A Guide to Edible Herbs

The most popular herbs are the ones people use every day in the kitchen. Seasonings like oregano, basil, sage, and parsley are all known to even the most generic chef. It's the less common herbs that catch my eye. The ones you can use for their healing benefits are the herbs I like to keep on hand. These are the little known weeds that grow along side the road. A Sunday afternoon drive can produce many wonderful herbal finds that can be used in teas and salves for building up your immune system, help with chest congestion and so much more.

Let me start by saying that an excellent source for researching herbs is Peterson's Field Guide to Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs. This book collates plants by flower color. It shows a picture of the more common varieties and lists some of the folk lore and Native American uses of each herb.

There are many interesting facts about herbs that are sometimes overlooked. For instance, did you know that rose hips contains more vitamin c than an orange? Rose hip tea is great in the winter for keeping those nasty germs at bay. Red Clover is one of the best treatments for eczema in children. Make a tincture out of the blossoms and apply as often as you wish. Jewel weed, or touch-me-not, is also another great antidote for poison ivy. If you happen to run into a patch of the nasty three leafer, there is almost always some jewel weed close by. Just break open a stalk and rub the gel onto the affected area. It helps to neutralize the oil that causes the rash.

Some of the most effective medical herbs can be transplanted with ease. After all, most of them are considered weeds. We all know how hard it is to kill a weed. I have a spot in the back yard that is my own little medicine cabinet. I have echinacae, purple cone flower, for building up the immune system. At the first sign of a cold, I make up a tea to nip it right in the butt. There is also black cohosh. This is great for menopause symptoms. While stinging nettle can be used for heavy menstruation, it can also help with allergies.

Then there is the mint family. Peppermint can be used for an upset stomach. Spearmint is good for upper respiratory infections in children. The teas are great just for the taste. A cool peppermint tea over ice, in the summer, can really refresh one's body as well as spirit.

One of the added benefits of having these great herbs in your garden, is that the flowers of many of these "weeds" attract hummingbirds and butterflies. Don't forget they are perennials, so year after year you can enjoy the beauty.

So what about these herbs you can actually eat? Well, there is anise. It's that black licorice taste you find in so many cough syrups. You can guess what it is for. There is also lobelia. It is also used as an expectorant. The more common name is Asthma Weed. Moving on to the B's, you have bergamont. I like this in a tea, just for relaxing. Any of you who favor Earl Gray must like it, too, because that is what gives the tea it's unique flavor. Yet no herbal cabinet it complete without burdock. This great little roadside greenery can be used internally and externally for eczema or psoriasis. Burdock is also great for clearing toxins out of the blood stream.

The list goes on and on. There are sites all over the internet explaining the benefits of herbal remedies, teas, and gardens. I guess I am just partial to the ones most people don't pay much attention to. Those great little weeds growing away in the ditch.