as much as we like to know what a plant is ‘good for’, we would not even dream of asking that about one of our fellow human beings. when seeking a relationship with plants, i find it is best to approach them with an open mind and an open heart, full of curiosity as well as respect.
plants have much to teach us, if we will only listen.
chamomile, Matricaria chamomilla (formerly recutita)
chamomile is one of the safest and well-known medicinal herbs around. most of us have had a cup of chamomile tea at some point in our lives. her calming scent and mildly bitter taste help us digest our food and sleep well at night. topically, she soothes inflammation and calms redness. chamomile is one of my favorite go-to remedies. i always have a jar of chamomile flowers in my pantry - and you should too!
if you are inclined to, definitely grow this happy little flower in your garden. in more temperate regions, she will happily reseed herself!
yarrow, Achillea milefolium
yarrow is another wonderfully safe herb that works so beautifully in topical applications. the leaves and the flowers carry loads of volatile oils that give it its distinct scent. if your salve has a green tinge to it, yarrow oil is probably the reason.
yarrow is often used in landscaping with flower colors varying from yellow to red and everything in between. the white flowered yarrow are the wild form and they appear to be the only medicinal form. though some may disagree.
mullein, Verbascum thapsis
the whole mullein plant has medicinal properties. i mostly infuse the flowers into oil. (no doubt you’ve heard of mullein oil for ear aches.) this is a soft and gentle plant that is surprisingly strong (you’ll know this if you’ve ever tried to pull one out of the ground!).
a biennial plant, she puts out a lovely rosette of leaves the first year and then throws up a very tall flower stalk in her second year. after that she dies. but in her lifetime she’ll create so many seeds that we will never have to be without mullein!
chaparral, Larrea tridentata
chaparral is a desert medicine that was known to hold within her leaves and branches a cure for almost everything that can ail you. her medicinal powers are, indeed, very strong. if you’ve ever been in the deserts of the southwest after it rains, you’ve no doubt smelled the scent of this amazing plant. and whenever i make an oil from her leaves, i am instantly transported to my first home and the scent of healing in the air.
chaparral can take over many acres of the desert and keep other plants from growing near her, especially in areas where there is very little rainfall. this special talent is called allelopathy, and there are other plants that can do this when resources are scarce.
southwestern cosmos, Cosmos parviflorus
cosmos, like many of the flowers in the Asteraceae plant family, can aid in the healing of acute injuries. if the tissues are too cold to bring blood flow to the wound, it will warm them up. and i like cosmos because it offers gentle warmth (versus arnica which will bring heat).
where i live, these are the last flowers to bloom before the autumn sets in. during summers when we have very little rain, they don’t make much of a show of it, but when there are ample monsoons, look out! they are one of my favorite flowers.
sunflower, Helianthus annuus
who doesn’t love a sunflower? and if you’ve never seen a field of giant sunflowers with their faces up worshipping the sun, then you are missing out. it is quite a thing to witness.
i like to use sunflower oil as a base for my infused oils when i’m working with dried plant material. it is so mild in color and scent that it allows for the colors and scents of the plants to shine through. and the oil itself offers it’s own medicine as it is anti-inflammatory, wound-healing, and safe for all skin types.