- This topic has 34 replies, 11 voices, and was last updated 10 months, 2 weeks ago by .
-
Posts
-
-
Sharon
Does Rabbitbrush: Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus – have any medicinal value? I have heard for a while now that if you have a yard full of “X”, then your body must have a present or future use for “X”! I would say that I have a “love/hate” relationship with that plant, but honestly I’ve only got half of it down pat – that plant is my nemesis – but if it was useful, I could learn to have a much deeper respect for it!
Same story for Yucca and Prickly Pear. What 3 plants are the main things in my yard? The 3 I dislike the most. I have researched and researched, but cannot find medicinal or other health uses for any of these three. Ok, well, if I wanted to “de-thorn” the prickly pear, I could eat the pads – but honestly, I’m not THAT hungry! The Yucca dislikes me as much as I do it – every time I walk near it, I swear it jumps out to stab me in the leg!
I did discover that Russian sage: Salvia yangii (previously: Perovskia atriplicifolia) – relieves cold symptoms, fever reducer and relieves indigestion, anti-inflammatory, and clears clogged sinuses.<span class=”Apple-converted-space”> </span>A decoction of the plant’s leaves and flowers has been considered an anti-diabetic medication and a treatment for dysentery, antiparasitic and painkiller. ** It would be nice if the internet was right on this plant. I have 2 half gallon jars of the pretty flowers that I dried before the plant took its winter vacation.
-
Paige
I have been using one of Doc Jones formulas on my dog with joint and back pain. He said that the Yucca was similar to prednisone without the side effects. My dog is doing well, so I just planted some. I assume you live in the West somewhere. I am on the East not familiar with those plants, but saw them when I was out in Arizona.
Best.
PMR
2 users thanked author for this post.
-
Hey Paige, I would be greatly interested in knowing how to use this prickly pain in the leg! The flowers are beautiful, and I’ve heard that they make great soap (which I’ve never done). If you are in the east, a tip for you would be NEVER, EVER water it! We live in the desert where it rarely rains and they are very healthy, happy, and prolific. You’ll get enough rain to drown it, so don’t water it! Anyway, if you know HOW to use this medicinally, I would love to know more. Thanks!
-
-
Amy Rochelle
Well, what a coincidence! This is my first time on the student forum and I just happened to look into Rubber Rabbitbrush last week because it grows EVERYWHERE where I live (high desert, Eastern OR/WA area) and I just had to know what it was! I did a search as well and only found one source that mentioned any medicinal uses. (REDACTED By Auto-Moderator Robot)>
3 users thanked author for this post.
-
Amy, that is an interesting coincidence – though I don’t think mine is the rubber one. Now since they have died off for the winter, I’ll have to wait till they flower again for a true ID. I would LOVE it if the flowers would be medicinal for us since there are zillions of them around me, and when they go to seed, I get ten zillion of the darn things (you cannot drag a hose around them at all!) – so having a reason to cut the flowers before we get all the wind blown seeds is a good thing. And forget the roots, our ground is like concrete that has been poured over and around loads of really big rocks. One can forget harvesting roots of anything here!
-
Ann Agent
Amy, I’ve been living in Eastern WA for 13 yrs and I’ve never heard of Rabbitbush! So, now I need to go look it up! Maybe I have it all over my 10 acres and I’m clueless. Always something new to learn, that’s for sure!
Liberty or Freedom? Know the difference!
-
Ann, I would almost be positive that you don’t have any. Rabbit Brush is a desert plant. Unless your climate is vastly different than I think it is, it loves the DRY desert climate… Honestly though, personal opinion, you don’t want this nasty bush! I don’t. If you want to come to Colorado, bring a shovel and have fun, I have more than enough for a small army!
-
We are in a high desert area of NE Washington. So yes, its likely growing — I looked on Wikipedia to see images. We do have plants that look something like it, but I’ve only looked at them from a distance and I didn’t take the time to get pictures and work to identify what it is. I’ll have to do this next fall (This yellowing flowered bush was blooming in late Sept into October all along our gravel roadsides.)
Liberty or Freedom? Know the difference!
-
-
-
-
Dr. Patrick Jones
I haven’t used rabbit brush. Yucca and prickly pear are both really good for stuff. Yucca root is very like prednisone without the negative side effects. Prickly pear is good for burns and bites and helps lower blood sugar. The flower, fruit and leaf (is it a leaf? You know the pokey green part? The Pad?) are edible. :0)
Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.
