Wild Rose hips

[Seventhsonjr]

One survival food that is everywhere is the small rose hips from wild roses.

I always need vitamin C and often can't afford the types with rose hips so I was pto discover that as a wild food source and source of vitamins this is a hugely abundant resource in the woods. The rose hips can be eaten whole (the seeds are apparently very good for you too) and they are not "hairy" like the huimungous rosehips that I see at or near the beach so often so you can just pop them in your mouth and yummy...


Apparently these "keep" pretty well throughout the winter on the bush so you don't necessarily need to colelct a lot and store them if you know where there are patches. But I do plan to collect a few pints or quarts and dry them for teas. When I wlk to my mailbox in the country (about a 1/4 mile walk) I usually pick a handful of autumn olives and then a smaller handfull of the rose hips (prickery though) and munch on them for a delightful snack while I meander looking for more wild things along my country route.

[chiggerbit]

Many people in this country have no clue what scurvy is, have little reason to know what causes it. Your rose hips are one source of vitamin c, 7th. So long as you eat enough of those, you shouldn't lose your teeth from a lack of vitamin c.

Here's Wiki on scurvy.

Scurvy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Scurvy

Scurvy (N.Lat. scorbutus) is a deficiency disease that results from insufficient intake of vitamin C, which is required for correct collagen synthesis in humans. The scientific name of vitamin C, ascorbic acid, is derived from the Latin name of scurvy, scorbutus. Scurvy leads to the formation of liver spots on the skin, spongy gums, and bleeding from all mucous membranes. The spots are most abundant on the thighs and legs, and a person with the ailment looks pale, feels depressed, and is partially immobilized. In advanced scurvy there are open, suppurating wounds and loss of teeth.

Scurvy was at one time common among sailors, pirates and others who were on ships that were out to sea longer than perishable fruits and vegetables could be stored and by soldiers who were similarly separated from these foods for extended periods. It was described by Hippocrates (c. 460 BC–c. 380 BC). Its cause and cure have been known in many native cultures since prehistory. For example, in 1536, the French explorer Jacques Cartier, exploring the St. Lawrence River, used the local natives' knowledge to save his men who were dying of scurvy. He boiled the needles of the arbor vitae tree (Eastern White Cedar) to make a tea that was later shown to contain 50 mg of vitamin C per 100 grams.[1][2] However it was a Scottish surgeon in the British Royal Navy, James Lind who first proved it could be treated with citrus fruit in experiments he described in his 1753 book, A Treatise of the Scurvy.....

[Brighid_Moon]

Pine needles in tea are also an easy, year-round, pretty-much-everywhere source of vitamin C as well.

Pine Needle Tea
Nature's Remedy Loaded with Vitamin C
by Leon Toille

It has been known for hundreds of years that a tea or broth made from hot water (do not boil) with 1/2 cup of pine needles is the cure for scurvy, and some varieties of pine produce a tea with more Vitamin C than is contained in 6 lemons! Let the tea steep for about two hours at least. Most pine needle teas are surprisingly not bitter...but if your tea a little bitter for your taste, add a little honey, preferably unpasteurized.

[...]

Almost any variety of pine needles will work - when they are fresh and green (don't dry them out). Scientists also say there are many medicinal ingredients in pine needles besides Vitamin C. I have also used fresh green cedar "leaves" as well.

[chiggerbit]

Dang, cedar tea, too? Eastern red cedar, or the western? I have LOADS of cedar trees, of the eastern type, actually a juniper, I think. I even call the homestead "Cedar Gully". I often thought about googling juniper berries, to see if they're good for anything. Aren't those berries used to flavor some kind of liquor?

[Brighid_Moon]

Haha! Yup! Gin!

[Seventhsonjr]

Haha! Yup! Gin!

Canker sores!

They apparently kill off the buggies that cause the herpes virus.

Canker sores stopp hurting immediately if you chew on a berry.

Folks sell 'em but I find 'em all over and keep a few around and figure they probably kill lots of stuff.

I have often wondered if the rich foiks' fondness for gin is what keeps them alive so long....

[chiggerbit]

Are the juniper berries anesthetic or do they actually promote healing, Seventhsonjr?

[Brighid_Moon]

Went ahead and looked this up, because I hadn't thought much about juniper berries before. I knew they were edible and used in gin and cooking but that was about it! You got my curiousity up!



Juniper Berries in cooking

Traditional Ethnic Uses
Juniper Berries are used in Northern Europe and the United States in marinades, roast pork, and sauerkraut. They enhance meat, stuffings, sausages, stews, and soups.

Juniper Berries Herbal

The berries are used for the production of the volatile oil which is a prime ingredient in Geneva or Hollands Gin, upon which its flavour and diuretic properties depend.

[...] [In this section it tells about ripened berries and how to make the oil]

Oil of Juniper is given as a diuretic, stomachic, and carminative in indigestion, flatulence, and diseases of the kidney and bladder. The oil mixed with lard is also used in veterinary practice as an application to exposed wounds and prevents irritation from flies.

