Native Healers. Anita Ralph
as you do more tastings through your training, and on into practice.
Here are some of our tasting notes from tasting nettle to give you an idea the process.
Nettle tea tasting notes: Example A
What does it smell like?
Slightly chewy. Green. Mild. A hint of citrus but more complex.
What does it taste like?
Warming and drying. Slightly sweet and slightly salty. Tastes like it has a lot of body. Supportive. Cleansing. Softer after 5 minutes. Reminds me of a very thin syrup.
Where is it going?
Pelvis and eyes.
How is it getting there?
Diffusing. Like smoke.
Nettle tea tasting notes: Example B
What does it smell like?
Warm, nutrient, spicy, cooking potatoes, apple-sharp notes, dark, earthy.
What does it taste like?
Soft smooth, pleasant, food-like, mineral, earthy, cooked/boiled vegetables.
Where is it going?
Everywhere! Very slowly works its way everywhere. I am aware of all parts of my physical body that help with balance, my ears, shoulders, hips, hands and feet. Also aware of my skin and my internal organs especially in my mid-back.
How is it getting there?
Still, solid, strong but light (not heavy), calm, balanced.
Note: Nettle. Nettles have adapted their leaves to create hairs known as trichomes that are modified epidermal cells consisting of a bulb filled with formic acid. This is the irritant we all recognise from handling Urtica dioica L.
Nettle leaves in frost.
Nettles need no description, they may be found by feeling, on the darkest night.
—Nicholas Culpeper18
Conclusion
Many herbalists use this sensorial method, or something similar when dispensing their tinctures or making a medicine for a patient. It forms part of our pharmacognosy—the ability to confirm the identity of the commercial product as it arrives, macroscopically, and microscopically. It may be that a dried herb looks a little pale, or brownish on delivery, but using a trusted sense of smell or taste will alert you to any problems with your herbal material, as well as remind you why you love a particular herb.
We hope you have enjoyed this introduction to plants, their anatomy and compounds. Please see the book listed under Further Recommended Reading, which you will find under the Bibliography at the end of this chapter, if you would like to find out more about botany via an easy to use text. We intended to have set the scene for how plants form such a fundamental place as food and also as medicine. The compounds they contain can, and have been, studied independently because medicinal plants have so many identifiable compounds that have profoundly positive activity in human physiology. We also hope to bring you back to the whole. After looking at some of the key components such as tannins, mucilages, oils and saponins, we wish to keep hold of that interconnectedness between us, and nature: how we might trust our experience and our senses to explore and get to know common medicinal plants as wholes. We hope you have enjoyed trying out our tea tasting with one of the plants suggested. May this develop your own capacity to deepen your relationship with yourself and with herbal medicine. The feeling is the medicine!
Bibliography
Abraham, David, The Spell of the Sensuous. Penguin, 1996: Random House.
Brooke, Elisabeth, Women Healers Through History. 1993: The Women's Press.
Buhner, S. H., The Secret Teachings of Plants: In the Direct Perception of Nature. 2004: Bear and Company.
Mills, S., Out of the Earth: The Essential Book of Herbal Medicine. 1991: Penguin Books.
Pelikan, Wilhelm, Healing Plants I and II Insights Through Spiritual Science. 2012: Mercury Press.
Sutton, D., Kingfisher Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of Britain and Northern Europe. 1992: Kingfisher Books (cost effective quick guide).
Streeter, D., C. Hart-Davies, A. Hardcastle and L. Harper, Collins Wild Flower Guide. 2nd ed. 2016: William Collins (ideal for committed naturalists).
Watson, Lyall, Supernature: A Natural History of the Supernatural. 1993: Hodder & Stoughton.
Young, P., The Botany Coloring Book. 1999: Collins Reference.
Further Recommended Reading
Botany in a Day: The patterns method of plant identification. Thomas J. Elpel. 6.1 Edition. Jan 2018. MT, Hops Press.
References
1Grigson, G., The Englishman's Flora. 1975: Paladin Books.
2Colquhoun, M. and A. Ewald, New Eyes For Plants: A Workbook for Observing and Drawing Plants. 2002: Hawthorn Press.
3Blamey, M. and C. Grey-Wilson, Wild Flowers of Britain and Northern Europe. 2003: Cassell.
4Trease, G. E. and W. C. Evans, Pharmacognosy. 14th ed. 1989: WB Saunders Company.
5Barker, J., The Medicinal Flora of Britain and Northwestern Europe. 2001: Winter Press.
6Edwards, S. E. et al., Phytopharmacy: An Evidence-Based Guide to Herbal Medicinal Products. 2015: Wiley Blackwell.
7Chokotho, L. and E. van Hasselt, The use of tannins in the local treatment of burn wounds—a pilot study. Malawi Med J, 2005. 17(1): pp. 19–20.
8Pengelly, A., The Constituents of Medicinal Plants: An Introduction to the Chemistry and Therapeutics of Herbal Medicine. 2nd ed. 2004: CABI Publishing.
9Odongo, C. O. et al., Chewing-stick practices using plants with anti-streptococcal activity in a Ugandan rural community. Front Pharmacol, 2011. 2: p. 13.
10Untergehrer, M. et al., Identification of phase-II metabolites from human serum samples after oral intake of a willow bark extract. Phytomedicine, 2018. 57: pp. 396–402.
11Mills, S., Out Of The Earth: The Essential Book of Herbal Medicine. 1991: Penguin Books.
12Ullman, M., Islamic Medicine. 1997: Edinburgh University Press.
13Evans, W. C., Trease and Evans’ Pharmacognosy. 14th ed. 1999: W. B. Saunders.
14Gaddam, A. et al., Role of Fenugreek in the prevention of type 2 diabetes mellitus in prediabetes. Journal of Diabetes & Metabolic Disorders, 2015. 14(74).
15Rao, A. et al., Testofen, a specialised Trigonella foenum-graecum seed extract reduces age-related symptoms of androgen decrease, increases testosterone levels and improves sexual function in healthy aging males in a double-blind randomised clinical study. Aging Male, 2016. 19(2).
16Fazel, N. et al., Effects of Anethum graveolens L. (Dill) essential oil on the intensity of retained intestinal gas, flatulence and pain after cesarean section: A randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial. Journal of Herbal Medicine, 2017. 8: pp. 8–13.
17Mirmolaeea, S. T. et al., Evaluating the effects of Dill (Anethum graveolens) seed on the duration of active phase and intensity of labour pain. Journal of Herbal Medicine., 2014. 5(1): pp. 26–29.
18Culpeper, N., Culpeper's Complete Herbal. 1995: Wordsworth Press.
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