4 users thanked author for this post.
-
Any great tips on using those pokey things without getting stuck? Maybe some “shortcuts” that don’t involve getting stabbed? So your amazing information sources don’t tell you about the rabbit brush (flowers preferably)? How about Russian Sage flowers, Aster flowers, or Hollyhock flowers? Any great info on any of them? Thanks for your amazing mind you share with the rest of us! I don’t have enough to share with anyone. Hubby seems to be getting some dementia, and I don’t know what to do for him – I surely can’t share my piddly brain with him. If there are some herbs with great results in that arena, I’d be thrilled.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
Have a look at the Nervous System lesson in the Body Systems section. We talk about dementia there.
Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
I will check out the “dementia” section. But it looks like prickly pear is a flat no for me. Hubby can’t see much at all, scar tissue on the macula, and my vision isn’t good enough to deal with little thorns and such on the yard plants. In case you missed this question, I’ll repost it: What uses are there for Russian Sage flowers, Aster flowers, or Hollyhock flowers? Thanks as always!
-
For Russian sage, I use the whole plant. The leaf is vastly better than the flower.
Hollyhock flowers are similar in effect to the leaf and root (though not as strong as the root) and are also good diuretics.
Aster is good for a lot of things. Mostly respiratory stuff and gut stuff… I haven’t used it.
Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
For Russian sage, I assume then that the “internet” description of the benefits of the plant I originally copied is correct. For tincturing, I have a half gallon mason jar full, and there’s only 18 grams in there! How best to tincture these pretty flowers (I didn’t get leaves last season, but will this coming summer)? Obviously this one won’t be a 1:5 tincture! (But then neither is my Bee Balm which is at a 1:9 right now…)
Hollyhock flowers: thank you for that info. I have to be happy with the aerial parts on anything I grow – I can only have 1 or 2 of each type plant in my tiny garden, so pulling them up for roots is not practical (I’ll have to buy all root products).
I forgot to ask about my odd Barberry plant. It is “supposed” to be an Orange Rocket, but has never had a flower or berry. So at the end of the season when the leaves were literally starting to fall off, I gathered up what I could without too much bleeding, and dried the leaves. Is there any good in them? I know most remedies with Barberry usually use the berries, but I think I must have a boy plant!
Thanks as always Doc, you are such a blessing to me – to be able to ask someone who actually knows the answers is priceless to me! 🙂
-
Russian sage leaf is the best part. I wouldn’t spend the money and energy just tincturing flowers.
Barberry leaf probably isn’t worth the effort either. You want the root.
Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
Thanks Doc. Are the flowers worth anything at all if I add leaves, or just let the rabbits have them, and go for leaves next season? If I take the leaves off, won’t that affect the flowers? And when is the best time to take leaves off – before, during, or after flowers bloom? The bees LOVE those flowers!
-
The best time to harvest Russian sage is when it’s in full flower. Just don’t throw the leaves away.
Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.
-
I’m confused. Did you mean not to throw the flowers away? You had said the leaves are the medicine, so I would of course use those. The flowers last a LONG time, so I’m thinking that harvesting leaves “just” after the flowers come on. I’m just concerned that stripping a lot of leaves while it’s flowering would affect the beautiful flowers! You are just SOOOO helpful to us all 🙂
-
When I harvest Russian sage I’m using scissors and cutting off stems which are then stripped of leaves and flowers. I don’t separate them and do use it all, but the leaf is much stronger.
Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
Oh so good to know that I won’t have to toss out the powdered flowers. I’ll just keep that and add about the same amount of leave next season and mix it. If you take a whole stem and do leaves and flowers, I would think one would get a lot more flowers than leaves just because that’s what it looks like in bloom (unless I’m remembering wrong…).