Spirit of Juniper has properties resembling Oil of Turpentine: it is employed as a stimulating diuretic in cardiac and hepatic dropsy.

The chief use of Juniper is as an adjuvant to diuretics in dropsy depending on heart, liver or kidney disease. It imparts a violet odour to the urine, and large doses may cause irritation to the passages. An infusion of 1 oz. to 1 pint of boiling water may be taken in the course of twenty-four hours.

In France the berries have been used in chest complaints and in leucorrhoea, blenorrhoea, scrofula, etc. They are nut [sic] given in substance.

The oil is a local stimulant.

[...]

---Other Species---

Gum Juniper is a name of Sandarac, theresinous product of Thuja articulata or Callitris quadrivalvis.

From dry distillation of the branches and heartwood of Juniperus oxycedrus, the Prickly Cedar or Medlar Tree, a large shrub, 10 to 12 feet high, with brownish-black berries the size of a hazel nut, native of the south of France, and occasionally from that of J. communis, is obtained the tarry, empyreumatic oil known as Cade Oil, or Juniper Tar Oil, used in the treatment of the cutaneous diseases of animals in France and other Continental countries, and for most of the purposes of Oil of Turpentine. It is a readysolvent for chemical drugs and is used externally for chronic eczema as oil, ointment, and soap.

[...] the American Juniper of Bermuda, known also as Red Cedar and Pencil Cedar, is only an ornamental tree in Britain, introduced in 1864, and growing 40 to 50 feet high. [...]

Red Cedar Oil is an article of commerce, obtained from the wood by distillation from the chips and waste wood, from 15,000 to 20,000 lb. of oil being annually produced in the United States. It is used in the preparation of insecticides and also in making liniments and other medicinal preparations and perfumed soaps. It is used generally in perfumery and was formerly one of the principal constituents of the popular Extract of White Rose.

The berries in decoction are diaphoretic and emmenagogue, like those of Common Juniper, and the leaves have diuretic properties.

I believe the latter is what you're speaking of? We have alot of that up here, in NorCal... along with a crap-load of dying, diseased black oak that I'm highly allergic to.

The oaks are interesting due to their acorns, which contain tannen, which must be soaked out of them before they're edible. The Pomo tribes here had once used them for a staple in their diets.

But like I said, our oaks are dying... and I think I know why. Same reason I've been sick for an entire year now.

[chiggerbit]

http://ipm.uiuc.edu/diseases/series600/ ... index.html

Symptoms Click on image for larger version

Figure 1. Red oak -
symptoms of oak wilt.

RED-BLACK OAK GROUP (leaf lobes pointed): includes black, black jack, pin, red, scarlet, and shingle oak (Figure 2). The leaves in the top of an infected tree and the tips of the lateral branches discolor and wilt in late spring and early summer. The wilt symptoms progress downward and inward until all the foliage is affected. The leaves curl slightly and turn a dull pale-green, bronze, or tan starting at the margins. Defoliation may occur any time after the symptoms appear. By late summer, an infected tree is often bare of leaves.

[Seventhsonjr]

Are the juniper berries anesthetic or do they actually promote healing, Seventhsonjr?

All I know is that if I get a cold sore I chew on a berry or two I pick nearby and not only does the pain cease immediately but the sore seems to heal right up.

The research says it kills the virus that causes cold/canker sores.

Has worked every time I tried it.

[chiggerbit]

Interesting news about absinthe, wich has been banned here in the US for almost as century. It's being allowed back on the shelves, under certain circumstances, apparently. One of the ingredients is..juniper, although I'm not sure that it's the berries of the juniper.

http://www.nbc11.com/news/14784216/detail.html

ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Absinthe, a legendary liquor known for its use and abuse by major literary and artistic figures, is about to hit local store shelves.

An Alameda distillery has been given the green light by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau to sell its version of absinthe, NBC11's Jodi Hernandez reported.

VIDEO:Alameda Distillery Gets Government Go-Ahead For Absinthe | SLIDESHOW: Legendary Liquor, Absnithe, Coming To Bay Area

The drink has been banned for nearly a century because of its 120-proof potency, and fears about its herbal ingredients.


Government officials around the world have long suggested the drink has hallucinogenic properties.

In the early 20th century the drink was banned because officials said it "drove people mad."

Absinthe is a distilled, highly aclohlic anise-flavored spirit made from herbs, including the flowers and leaves of wormwood.

Absinthe is typically green or clear in color.

Absinthe was the drink of choice of 19th and 20th century artists and writers such as Vincent Van Gogh, Emile Zola, Edgar Degas, Edouard Manet, Oscar Wilde, Arthur Rimbaud, Ernest Hemmingway and Pablo Picasso.

Vincent Van Gough reportedly sliced off his ear while drinking it, and legend has it, the drink turned normal people into homicidal maniacs.

The liquid's so-called maddening qualities were never scientifically proven, Hernandez said.

