Herbal Ally Challenge~ 2011

My herbalist friend Kristine (of Herbal Roots Zine) is hosting an Herbal Ally Challenge over on her blog for the year of 2011! Such awesomeness! Come join the fun!

I have decided to start the challenges and try to catch up on the 6 that I missed. If i can do 2 a week for the next 6 weeks I will be all caught up, so that's my goal!

Off to start my journal cover & read the rest of the challenges.

My ally is blue vervain! I'll be back to write about her some more later. :)

Spilanthes (Acmella oleracea)

Spilanthes is a fairly new herb to me. I was only introduced to it about 2 years ago by my man who was growing it in his garden at the time we met. I was taken right away by the unusual flowers and have remained intrigued!

So far I have tried the fresh plant (flowers) and also a spilanthes/chamomile mead that our friends made. OMG yum,yum! But woweee! What a kick!

All I really knew about spilanthes is that it was the "toothache herb" but now I am delving a little further into other maladies it could be useful in treating.

I have recently purchased the tincture from some local herbalists for fighting infections. (to keep on hand after a bout of mastitis & sinus stuff) but so far I have not had reason to use it! Anxious to see how it works as I was told it is really good for knocking out the sickies! Plus it is safe for nursing moms so that is what sold me!

It can be made into a poultice, tincture, infusion or even infused into an oil. The whole plant is use-able but is specific to the ailment and what treatment is being administered.

So, besides being a great herb for toothaches, I have done a little preliminary research and it seems spilanthes can be useful for treating the following;


-bacteria infections of the skin

-wounds

-ringworm

-sore throat

-nausea

-can be used as a laxative

-can be used to treat dystentery (inflammation of the intestine/colon)

-can help stimulate the appetite

-intestinal parasites

-kidney stones

-gas & stomach upsets

-topically for smoothing and preventing wrinkles (touted as natural botox by some sources!)

-immune boosting and can be used in conjunction with echinacea with good results

-antiviral

-gum tonic

-and as I mentioned previously it's most common known use is for toothache caused by cavities/decayed tooth. It is also good for any swelling of the gums.


Wow. I had no idea what a versatile plant this really was until now! Looking forward to working with it some more in the coming months so I will be writing more about spilanthes!

If you have had any experiences using spilanthes and want to share I'd really love to hear about them. Leave me a comment or you can send me an email at; aprilmoonflower@gmail.com

um, happy new year? (update on me!)

Wow, is it really February already? Having a baby (kid #3) has sure thrown me off my herbal learning course! We are also moving April 1st so that will further throw me for a loop! I can't wait until the snow melts so I can plan/plant some large herb gardens at our new place! Going to start seeds soon! = ) It is going to be totally awesome and 4 acres to play with!

Sadly, I have had to drop the "Magic and Medicine of Plants" course. Really bummed about that but I was just so far behind! Hoping to sign back up for it again next year! I am really excited to have made some new "herbie" friends though through the course so it wasn't a total loss! (the first & only lesson i did was really good too) the course was just way more in depth than I had anticipated though. My bad! I hate having to quit things!

Otherwise I am *finally* starting coming along on the SWSBM coursework.

The herbal study group is still in the planning stages! Since I am moving I am going to have to move the location obviously. Our new house is not very ideal in my opinion as it's kinda in the boonies. Which leads me to my current dilemma! Where!?! Decisions, decisions..I really want to make this work but logistics are screwing with me and I haven't lived here long enough to know the surrounding areas well (or rather the area we are moving too an hour away!). Maybe I will start with the online study group first in the meantime? hmm..need to think on this some more!

Anyway..

My world has been a whirlwind the last few months and my heart wrapped around this little sweet pea's finger! I am just so in love with my babe that I am very preoccupied at the moment..so please bear with me a little longer here as I gather myself together. I am slowly returning to earth and the real world!

Peace~April xo

PS) I am going to start the goody bag giveaway's back up sometime in March so stay tuned! :)