What are your favorite medicinal weeds and why?

gardneto76

I am still learning that most of the “weeds” growing in my yard are edible and or medicinal! I want to know what if your favorite medicinal plant you like to harvest from your yard and why?

So far my favorite is calendula, which I planted, to make calendula oils and salves with. I have prickly lettuce growing all over, which I plan to make a pain relieving tincture with.

judsoncarroll4

Dandelions and plantains, definitely - whole yards full of tasty greens and medicine

Torey

Can't wait to hear about weeds from around the world! Chickweed is abundant in my garden and is a good food as well as medicine. I add it to healing salves. Plantain, again because it is good in salves but also for first aid bush medicine. Lamb's quarters (aka Pigweed) comes up in almost everyone's gardens and is very nutritious (and its close relative, Strawberry Blite). Wild Chamomile (Matricaria discoidea) was a favourite of my kids when they were young. Red Clover is wonderful for women's health and makes a good tea. Eyebright is a weed here and I like having a tincture of it on hand. And, of course, there is Mullein. Such great medicine!

Linda Bittle

Dandelion, plantain, chickweed, as others have said. I have a little corner of wild violets. There's a huge yellow dock that I harvested seeds from to make dock seed crackers, but never got around to looking up the recipe. I have a bunch of pretty blue chicory in the ditch, but I don't care for roasted chicory, so I just let it bloom and enjoy the pretty flowers.

When I was a kid, we ate a lot of early spring greens, but I wasn't too interested then, and now all the great aunts and the grandparents are gone...

solarnoon.aspen

Pantain and dandelions for the rabbits, for us, mullein and lemon balm volunteered. Also, borage and mallow. So many good ones around tht grow with NO help from us. LOL, seems to me the exotic tomatoes, peppers etc. take lots of work. Wonder why we spend so much time with the 'aliens'.

herbantherapy

While I use a lot of my weeds in food and medicine naming a favorite is HARD! But if I HAVE to name one it will be comfrey. While I would not recommend eating it (controversy aside, mature leaves are prickly like a kiwi fruit). I love how quickly it will pull out a sliver (I get them all too often!) and stops bleeding immediately. It makes a wonderful poultice with very little material but it’s a huge beautiful plant. And my herb beds absolutely love the nutritious mulch it creates at the end of the season, I just lay those big leaves over my herb beds in the fall, they breakdown and are part of the soil at spring planting.

The second one, though I planted cultivars, can grow wild where I am at is the great elderberry. Beautiful tree/shrub, creates a beautiful tasty medical syrup and provides habitat for birds.

blevinandwomba

Well, I can pick a favorite, because even though I have a wide variety of medicinal weeds, I haven't experimented with them much. Yarrow has been my friend several times when I've cut myself. It really helps stop the bleeding.

Obiora E

@gardneto76 For me its Dandelion, Purple Deadnettle, Violet, Redbuds, Purslane, Yellow Sorrel. I like the taste of them, they are nutritious and also have other medicinal benefits too. I also like putting them into salads, cooking with them, including making jellies, teas, and even mead!

csinclair461

I have chickweed, cleavers, cranesbill, dandilion, wild mustard, sow thistle, fireweed, california poppy, and nipplewort all growing in my yard, wild and free. I found a single st johns wort last summer, and hope it multiplies. Sadly, I probably won’t be here to see it, as our house is for sale. I have been harvesting what I can, and gathering the usnea that falls from the trees. I was only able to name the dandilion and california poppy when I moved in 7 years ago. At that time, I knew about dandilion’s benefits, but wasn’t harvesting it on my own. I have learned so much!

Scott Sexton

Ooh. That's a good question. I'd better limit myself to 3, or I'd be stuck here a while.

1) Plantain - because I taught one of my sons to make poultices with it as we treated a staff infection on his foot.

2) Chickweed - My young daughter is prone to high fevers whenever she gets sick. But she likes the taste of her "star flower tea" and it helps to bring the fever down.

