Tea (Camellia thea) is a small evergreen shrub cultivated to a height of 7 to 8 feet, but growing wild up to 30 feet high, much branched. The bark is rough & gray. Leaves are dark green, lanceolate or elliptical, on short stalks, blunt at apex, base tapering, margins shortly serrate, young leaves hairy, older leaves glabrous.
It was formerly supposed that black and green tea were the produce of distinct plants, but they are both prepared from the same plant.
Green tea is prepared by exposing the gathered leaves to the air until superfluous moisture is eliminated, when they are roasted over a brisk wood fire and continually stirred until they become moist and flaccid; after this they pass to the rolling table, and are rolled into balls and subjected to pressure which twists them and gets rid of the moisture; they are then shaken out on flat trays, again roasted over a slow and steady charcoal fire, and kept in rapid motion for an hour to an hour and a half, till they assume a dullish green color. After this they are winnowed, screened, and graded into different varieties.
With black tea, the gathered leaves are exposed to the air for a longer period, then gathered up and tossed until soft and flaccid, and after further exposure, roasted in an iron pan for about five minutes. After rolling and pressing, they are shaken out, exposed to the outer air for some hours, re-roasted for three or four minutes, re-rolled, spread out in baskets and exposed to the heat of a charcoal fire for five or six minutes and then rolled for the third time and again heated, and finally dried in baskets over charcoal fires, from which process they become black in color. China is the great tea-producing country, over four million acres of ground being devoted to its cultivation. In India also it is a very important product.
Tea has the following known constituents: caffeine (theine), tannin (10-20% gallotannic acid), boheic acid, volatile oil, aqueous extract, protein wax, resin, ash and theophylline.
Tea is considered a strong stimulant and astringent. Tea exerts a decided influence over the nervous system, generally evinced by a feeling of comfort and exhilaration; it also causes unnatural wakefulness when taken in quantity. Taken moderately by healthy individuals, it is harmless, but in excessive quantities it will produce unpleasant nervous and dyspeptic symptoms, the green variety being decidedly the more injurious.
Tea is rarely used as a medicine, but, the infusion is useful to relieve neuralgic headaches.
Tea Tree Oil is used extensively as a stimulant, antispasmodic, diaphoretic, expectorant, anti-microbial, and antiseptic. Tea Tree Oil, also known as Cajuput Oil, has been traditionally been used for colds, headaches, toothache, sore muscles, rheumatism, and numerous skin disorders. Other documented uses include cosmetic fragrances, antiseptic liniments, burn treatments, and vaginal infections. Be careful as large doses can be very poisonous. It is used against fungal infections also.
Thistle is the old English name - essentially the same in all kindred languages - for a large family of plants occurring chiefly in Europe and Asia, of which we have fourteen species in Great Britain, arranged under the botanical groups Carduus, Carlina, Onopordon and Carbenia, or Cnicus.
In agriculture, the Thistle is the recognized sign of untidiness and neglect, being found not so much in barren ground, as in good ground not properly cared for. It has always been a plant of ill repute among us; Shakespeare classes "rough Thistles" with "hateful Docks," and further back in the history of our race we read of the Thistle representing part of the primeval curse on the earth in general, and on man in particular.
Thistles will soon monopolize a large extent of country to the extinction of other plants, as they have done in parts of the American prairies, in Canada and British Columbia, and as they did in Australia, till a stringent Act of Parliament was passed, about twenty years ago, imposing heavy penalties upon all who neglected to destroy Thistles on their land, every man being now compelled to root out, within fourteen days, any Thistle that may lift up its head, Government inspectors being specially appointed to carry out the enforcement of the law.
A Thistle, however, that has been cultivated for several centuries in this country for its medicinal use is known as the Blessed or Holy Thistle. It is a handsome annual, a native of Southern Europe, occurring there in waste, stony, uncultivated places, but it grows more readily in England in cultivation.
It is said to have obtained its name from its high reputation as a heal-all, being supposed even to cure the plague. It is mentioned in all the treatises on the Plague, and especially by Thomas Brasbridge, who in 1578 published his Poore Man's Jewell, that is to say, "a Treatise of the Pestilence, unto which is annexed a declaration of the virtues of the herbs Carduus benedictus and Angelica."