-
-
-
-
-
-
JENNIFER COATS
To deal with prickly pear cactus around here most people just make a fire (could be in your fireplace!) Grab the pad with a long pair of metal tongs and give them a quick roast. Burns all the stickers off!. For gathering them I’d grab some pruning sheers and those same long tongs.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
-
-
-
-
Michelle Koch
Michael Moore, in his book, “Medicinal Herbs of the Mountain West,” addresses rabbit brush, but calls it “Escoba de la Vibora,” and lists several of its other common names. He said “Escoba” is strongly anti-inflammatory, and excellent when steeped as a tea, added to a hot bath for soaking sore, arthritic joints. You can drink the tea too, but it is “obnoxious.” Michael Moore tells the story of how his indigenous neighbors would come into his shop to purchase the bundles in the winter, expressing personal disgruntlement at not having harvested enough themselves to get through the season. One major contraindication he mentions (and maybe Patrick can confirm this) is that rabbit brush is an abortifacent in ruminents (it will make momma cattle and sheep miscarry), and as such, should not be taken by pregnant humans either, just to be safe.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
Thanks Michelle – I’m still hunting online for the “how” with Moore’s use of Rabbit Brush. Leaves, flowers, or roots (God forbid – as the roots are like an oak tree!). It seems every time I go off looking for that, I get distracted with another plant for some other use (chasing rabbits when looking for rabbit brush – funny, not funny!).
-
-
Don’t worry, Sharon, I got you: just harvest the flowers and the leafy greens, anywhere above where the stems get woody. That’s the best part – take the BEST part of Escoba. 😉 The best time to do this is when it’s in bloom, in the summer.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
Thanks Michelle – now I have less of a reason to hate that plant! It is not a friendly plant here. Other than a great anti-inflammatory (which I could use now if I had known this last summer), what is it really good for? I wonder if it’s as good as Yucca root since it would be A LOT easier to harvest. Where are you finding this hard to find info? I’ve hunted and hunted for information on Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus with very little useful data! Do you think vodka will be ok for the fresh flowers and “leaves” (such as they are…) or would I need more like 60-75%? You are very, very helpful my herbal friend!
-
Michelle – I did find this, but it NEEDS TRANSLATION (LOL!) – A phytochemical investigation of the aerial parts of Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus var. viscidiflorus afforded three new [chrysothol (1), 2 and 4] and seven known compounds, including five sesquiterpenes, two cinnamic acid derivatives, two ketoalcohol derivatives and one coumarin glucoside. The structures of two previously reported compounds, 1b and 1c, were revised on the basis of chemical reaction. Structures of the compounds were determined by extensive NMR studies, including DEPT, COSY, NOE, HMQC, HMBC and X-ray analysis. The unpublished X-ray data of the known compounds 6 and 7 are reported. Compounds chrysothol (1), and 8-10 showed anti-cancer activity against human breast cancer cells. (Pubmed/NIH) [doesn’t say if it is root, leaves, or flowers]. Also saw references to it being antifungal, anticancer, and antimalarial.
Those would be nice to have also. But I’m afraid I don’t “speak” the language that was written in!!
-
-
Okay, I just reviewed my book, and did a little Google search, and it turns out, I was confusing Chrysothamnus, aka “rabbit brush” with Gutierrezia, aka “broom snakeweed.” They do look very similar, lol. Incidentally, both species are native to the region, and not considered a “noxious weed,” though they certainly are very prolific! And it looks as though both species may have very good anti-inflammatory properties, though they do not have identical compounds.
This is actually a good lesson to learn, and a good reminder: there are a lot of look-a-likes in the plant world, some of which are actually quite toxic and can make a person very dead, so it is important to know with absolute certainty what we are harvesting.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
Michelle, thanks for double checking the Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus. Did your book have any good specific info on my plant? I’m still looking for info, but keep getting distracted with other plant and info on them! Rabbit brush should be a perfect plant for me since I “chase rabbits” constantly in conversations and research! You don’t even want to know how many tabs I have open at one time!! I think I need professional help LOL!
-
-
Hi Sharon,
The late (and great) Michael Moore does not mention rabbit brush in either of the books I have, however, I did read several blog pages, written by not only botanists and herbalists, but also governments entities, describing the various assumed properties of the plant, and the traditional and religious uses by indigenous peoples, historically. It would seem (like many often over-looked native plants), that rabbit brush was basically regarded as a catch-all, “good for what ales ya” plant, used to treat anything from fevers and coughs to cut fingers, as well as warding off evil spirits. Coincidentally, the same exact thing was said about snakebroom, lol – with the addition that snakebroom was also used to treat snakebites, imagine that!
I say… go get you some rabbit brush, and make a liniment or lotion out of it, with the addition of several other wonderful companions, and you might design a very effective “achey balm.”
2 users thanked author for this post.