3) Elderberry - We all love homemade elderberry syrup and gummies.

Okay, one more. Dandelion. We really enjoy a spicy dandelion mocha on a cold winter day.

SherryA

Dandelion and wild lettuce are my favorites. What I call wild lettuce is probably the same as your prickly lettuce. I make tincture from it, which works very well for pain. There are all kinds of wonderful things to do with dandelion, of course.

Nettles would be on my list but I can't find any around where I live now. When I lived in the Pacific NW we would harvest gallons of nettles.

Megan Venturella

Yarrow is far and away my favorite herb. It grows everywhere here and I've used it as a spit poultice on some really bad bleeding gashes. They healed with nothing else applied again- no scab, no scar, no infection. It made me a believer.

gardneto76

All of your comments are just so inspiring to me! @judsoncarroll4 sadly we don’t seem to have many dandelions around here. I hear many people comment on how they miss seeing them. If you have any ideas on how we could re-introduce them that would be awesome. @torey I just discovered chickweed in my yard! I am so excited. How do you use it other than eating it fresh? @Scott Sexton mentioned making a tea, do you just use the flowers? I have not seen any flowers yet. @herbantherapy I wish I had an elderberry tree. I hear they can grow here, now I just need to build a microclimate it could survive in. i never thought to make mead with them @Obiora E . @csinclair461 how do you use the cransebill? I had some growing last year but didn’t know what to do with it, so I left it alone. @figsagee yes wild lettuce and prickly lettuce are the same thing. As a kid I was afraid of nettles but now as an adult, I wish I could find more of them. The closest I have found around here is varieties of thistle.

Torey

@gardneto76 Chickweed can be infused into an oil (use the whole fresh plant, letting it wilt for a few hours to remove some of the moisture) and made into a salve on its own or with other herbs in a combination, Chickweed is a refrigerant so it has cooling properties making an excellent addition to diaper rash cremes or for soothing any kind of hot, inflammatory skin issues. I have combined it with plantain, calendula and mullein in a salve that works well for minor wounds, skin irritations/rashes and bug bites. I have also used it as one of the ingredients in lip balms. Chickweed moves the lymph. It can be used fresh in a poultice over sore, inflamed eyes. It is also mildly diuretic and laxative so will help with constipation. This is a link to Rosalee de la Foret's page on Chickweed. https://www.herbalremediesadvice.org/chickweed-herb-uses.html and a link to Susun Weed's perspective. http://www.susunweed.com/herbal_ezine/May08/healingwise.htm Enjoy your chickweed! It will be months before I get any fresh.

csinclair461

@gardneto76 I get about 4-5 leaves (and their stems) and toss them in smoothie or salad, or just eat them fresh. I have some dried ones to toss in a tea or smoothie. Personally, I love the smell/taste of them, which indicates to me they are something I benefit from. They have so many negative names (stinky bob) so some people dislike the smell. I have to keep refreshing my memory on all the things they are good for. I have a couple varieties, one called Roberts herb, and another I believe is shiny geranium. I use the roberts herb. It oxygenates cells, has tannins (astringent), good for liver, gallbladder, sores - I have to look it up again and keep re-reading what its good for, as the list is a bit overpowering, like so many other herbs.

Obiora E

@gardneto76 Yes a mead can be made with a variety of fruit, vegetables, herbs, spices. One inspiration for me with experimentation is Sandor Katz's "Wild Fermentation" book. I forget to mention too herbal granita. It is similar to Italian ice and is pretty simple to make and delicious!