Blessed Thistle contains a volatile oil, and a bitter, crystalline-neutral body called Cnicin (soluble in alcohol and slightly also in water) which is said to be analogous to salicin in its properties.
Blessed Thistle is considered a tonic, stimulant, diaphoretic, emetic and emmenagogue. In large doses, Blessed Thistle acts as a strong emetic, producing vomiting with little pain and inconvenience. Cold infusions in smaller draughts are valuable in weak and debilitated conditions of the stomach, and as a tonic, creating appetite and preventing sickness. The warm infusion - 1 oz. of the dried herb to a pint of boiling water - in doses of a wineglassful, forms in intermittent fevers one of the most useful diaphoretics to which employment can be given. The plant was at one time supposed to possess very great virtues against fevers of all kinds. It is said to have great power in the purification and circulation of the blood, and on this account strengthens the brain and the memory. The leaves, dried and powdered, are good for worms.
Blessed Thistle is chiefly used now for nursing mothers the warm infusion scarcely ever failing to procure a proper supply of milk. It is considered one of the best medicines which can be used for the purpose.
Many of the other Thistles may be used as substitutes for the Blessed Thistle. The seeds of the Milk Thistle (Carduus Marianus), known also as Silybum marianum, have similar properties and uses, and the Cotton Thistle, Melancholy Thistle, etc., have also been employed for like purposes.
The Marian, or Milk Thistle, is perhaps the most important medicinally among the members of this genus, to which all botanists do not, however, assign it, naming it Silybum Marianum. There is a tradition that the milk-white veins of the leaves originated in the milk of the Virgin which once fell upon a plant of Thistle, hence it was called Our Lady's Thistle, and the Latin name of the species has the same derivation.
The seeds of Milk Thistle are used nowadays for the same purpose as Blessed Thistle, and on this point John Evelyn wrote: "Disarmed of its prickles and boiled, it is worthy of esteem, and thought to be a great breeder of milk and proper diet for women who are nurses."
It is in popular use in Germany for curing jaundice and kindred biliary derangements. It also acts as a demulcent in catarrh and pleurisy. The decoction when applied externally is said to have proved beneficial in cases of cancer.
Gerard wrote of the Milk Thistle that: "the root if borne about one doth expel melancholy and remove all diseases connected therewith. . . . My opinion is that this is the best remedy that grows against all melancholy diseases," which was another way of saying that it had good action on the liver. The seeds were also formerly thought to cure hydrophobia.
Culpepper considered the Milk Thistle to be as efficient as Carduus benedictus for agues, and preventing and curing the infection of the plague, and also for removal of obstructions of the liver and spleen. He recommends the infusion of the fresh root and seeds, not only as good against jaundice, also for breaking and expelling stone and being good for dropsy when taken internally, but in addition, to be applied externally, with cloths, to the liver. With other writers, he recommends the young, tender plant (after removing the prickles) to be boiled and eaten in the spring as a blood cleanser.
A tincture is prepared by homeopaths for medicinal use from equal parts of the root and the seeds with the hull attached. It is said that the empirical nostrum, antiglaireux, of Count Mattaei, is prepared from this species of Thistle.
The Ancients supposed Scotch Thistle to be a specific in cancerous complaints, and in more modern times the juice is said to have been applied with good effect to cancers and ulcers. A decoction of the root is astringent and diminishes discharges from mucous membranes.
Carline Thistle's medicinal qualities appear to be very like those of Elecampane, it has diaphoretic action, and in large doses is purgative. The herb contains some resin and a volatile essential oil of a camphoraceous nature, like that of Elecampane, which has made it of use for similar purposes as a cordial and antiseptic.
The seeds of Common Star Thistle used to be made into powder and drunk in wine as a remedy for stone, and the powdered root was considered a cure for fistula and gravel.
