Flowers and Medicine
Flowers and medicine have been linked together throughout history for thousands of years. Some flower medicines are as old as time some are still being perfected to this very day.
Many different flower species off different remedies to different illnesses. Below is a list of flowers that are used in medicine.
Passiflora: The passiflora (aka the passion flower) is a type of flower from the passiflora ceae family which has over 200 species within it. Some of the family are climbers whilst some which grow become bushy and some are leafy. Most of these species are ornamental there are a few members of this family which are grown for cooking and medical purposes. The most familiar flower which is grown for cooking purposes is the passion flowers. Most of the passiflora have a unique flower build which requires a big bee to pollinate it, in tropic America, wooden poles are built near the flowers in order to encourage the bee to make a hive there and to pollinate the near by flowers.
Meadowsweet: Meadowsweet is a very common wild flower which grows in Europe and some parts of Asia. The top of the flower is used for making tinkture. Essences from the filipendula flower have show an antiulcer activity in a variety of experimental ulcer processes amongst them also ones that have been caused by aspirin and ethanol.
Echinacea: Echinacea is one of the best selling medical flowers in the United States of America. The species originate from native Indian culture. However most of the research on the flower is done in Germany and not the United States. The western settlers in America learned of the Echinacea from the Indians but in Germany the flower only became popular in the 20th century. The echinacea was first used by the Indians to treat snake bites and because the of this the root has the nickname “Snake Root”.
Gentian Flower: The Gentian flower originated in the mountain areas of Europe. It is widely thought to be one of the most bitterly tasting plants ever found and because of this it is used as a modern herbal medicine as a digestion stimulator. The medicinal use of this flowers lies in its roots. There are no known side effects to this treatment but over dosing may cause nausea and in some rare cases regurgitation.