I see someone mentioned Yarrow and I forgot to mention it. I love Yarrow and now that I know that it's edible too and not just medicinal I plan to eat more of it this year! I ate some late last year and I enjoyed the flavor and can't wait to see what I do with it this year.

judsoncarroll4

@gardneto76 You can grow dandelions from seed, in garden soil - they will naturalize them selves as the seeds spread on the wind. Give them partial shade so they don't bold and turn bitter too early

Torey

@gardneto76 Cranesbill (aka Wild Geranium, Herb Robert) are astringent, anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory. Good for diarrhea or as a wash for oozing wounds. It is good for the gallbladder, bladder and kidneys, helping to prevent stones. Chewing leaves is supposed to help relieve toothaches and a tea can be used as a gargle for sore throats.

gardneto76

@torey I really need to see if I can find the cranesbill again and let if grow! I have had 4 stones a few years ago and would prefer not to repeat that. @judsoncarroll4 I think that is my issue, I live in the valley and it gets pretty warm here. I have many relatives of the dandelion but no true dandelions. I will have to look for some seeds to try adding them. @Obiora E thanks for the book recommendation, I will have to look for that.

gardneto76

Anyone know how I can use henbit? It is coming up everywhere in the yard!

blevinandwomba

@gardneto76 you mentioned dandelions and nettles- Mountain Rose herbs sells seeds for them

https://www.mountainroseherbs.com/catalog/home-goods/herb-seeds

Torey

@gardneto76\ Henbit is not something I am personally familiar with so I can't attest to the flavour but the leaves are edible raw or cooked. henbit has diaphoretic properties and has been used as a febrifuge. I am not familiar with henbit so I had to look it up to see what it is. I found this site that has recipes as well as info.

https://www.specialtyproduce.com/produce/Henbit_14559.php

gardneto76

@torey I found that sight late last night. I am excited to try it in my scrambled eggs. I wonder how strong of a diaphoretic it is? Worried I will be running to the rest room a lot at work! Although I bet it is great for flushing things out like colds or sinus issues.

Torey

@gardneto76 While it does list laxative amongst its properties, it says it is a gentle laxative but also an astringent. So I wouldn't worry about it too much. Try it in small doses to see how it affects you. After all, most spring greens are supposed to have a bit of that "clean you out after winter" effect.

Obiora E

@gardneto76 You are welcome. I had henbit last year but I don't recall how it tasted. I think the flowers were a little more tastier than the leaves. I had it raw (by itself).

Karin

Oooh which one to pick! I have so many, but I suppose yarrow is my favourite as whenever I see its lovely white lace flowers my heart gives a little leap of joy :)

csinclair461

@gardneto76 ’I have many relatives of the dandelion but no true dandelions’.

dandelion relatives are edible too, although some are more bitter, and cats ear is all fuzzy. I was comforted when I was getting to know my ‘weeds’ that there are no poisonous look-alikes to the dandilion.

Desiree

Oh this is hard! I have so many favorites. Last year it was mullein blossoms for earache oil; plantain and self heal for salves; chickweed for munching, sage for eating, tincturing and smudge sticks; lemon balm, beebalm, peppermint/spearmint, rose petals and hips, lavender and hibiscus for teas; cottonwood buds in oil for all kinds of healing; calendula for lotion and bath as well as for munching; pine needles for cleaning vinegars; hawthorn berries for heart tonic tincture; willow bark tincture for pain. Then of course my fire cider, elecampane honey and elderberry remedies (my elders are only eight inches tall so I have to buy my berries). And that's only part of my apothecary.

seeker.nancy - Central Texas

Growing wild in my yard and property are dandelions, henbit and what I believe is chickweed (still need to positively ID it). The previous owners kept it mowed flat and did not plant trees because he didn't want to mow around them(or so I was told). I've been adding one's that should grow native here such as yarrow, skullcap, comfrey, and more. My favs are dandelion, comfrey, and mullien (which I hope comes up this year). But skullcap is great for nerves and sleep! I want to grow ALL the herbs lol 😂

gardneto76

@torey its a diaphoretic which means it will make you empty your bladder a lot. I already do that more than most as I fell I have a tiny bladder 🤣

Torey

@gardneto76 Diaphoretic means to bring on a sweat. Diuretic is to help you empty your bladder.