A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Herbal Winter Health

Since it is that time of year again, I thought I would bring up a couple of Herbal Recipes for a couple of very good herbal preparations...One if for a tea called Flu Brew and the other is called Gotta Have a Cup..which can be found in this old topic Here

Comfrey, is boneset the same thing as comfrey?
I bought the prettiest herb today-new to me.
It's pineapple sage, with red flowers and a beautiful sweet pineapple-y scent.
It says it's a tender perennial, which for out here means perennial if protected from frost. No problem, it's planted in a clay pot already. A big one.
I love it !

Well no it is not really...it has been refered to as boneset or rather knitbone So it could be confusing if someone was using an old name:

Comfrey- Symphytum officinale- Common names:Common Comfrey,Knitbone, Knitback, Consound, Blackwort, Bruisewort, Slippery Root, Boneset, Yalluc (Saxon), Gum plant, Consolida, & *** Ear.
This plant is a member of the Borage and Forget-me-not tribe, Boraginaceae.

Boneset-Eupatorium perfoliatum- Boneset's leaves are its most distinctive feature -- they have a wrinkled texture, and pairs of leaves are united at the base. Boneset leaves were once used in bandages for broken bones, since the appearance of the joined leaves gave people the idea that the plant would be helpful for rejoining broken bones.

It is of the Aster (Asteraceae) Family

That's a lot of herbs in those recipes! Some of the herbs are pretty powerful, medicinally. And a lot of the herbs duplicate efforts with regard to their medicinal properties.

I've always been taught that you use "simples" - one or two herbs, maximum, until you find out what your reaction will be to each herb.

With that said, I would definitely leave out the horehound in the first recipe. :p YUCK! :p Maybe try marshmallow or slippery elm instead...

Second recipe - Plan on being inside for the night - there are three sedatives in that mix! If you find that they aren't relaxing you as much as you need, replace all three (chamomile, catnip & hops) with one part valerian. Be warned, though, the valerian smells ODD! (also be warned - some people have very bad reactions to the sedatives)

Sorry, didn't mean to hijack...just don't want to see someone hurt themself with the herbs. Most people don't realize how powerful some of them are.

Thanks, but I never drink herb teas or make infusions and all that.
My love for herbs is the fragrance, the history, etc.
However, I never could get past the taste. YUCK.
Even lemon verbena tea isn't all that good.
I of course use culinary herbs all the time !
I mean that the teas and medicinals are not something I ingest.

Comfrey, thanks so much for explaining !