appear. The fruit is a winged achene. Read the rest of this entry »

Description: An evergreen, semi-parasitic shrub about 60 cm high, with a short, forked stem. The branch segments are cylindrical, thickening and brittle at the nodes. The leathery yellow-green leaves are linear-lanceolate, stiff and smooth. It is a dioecious plant, with both male and female flowers green. From the female flowers white, spherical, pea-sized berries ripen, becoming mature in November and December. Read the rest of this entry »

Description: A deciduous tree up to 30 m high with broad, heart-shaped leaves which are dark green above and lighter beneath with clusters of brown hairs, with finely serrate margins. The yellow flowers giving off a strong, pleasant smell are arranged in cymose clusters. The fruit is a spherical achene bearing a single seed.

Distribution: Found almost throughout the whole of Europe, as far north as southern Sweden. Abundant in lowland forests near rivers, and often planted in towns.

Harvesting and Preparation: The flower clusters are gathered when in full blossom, with the membranous bracts, and dried in shade. The drug must not lose its golden-yellow colour or be allowed to absorb moisture.

Constituents: The flowers contain flavone glycosides, farnesol and volatile oils (0.02 per cent), mucilages and other, little-known substances.

Cosmetic Uses: An infusion of the flowers has a favourable effect on the hair. Fresh or dried linden blossoms are infused (50 g to a litre of warn water, extracted for 30 minutes), diluted if necessary and used as a hair rinse. It makes the hair smooth, flexible and glossy, and smell of honey. Extracts of linden flowers are used in the manufacture of creams, lotions, bath additives and shampoos, as they protect sensitive skin against infection. Stabilized extracts are also manufactured.

Other Uses: Linden blossoms have long been known as an important drug because of their diaphoretic, diuretic and antispasmodic effects. Linden tea is useful for colds, sore throat and influenza. It is also an important melliferous plant. Its soft, light wood is used in woodcarving, for the production of excellent-quality charcoal and for numerous other products. It is also grown as ornamental tree in streets and gardens, and as a specimen tree.

Description: A biennial plant, forming in its first year a rosette of basal leaves from which rises in the second year the flower-bearing, hollow stem, branched in its upper part, up to 1 m high. The thick tapering root is usually simple or sparsely branched, and spindle shaped. The fruit is a small greenish-brown achene. The leaves, like those of other wild parsleys, are segmented, with a triangular outline; there are many cultivated parsleys with deeply divided, curly leaves. Read the rest of this entry »

Description: A small to medium-high, evergreen tropical tree which lives as a semi-parasite on the roots of other plants, especially some bamboos and palms. It grows very slowly and has oval leaves covered with a whitish bloom, and small flowers in numerous clusters.

Origin and Distribution: Sandalwood comes from southwestern India (Mysore), from where it spread to the dry, high regions of the tropical zone (700-1,000 m above see level) with gravelly or rocky soils. Read the rest of this entry »

Description: An annual plant 80-110 cm high in subtropical conditions, 100-200 cm high in tropical conditions, forming a tuft of several branching stems. The ovoid to oval leaves, on long petioles, are of variable shape. Flowers rise from the leaf axils singly or in groups of two or three, and consist of a downy, tubular, bell-shaped corolla and a small calyx of five sepals. The corolla can be white, pink, red or violet. The fruit is an oblong capsule bearing rough, mat, flattened seeds which are white, yellow, brown or reddish. Read the rest of this entry »

Description: A perennial plant forming a low subshrub up to 40 cm high. The quadrangular stems are woody at the base, downy in their upper part. The leaves on short petioles are linear to elliptical, with rolled margins, and downy underneath. The small two-lipped flowers have a downy, bell-shaped calyx and violet or pink petals, and are clustered in groups of three to six in the leaf axils, forming terminal spikes. The flowering period is from May to June. The fruit is a nutlet. Read the rest of this entry »

Description: A perennial plant with a short rootstock and erect, round stem up to 1 m high, usually with a violet tinge in its lower part. The leaves are petiolate or sessile, alternate, elliptical and serrate. The golden-yellow flowers are arranged in racemes, and borne from August to October. The fruit isa hairy achene, about 4 mm long.

Distribution: Goldenrod is common throughout Europe, Asia and North America, where it grows in deciduous woodland and meadows, on sunny, sandy, rocky slopes at various altitudes. Read the rest of this entry »