Botanical Name: Saponaria officinalis. Other Common Names: Soapweed, bouncing bet, wild sweet William, Fuller’s herb, lady’s washbowl, leatherwork, hierba jabonera (Spanish), saponaire (French), Echtes Seifenkraut (German), såpnejlika (Swedish), þvottajurt (Icelandic), rohtosuopayrtti (Finnish), sæbeurt (Danish), såpeurt (Norwegian). Habitat: Soapwort is originally native to Southern and Central Europe, Asia Minor and Western Siberia. However, the plant has […]
Medicinal Herb Profiles
Cornflower – Medicinal Uses and Side Effects
Botanical Name: Centaurea cyanus. Other Common Names: Bachelor’s button, blueblow, blue cap, blue poppy, bluebonnets, bluebottle, hurtsickle, kornblomst (Danish), Kornblume (German), blåklint (Swedish), Kornblom (Norwegian), kornblóm (Icelandic), azulejo (Spanish), bleuet, casse lunette (French), ruiskaunokki (Finnish). Habitat: Originating in Mediterranean Europe and Western Asia, cornflowers must have entered Great Britain sometime during the Iron Age, where […]
Lesser Periwinkle – Medicinal Uses and Benefits
Botanical Name: Vinca minor. The closely related species greater periwinkle (Vinca major), a much larger plant, is used in a similar manner in herbal medicine and has the same medicinal properties as lesser periwinkle. Other Common Names: Common and dwarf periwinkle, vinca, running-myrtle, blue buttons, devil’s eye, joy on the ground, sorcerer’s violet, pervinca minore […]
Summer Savory – Health Benefits and Herb Uses
Botanical Name: Satureja hortensis. Other Common Names: Garden savory, ajedrea de jardin (Spanish), hsiang po ho (Chinese), Bohnenkraut (German), sarriette des jardins (French), sommersar (Norwegian), sommarkynde (Swedish), sar (Danish), Kesäkynteli (Finnish). Habitat: Summer savory is probably native to the eastern Mediterranean and countries around the Black Sea. It is widely cultivated as a spice and […]
Fumitory – Herbal Uses and Benefits
Botanical Name for Fumitory: Fumaria officinalis. One of the plant’s English common name “earth smoke” is a direct translation of the old Latin name of the plant, “fumes terrae”. It refers to the shape and color the plant’s gray-blue haze foliage which can from afar resemble smoke rising from the ground. Other Common Names: Common […]
Pheasant’s Eye Herb Uses and Toxicity
Botanical Name: Adonis vernalis. The plant genus that pheasant’s eye belongs to is named after Adonis, a young man of great beauty which according to Greek mythology was loved by the goddess Aphrodite. When he was killed by a wild boar it caused Aphrodite great sorrow and according to legend, her tears were transformed into […]