The Lost Book of Herbal Remedies of shock, menstrual pain, muscular pain, joints pain, and colic.
Warts: Apply the white sap to the skin as a treatment for external warts. Cover the wart with sap once or twice a day until the wart is gone.
Warning: Use with caution as it has a sedative effect. Do not overdose.
Harvesting: Collect the leaves and stems in the
which are its primary medicinal components, similar to Chicory (also in this book). Older plants have higher concentrations of sap, especially while the plant is just beginning to bloom. Best to use the sap after it dries or use a tincture form to make full use of its medicinal compounds.
Insomnia and Sedative: The sedative properties of wild lettuce come from the milky sap that runs through the stems and leaves. It calms restlessness and anxiety and induces sleep without being addictive.
Pain Relief and Shock: Wild lettuce has also been called opium lettuce because of its weak opium-like effects. Used in small doses, it has a sedative and painrelieving effect without causing the stomach upset and high of a true opium. It is also helpful in the treatment
Wild Teasel, Dipsacus sylvestris/ fullonum
summer when the plant is just starting to bloom for maximum medicinal properties. Even better is to simply collect the milky sap directly into a small glass jar. This is more time-consuming but gives you the most concentrated dose. The sap turns brown and hardens when dry. Older plants are best. Leave behind enough of the plant so that it will recover.
Recipes. Wild Lettuce Tincture: You will need: vodka, brandy or other 80 proof alcohol, fresh or dried wild lettuce leaves. Fill a clean, sterile, glass jar with chopped fresh milky leaves or use 2 ounces (56g) of dried wild lettuce per cup of alcohol. You may also use the sap. Cover the herbs with vodka or other drinkable alcohol. Stir the herbs to remove air bubbles. Move the container to a cool, dark place and allow the tincture to steep for 3 to 4 weeks, shaking daily. Strain out the herbs and discard. Store in a cool, dark place for up to 5 years.
Identification: Teasel is a biennial herbaceous
Also known as Fuller’s Teasel, Wild Teasel, or Common Teasel, this plant grows throughout most of the United States and coastal Canada. It is listed as a noxious weed in many states, but it has many good uses. Teasel grows in large patches, crowding out other plants once established. In the fall, it attracts large flocks of birds, who use the seeds as a winter food source. It likes to grow along stream banks, roadsides, pastureland, prairies, meadows, savannas, and woodland borders. It is a water loving plant that grows in a variety of soils including sandy soils in moist areas and heavy clay in poorly drained areas. It is in the Caprifoliaceae, the honeysuckle family. 146
plant. It has lance shaped leaves and grows from 3 to 8 feet in height. The first-year leaves form a rosette at the base of the stem with the flower stem emerging from the center in the second year. Each leaf is 8 to 16 inches (20 cm-40 cm) long and 1 to 2.5 inches (2.5 cm to 6 cm) across. The underside of the leaf has a row of spines along the midrib and the stems are also covered in small spines. The plant has a two-year