-
Sounds like a plan – thanks for all your help!
-
-
Carolyn Mazarakis
Hello! I’m brand new here and just happened to land in this wonderful conversation. Being a desert dweller in NM, these too are my plants and my questions. However, the prickly pear dilemma was one I resolved to address this past summer, and I believe I have it at least halfway figured out. The drought we had this summer stunted everything except the prickly pear fruit. My little property was dotted with stunning and huge deep purple fruit that dwarfed this year’s tiny peaches, as well as smaller, pinker ones from a different variety, and I was determined that it was now or never to figure out how to salvage this wonderful “gnowflglins” (“God’s natural, organic, whole food, grown locally, in season”).
A passing driver gave me a thumb’s up as I was out gathering them, and then she stopped to say she put them directly in her freezer and then took them out as needed for margaritas. She said that freezing rendered the smaller needles harmless, and she gave them a good shake in a bag together to dislodge the large ones beforehand. She said that they dripped as they thawed, and for her it was a relatively hands-off process to collect the juice. So a few of mine went into the freezer….
Other people singe the needles off, but having neither burner nor patience to do that with a candle, I tried the other method of simply shaking them around in a box and letting them rub off each others’ needles. Then I scrubbed them (I wore regular dish gloves). That seemed to work. One batch I blanched as well, both to experience the process as well as to be on the safe side, and then I attempted to peel them by hand — tedious! Another batch I hand peeled without the blanching — equally tedious and with little difference between blanched and unblanched. All of these ultimately wound up in my hand-crank food mill, which created a lovely puree that was drinkable or could be strained further. The blanched batch was thickened a little from the heat and demonstrated how easily it would thicken into jelly.
I then tried blending some of the cleaned, raw fruit in the Vita Mix and then letting it drip slowly through a strainer, which seemed a waste of time in comparison with the food mill’s quick work. So the remaining boxes of fruit were simply shaken against each other, scrubbed a little and rinsed, dumped into the food mill, and cranked into raw puree. This was for me the quickest, easiest, and preferred method.
I dehydrated some puree at 105, as they say it makes terrific seasoning and the nutrition remains. Some became ice cubes for later use, and the rest we drank. It took me a few days to fully appreciate it, after which I began to crave it. Adding a touch of orange and stevia made it perfect. With just the scrubbing and food mill, I never noticed any needles, and after several months there have been no ill effects ;).
Hope this helps, and I hope I haven’t broken any rules of forum etiquette due to the sheer length of this essay! I’m so thrilled to be part of this program and blessed! Onward to Rabbitbrush, Russian Sage, and prickly pear pads once I find the fortitude for another round of experimentation! Thank you so much.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
Pat Swatek
Carolyn, thank you for your detailed account of how you have processed and used prickly pear flowers. I live in Arizona and have a large prickly pear in my front yard. I have picked the flowers but have never been very industrious as far as using them. I did hold them over my gas stove burner with tongs to burn the little hairs off which did work but wasn’t sure what to do with them from there. I will try your methods next time it flowers. I also have a tall saguaro in my front yard that has beautiful flowers at the top but way too tall to pick them before the birds decimate the fruit part.
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
-
Dalia Smith
I love prickly pear fruit. I juice them in my steam juicer and the juice makes a beautiful jelly. I don’t have to worry about any spines, since I don’t peel them, I just juice them.
The yucca flowers are completely edible. They have a lovely texture that is great in scrambled eggs. If you want to batter them and fry them, they are amazing that way, too.
I was told that rabbitbrush was a type of wormwood, but I never looked it up. Thank you all for info about that.
-
I looked up the rabbit brush. Thanks for giving the common name. I had been told that sagebrush was also called rabbit brush, but it turns out they are different things. I love reading all these posts that make me think deeply about info I hadn’t questioned before. Sage brush IS a type of wormwood, Artemisia tridentata. When I’m out and about, I will try to tell the difference in what I’m seeing. I’m sure I’ve seen both in my area.
There is so much to learn! My head is swimming in Latin.
-
-
mantheymw@hotmail.com
We are in the Oregon Outback (high desert) and have 80 acres of rabbit brush and sage brush. We are beekeepers, and I’m not sure what they were foraging on, but we got the most exquisite honey every! It was very much like caramel. I suspected it may have been the rabbit brush. So, if that’s the case, you could get some bees. 😉
-
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.