Lavender, Lavandula angustifolia

are not available, use Lamb’s Quarters Decoction on the skin as a wash or in a compress.

Dental Health and Tooth Decay:

Use a Lamb’s Quarter Decoction to treat tooth decay and bad breath. Apply a drop or two of the decoction directly onto the tooth or rinse the mouth with the liquid. It calms inflammation and pain. You can also chew on the raw leaves. Young goosefoot, 6th Happiness, CC by SA 3.0 Colds, Flu and General Illness: Serve lamb’s quarters as a vegetable when people have a cold or flu with respiratory problems. It functions as a mild analgesic to relieve body aches, induces perspiration to bring down fevers, and acts as an expectorant to help the body get rid of excess mucous. It also has anti-asthmatic properties and contains Vitamin C. Harvesting: Break off or prune the top two inches (5 cm) of shoots. The tops are more tender and less bitter. Choose plants from secluded places, away from roadways, industrial areas, and waste sites where they may pick up high levels of nitrates and other toxins. Wash the leaves before use.

Warning: Lamb’s quarter is an edible plant that has very little risk when used in moderate amounts. However, the plant does contain saponins in small quantities. Saponins are broken down by the cooking process. Like many green, leafy vegetables, it also contains oxalate crystals, which are not recommended in large amounts for people susceptible to kidney stones. Recipes. Lamb’s Quarter Decoction: Shred fresh lamb’s quarter leaves into small pieces and pack into a cup to measure. Place the leaves in a pot and add an equal measure of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Once the herbs are wilted, add more water only if needed to cover the herbs. Cool the decoction and strain out the leaves. Keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. (The leaves can be eaten if desired).

Common lavender belongs to the Lamiaceae (Mint) Family. It is also known as garden lavender, common lavender, narrow-leaved lavender, true lavender, or English lavender. Identification: Common lavender grows 1 to 3 feet (0.3m to 0.9meters) high in gardens. It has an irregular, erect, bluntly-quadrangular and multi-branched stem that is covered with a yellowish-grey bark, which comes off in flakes. It is covered with fine hairs. The leaves of lavender are opposite, entire, and linear. When young, they are white with dense hairs on both surfaces. When full grown, leaves are 1 1/2 inch-long (3.75 cm) and green, with scattered hairs on the upper leaf surface. The flowers grow in terminating, blunt spikes from young shoots on long stems. The spikes are composed of whorls of flowers, each having 6 to 10 flowers, and the lower whorls are more distant from one another. The flowers of lavender are very shortly stalked. The calyx of lavender is tubular and ribbed, purple-grey in color, 5-toothed (one tooth is longer than the others) and hairy. The shining oil glands amongst the hairs are visible through a lens. Most of the oil yielded by the flowers is contained in the glands on the calyx. The two-lipped corolla is a beautiful bluish-violet color. It mostly lives and prefers dry grassy slopes amongst rocks, in exposed, usually parched, hot rocky situations often on calcareous soils. While not

native to North America, it cultivates easily and spreads wild in many warm, dry areas. Edible Use: Several parts of lavender are edible including the leaves, flowering tips, and petals. They can be used as a condiment in salads and make a nice tea. Fresh lavender flowers can be added to ice creams, jams, and vinegars as a flavoring. Oil from the flowers is also used as a food flavoring. Medicinal Use: Medicinal uses are anti-anxiety, antiseptic, antispasmodic, bile-producing, diuretic, nervine, reduces gas, sedative, and stimulant. Aromatherapy: Lavender is an important relaxing herb, having a soothing and relaxing effect upon the nervous system. In most cases, all that is required is to breathe in the aroma from the oil. This relaxes the body, relieves stress, calms the nervous system, and eases headaches. The same effects can be achieved by adding whole fresh or dried flowers to the bathwater or placing the flowers under the pillowcase at bedtime. I add it to my First Aid Salve so that the aroma is calming to anyone injured who is using the salve. Aches and Pains: Its relaxing effects extend to the muscular system as well. A massage with lavender oil can calm throbbing muscles, relieve arthritis pain, ease and help heal sprains and strains, and relieve backaches and lumbago pain. The oil also contains analgesic compounds that help ease the pain from muscle related stress and injuries.

Kills Lice and Their Nits and Insect Repel-

lent: The essential oil of lavender nourishes the hair, gives it a nice shine, and makes it smell wonderful. It also helps keep the hair free from lice. Use the essential oil, diluted with a carrier oil such as coconut oil or olive oil, to coat the scalp and hair completely. Give it an hour to soak in and do its magic. Then wash away the oil and use your nit comb. From this point forward, add a drop or two of lavender oil to your shampoo or rinse water to keep lice away. Lavender oil is also an excellent, good-smelling insect repellent. Respiratory Problems: Lavender essential oil is an excellent treatment for respiratory problems of all kinds. This can include simple, everyday problems like colds, the flu, sore throats, coughs, and sinus congestion. It can also be used for more difficult and chronic respiratory issues like asthma, laryngitis, bronchitis, whooping cough, and tonsillitis. Apply it topically to the skin on the chest, neck, and under the nose where it will be easily breathed; or add it to a vaporizer or a pot of steaming water. The nicely scented steam opens the air passages and loosens phlegm while it kills the germs that cause the infection.

Urinary Tract Infections, Cystitis and Re-

tained Fluids: The diuretic effects of lavender help it to flush the body from excess fluids and toxins and relieve swellings that may be present. As the fluid is removed, the oil also exerts an antibiotic influence, which kills any underlying infection, and it removes toxins that may also be causing problems. Lowering Blood Pressure: Removing excess fluids help lower the blood pressure and reduce swellings of all kinds, and the relaxing effects of the lavender help get rid of stresses that may be contributing to the problem. Harvesting: I usually go out looking for Lavender when the weather is dry and there is no wind. The morning and evening are particularly favorable to gathering flowers because many of the oils are dissipated during the heat of the day. Cut lavender stems are cut at the base of the plant. Recipes. Lavender Tea: To make lavender tea, start with one teasapoon of dried lavender flowers or one tablespoon of fresh lavender flowers. Place in a tea pot and cover with one cup of boiling water. Cover the tea pot to keep it warm and allow the tea steep for 10 to 15 minutes to absorb the medicinal qualities. Strain it, and drink warm several times daily. Lavender Tincture: Ingredients: 1½ cups of chopped lavender flowers, stems, and leaves, 1-pint (500 ml)100 proof vodka or brandy. Place the lavender