The U.S. lifted the ban early this year.

The ban on absinthe has been lifted in several European countries as well.

But Alameda's St. George Spirits is the first U.S. company given approval to sell its formula, Hernandez said.

The brandy-based drink is made with nine locally grown herbs.

The drink won't appear on shelves until Dec. 21.




Herbal ingredients in absinthe:

http://www.absinthebuyersguide.com/herbs.html

Common
Wormwood Latin: Artemisia absinthium - It is a member of the daisey family Compositae (Asteraceae).
Use: Source of thujone, absinthe bitterness, produces the green color common in most absinthe.

This herb is easily obtainable at local nurseries and very easy to grow as an ornamental. American sage is a close relative of "common wormwood".

Star Anise Latin: Illicuim verum (also Illicuim floridanum and several other species) - It is a member of the magnolia family, Magnoiliaceae (also Illiaceae).
Use: Counters absinthe bitterness, enhanses the louche.

The plant is highly ornamental perennial and has showy white flowers that become the ornamental seed pod.

Anise Seed Latin: Illicuim verum (also Illicuim floridanum and several other species), for more info see "Star anise".
Use: Counters absinthe bitterness.

Fennel Seed Latin: Foeniculum vulgare - It is a member of the Apiaceae (Umbelliferae) family (parsley family).
Use: Counters absinthe bitterness.

The plant thrives in Mediterranean climates and the flowers are similar to those of the carrot, a flat "umbel".

Angelica Latin: Angelica archangelica (or A. litoralis) It is a member of the Apiaceae (Umbelliferae) family (parsley family).
Use: Counters absinthe bitterness.

It is found from the lands as far north as Finland and extends beyond the Mediterranean.

Hyssop Latin: Hyssopus officinalis - It is a member of the Lamiaceae (Mint) family.
Use: Adds freshness, and produces the green color common in most absinthe.

As with most members of the Mint family hyssop is very aromatic and is easily grown in the garden.

Licorice Latin: Glycyrrhiza glabra - It is a member of the Fabaceae (bean) family.
Use: Counters absinthe bitterness.

It is grown extensively in Russia, Spain, Iran and India. It is one of the most widely consumed herb in the world.

PepperMint Latin: Mentha x piperita - It is a member of the Lamiaceae (Mint) family.
Use: Adds minty freshness, and produces a vibrant green color.

Very easy groundcover to cultivate in fact can become quite invasive in the garden if left alone.


Coriander Latin: Coriandrum sativum - It is a member of the Apiaceae (Umbelliferae) family (parsley family).
Use: Counters absinthe bitterness.

The plant has been grown as a carrot-like perrenial.

Lemon Balm Latin: Melissa officinalis - It is a member of the Lamiaceae (Mint) family
Use: Used to add a lemon/citrus flavor.

Easy to grow as an ornamental ground cover.

Dittany Latin: Origanum dictamnus - It is a member of the Lamiaceae (Mint) family
Use: Counters absinthe bitterness.

Easy to grow, the same genus as oregano.

Juniper Latin: Any of several species in the genus Juniperus. A gymnosperm (coniferous, or "cone bearing" plants).
Use: Counters absinthe bitterness.

A very hardy hardwood perennial evergreen found in Mediteranian climates.

[Seventhsonjr]

awhile back and it gave me the scariest dreams I ever had...

It is extremely bitter ... but the key ingredient is wormwood - a variety of Artemesia which is a powerful medicinal herb that has over a hundred varieties. Supposed to be useful against malaria among other things. But very bitter.

I make my own herbal tinctures with grain alcohol (which saves a lot of money btw when you can buy herbs in bulk). Simple process to simply soak the herbs in the grain alcohol. Tinctures are usually ridiculously expensive at health food stores etc. But making your own is cheap and reliable and safe if you know what you are doing.Wormwood is a little hard to find --- but once you find it making your own absinthe is a cinch.

Problem is I have been too scared to try it again after the first time...

There is an interesting dreaming herb from mexico which helps with lucid dreaming (begins with Z. - something like zacetacheche) that I tried recently which was pleasant for the most part and the dreams vivid and memorable. I think it is banned in some states actually, but not where I am.

Also extremely bitter, though.

As they often say in the herbalist world: bitter herbs are healing herbs.

Thiunds like a decent product though - glad the ban is lifted and I might even try it one day. The reason for the ban was in part that adulterated and dyed and fake absinthe was killing people in France about a hundred years ago.

I suppose if you are a troubled soul, however, that any of these types of things could cause problems like Van Gogh. Ot maybe it was love....

[chiggerbit]

From the Richter's link that I posted in the seed/plant resources, wormwood varieties:

http://www.richters.com/Web_store/web_s ... 5833.12223

[chiggerbit]

I just saw a woman on Antique Road Show who had brought some artifacts to the show of a relative of the family who had gone to Alaska during the gold rush. He returned after two years, had contracted scurvy, died two years after returning home.