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Herb Garden

A Medicinal Herb Garden is a term often used to describe reference resources useful for medics, herbalists, and botanists of all levels, and serving as a basic guidance for the general public, not as a source for cultivation, consumption, or substitution of a medical treatment or a guide to self-medication.

Online Herb Gardens provide objective information including monographs with a brief summary for each herb and photographs. On-land Herb Gardens offers the same, but approaching nature. The Bonnefont Cloister in New York is an example of an Herb Garden dating from the late 13th century, containing more than 250 species of plants which were grown during the middle Ages.

The following are just a few examples of Herb Gardens monographs:

Arnica (Arnica chamissonis)

Also known as North American Arnica is a perennial plant, lanky habit, growing to approximately 30 to 60 cm in height, and has yellow daisy-like flowers.

Preparations of Arnica are used externally for sunburns, superficial and limited burns, and diaper rashes. Arnica drugs consist of the dried capitulum's.

Roman Chamomile (Chamaemelum Nobile)

Also known as Roman chamomile, chamomile, Manzanilla, lawn chamomile or Anthemis nobilis, is a perennial plant found in dry fields and around gardens and cultivated grounds native to Western Europe, the Azores and North Africa, but also as an escape from cultivation in North America. Flowers in June to August consisting of a prominent yellow solid central disk and silver white rays. The fruit is an achene.

Used medicinally by the ancient Egyptians, the plant has anti-inflammatory activity and antispasmodic effect. The part used is the flower in aromatic, cosmetic, culinary, decorative, and medicinal industry, baths and skin lotions, hair treatments, teas and other products.

German chamomile (Matricaria recutita)

Also known as Bodegold or chamomilla recutita and sometimes mistakenly called Matricaria chamomilla. This is a sweet-scented annual plant native to Europe and western Asia that grows up to 60 cm. Found wild along roadsides, in fields and cultivated in gardens. The white ray-flowers are often bent down to make the disk-flowers even more prominent.

The medicinal part is the flower. As a tea, it is used for lumbago, rheumatic problems, insomnia, and rashes, tending to reduce inflammation and to facilitate bowel movement without acting directly as a purgative. Used as a wash or compress for skin problems and inflammations, including inflammations of mucous tissue. As a vapor it is used to alleviate cold symptoms or asthma, and as a salve it can be used for hemorrhoids and wounds. German chamomile is also used in shampoos to bring out highlights in blond hair and as additive in liqueurs such as Benedictine, or aromatic bitters.

Valerian (Valeriana officinalis)

Is a perennial plant, native to Europe and the temperate zones of Asia, common in damp woods, ditches, and along rivers, grows up to 90 to 120 cm in height. The fresh root has a mop like appearance.

Valerian oil is used in the flavor, fragrance and pharmaceutical industries. The principle compounds of medicinal interest are said to be valepotriates which is supposed to have sedative and anti-spasmolytic effects used for centuries to treat restlessness and nervous disturbances in sleep. The dried roots are used in drug preparations.

Soapwort (Saponaria officinalis L.)

Also known as Soapwort, bouncing bet is a perennial plant native of Southern Europe, also found as a weed spreads via underground stolons. Leaves are dark green and three-nerved.

Self-fertile flowers are pink with five notched petals.

Boiling the whole plant soap can be obtained so it is used as a gentle effective cleaner. The root can be tried for later use in preparations used externally to treat itchy skin.

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

Also known as yarrow, milfoil, woundwort, field hop. Asteraceae is a perennial plant found all over the world in waste places, fields, meadows, pastures, and along roadsides and railroad embankments. Leaflets are sharply cleft, fernlike foliage and flowers from June to October, white pinkish rays and yellow disks turning to brown, arranged in convex or flat compound corymbs.

Tea of yarrow is used for stomach problems. The plant contains compounds that inhibit seed germination and have sex-pheromone qualities antispasmodic, astringent, antibacterial proven mosquito repellent. Flower and leaves are used in bitters and vermouth, approved by the FDA for use in alcoholic beverages.

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