Garden Thyme, also known as creeping thyme, mountain thyme, and wild thyme, a small shrubby plant with a strong, spicy taste and odor, is extensively cultivated in Europe and the U.S. for culinary use. The numerous quadrangular, procumbent, woody stems grow from 6 to 10 inches high and are finely hairy. Slightly downy on top and very downy underneath, the opposite, sessile leaves are ovate to lanceolate in shape and have slightly rolled edges. The small bluish-purple, two-lipped flowers are whorled in dense, head-like clusters, blooming from May to September.
Mother of thyme is generally a smaller plant than garden thyme, but the two have characteristics in common, including similar leaves and flowers as well as quadrangular, hairy stems. Mother of thyme, found in thickets and woods and along roadsides, is native to Europe and naturalized in North America. Its creeping stems have erect branches from 2 to 3 inches high, but some varieties under cultivation reach 3 feet in height. Its leaves are similar in shape to those of garden thyme, but they have short petioles and are not downy. The flowers, though smaller, are also similar in shape, color, arrangement on the plant, and time of bloom.
Properties and Uses (Garden thyme): Anthelmintic, antispasmodic, carminative, diaphoretic, expectorant, sedative. As a tincture, extract, or infusion, thyme is commonly used in throat and bronchial problems, including acute bronchitis, laryngitis, and whooping cough, and also for diarrhea, chronic gastritis, and lack of appetite. For coughs and spasmodic complaints, make the medication from the fresh plant. A warm infusion promotes perspiration and relieves flatulence and colic. Oil of thyme (thymol) has a powerful antiseptic action for which it is used in mouthwashes and toothpastes. Thymol is also effective against ascarids and hookworms. As a local irritant, it can be used externally for warts or to encourage the flow of blood to the surface. Thyme baths are said to be helpful for neurasthenia, rheumatic problems, paralysis, bruises, swellings, and sprains. A salve made from thyme can be used for shingles.
CAUTION: Excessive internal use of Garden thyme can lead to symptoms of poisoning and to over-stimulation of the thyroid gland.
Properties and Uses: (Mother of Thyme): Antispasmodic, carminative, expectorant, rubefacient, tonic. Mother of thyme is beneficial for respiratory problems, helping to clear mucous congestion from the lungs and respiratory passages. It makes a good tonic for the stomach and nerves, and is used for gastrointestinal problems such as mild gastritis, enteritis, stomach cramps, and painful menstruation. A bath additive made from the decoction stimulates the flow of blood toward the surface of the body and alleviates nervous exhaustion. An infusion of leaves is said to relieve the headache of a hangover. Used externally, alcoholic extracts are helpful for tumors, stab wounds, bruises, and rheumatism.
Mother of Thyme is also reputed to be useful in breaking the alcoholic habit by causing vomiting, diarrhea, sweating, thirst, and hunger, along with a revulsion for alcohol. This "cure" will probably have to be repeated several times, but usually at longer and longer intervals. Mother of thyme has also been recommended for chlorosis, anemia, and insomnia.
Turkey Rhubarb is considered a safe and simple purgative which has been used extensively to quickly empty the bowels with no after-constipation effects. It acts both as a laxative in cases of constipation, and as an astringent in cases of diarrhea. Turkey rhubarb has also been shown to improve appetite, increase salivary & gastric flow, and promote healthy liver function & bile flow. In small doses, it is considered stomachic and tonic.
Turmeric is an essential flavoring spice of Indian and other cuisine. The Turmeric rhizome provides the typical yellow color of many curry dishes and helps to make the food more digestible. Turmeric has been used for arthritis, high cholesterol, digestion, liver protection, and obesity. Turmeric also possesses anti-fungal and antibacterial properties.
Turmeric contains curcumin and an essential oil (turmerone, zingiberins). Curcumin increases the secretion of bile by stimulating the bile duct. Curcumin also protects the liver by detoxification, stimulating the gall bladder and scavenging free radicals. In conjunction with the adrenal glands, it inhibits both platelet aggregation and the enzymes which induce inflammatory prostaglandins. Curcumin may also help break down fats and reduce cholesterol
Caution: Large doses not recommended in cases of painful gallstones, obstructive jaundice, acute bilious colic and extremely toxic liver disorders.
