Aniseed
The Anise (Pimpinella), from bipenella, because of its
secondary, feather-like leaflets, belongs to the umbelliferous
plants, and is cultivated in our gardens; but its aromatic seeds
chiefly come from Germany. The careful housewife will do well
always to have a [25] supply of this most useful Simple closely
bottled in her store cupboard. The herb is a variety of the Burnet
Saxifrage, and yields an essential oil of a fi
make the essence of Aniseed one part of the oil should be mixed
with four parts of spirit of wine. This oil, by its chemical basis,
anethol, represents the medicinal properties of the plant. It has a
special influence on the bronchial tubes to encourage expectoration,
particularly with children. For infantile catarrh, after
its first feverish stage, Aniseed tea is very useful. It should be
made by pouring half-a-pint of boiling water on two teaspoonfuls
of the seeds, bruised in a mortar, and given when cold in doses of
one, two, or three teaspoonfuls, according to the age of the child.
For the relief of flatulent stomach-ache, whether in children or in
adults, from five to fifteen drops of the essence may be given on a
lump of sugar, or mixed with two dessertspoonfuls of hot water.
Gerard says: The Aniseed helpeth the yeoxing, or hicket
(hiccough), and should be given to young children to eat which are
like to have the falling sickness, or to such as have it by patrimony
or succession. The odd literary mistake has been sometimes made
of regarding Aniseed as a plural noun: thus, in The Englishman's
Doctor, it is said, Some anny seeds be sweet, and some bitter.
An old epithet of the Anise was, Solamen intestinorum--The
comforter of the bowels. The Germans have an almost superstitious
belief in the medicinal virtues of Aniseed, and all their
ordinary household bread is plentifully flavoured with the
whole seeds. The mustaceoe, or spiced cakes of the Romans,
introduced at the close of a rich entertainment, to prevent
indigestion, consisted of meal, with anise, cummin, and other
aromatics used for staying putrescence or fermentation within the
[26] intestines. Such a cake was commonly brought in at the end
of a marriage feast; and hence the bridecake of modern times has taken
its origin, though the result of eating this is rather to provoke
dyspepsia than to prevent it. Formerly, in the East, these seeds
were in use as part payment of taxes: Ye pay tithe of mint, anise
[dill?], and cummin! The oil destroys lice and the itch insect, for
which purpose it may be mixed with lard or spermaceti as an
ointment. The seed has been used for smoking, so as to promote
expectoration.
Besides containing the volatile oil, Aniseed yields phosphates,
malates, gum, and a resin. The leaves, if applied externally, will
help to remove freckles; and, Let me tell you this, says a
practical writer of the present day, if you are suffering from
bronchitis, with attacks of spasmodic asthma, just send for a bottle
of the liqueur called 'Anisette,' and take a dram of it with a little
water. You will find it an immediate palliative; you will cease
barking like Cerberus; you will be soothed, and go to sleep.--
Experto crede! I have been bronchitic and asthmatic for twenty
years, and have never known an alleviative so immediately
efficacious as 'Anisette.'
For the restlessness of languid digestion, a dose of essence of
Aniseed in hot water at bedtime is much to be commended. In the
Paregoric Elixir, or Compound Tincture of Camphor, prescribed
as a sedative cordial by doctors (and containing some opium),
the oil of Anise is also included--thirty drops in a pint of
the tincture. This oil is of capital service as a bait for mice.
More
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Anise (pimpinella Anisum Linn)
... Balm (melissa Officinalis Linn)
... Basil (ocimum Basilicum Linn And O Minimum Linn)
... Blooms Anew Among The Sages
TTITLE CULINARY HERBS DEFINED It may be said that sweet or culinary herbs are those annual, biennial or perennial plants whose green parts, tender roots or ripe seeds have an aromatic flavor and fragrance, due either to a volatile oil or t... Can Wash The Balm From An Anointed King
As a useful plant it received attention from the pen of Pliny. From its home it has been introduced by man as a garden plant into nearly all temperate climates throughout the world, and is often found as an escape from gardens where introduced--occa... Caraway (carum Carui Linn)
... Catnip (nepeta Cataria Linn)
... Chervil (scandix Cerefolium Linn)
... Clary (salvia Sclarea Linn)
... Coriander (coriandrum Sativum Linn)
... Cumin Or Cummin (cuminum Cyminum Linn)
... Dill (anethum Graveolens Linn)
... Fennel (foeniculum Officinale Linn)
... Horehound (marrubium Vulgare Linn)
... Hyssop (hyssopus Vulgaris Linn)
... Lavender (lavandula Vera D C; L Spica D C)
These plants, which are mostly natives of mild climates of the old world, are characterized by having square stems; opposite, simple leaves and branches; and more or less two-lipped flowers which appear in the axils of the leaves, occasionally alone... Lovage (levisticum Officinale Koch)
... Packs Up And Shuts Her Gaudy Shop
--John Cleveland "On Phillis Walking before Sunrise" "Youth! Youth! how buoyant are thy hopes! They turn Like marigolds toward the sunny side," --Jean Ingelow "The Four Bridges" TTITLE Marjora... Parsley (carum Petroselinum Benth And Hook)
... Pennyroyal (mentha Pulegium Linn)
... Peppermint (mentha Piperita Linn)
... Rosemary (rosmarinus Officinalis Linn)
... Sage (salvia Officinalis Linn)
... Samphire (crithmum Maritimum Linn)
Like the members of the preceding group, the species of the Umbelliferae are principally natives of mild climates of the old world, but many of them extend farther north into the cold parts of the continent, even beyond the Arctic Circle in some cas... Savory (satureia Hortensis Linn)
... Savory Winter (satureia Montana Linn)
... Spearmint (mentha Spicata Linn Or M Viridis Linn)
... These Again Shall Rise Shall Live The Coming Year
--Moschus Description.--Like most biennials, parsley develops only a rosette of leaves during the first year. These leaves are dark green, long stalked and divided two or three times into ovate, wedge-shaped segments, and each division ... Thyme (thymus Vulgaris Linn)
Marjoram (Origanum Marjoram; O. Onites, Linn.; and ... A Dinner Of Herbs
In an article published in American Agriculturist, Dora M. Morrell says: "There is an inference that a dinner of herbs is rather a poor thing, one not to be chosen as a pleasure. Perhaps it might be if it came daily, but, for once in a while, try ... Acorn
This is the well-known fruit of our British Oak, to Which tree it gives the name--Aik, or Eik, Oak. The Acorn was esteemed by Dioscorides, and other old authors, for its supposed medicinal virtues. As an article of food it is not known to have be... Agrimony
The Agrimony is a Simple well known to all country folk, and abundant throughout England in the fields and woods, as a popular domestic medicinal herb. It belongs to the Rose order of plants, and blossoms from June to September with small yellow flo... Anemone (wood)
The Wood Anemone, or medicinal English Pulsatilla, with its lovely pink white petals, and drooping blossoms, is one of our best known and most beautiful spring flowers. Herbalists do not distinguish it virtually from the silky-haired Anemone Pulsati... Angelica
(Archangelica officinalis, Hoffm.) a biennial or perennial herb of the natural order Umbelliferae, so called from its supposed medicinal qualities. It is believed to be a native of Syria, from whence it has spread to many cool European climates, e... Angelica (also Called Master-wort)
The wild Angelica grows commonly throughout England in wet places as an umbelliferous plant, with a tall hollow stem, out of which boys like to make pipes. It is purple, furrowed, and downy, bearing white flowers tinged with pink. But the herb is no... Anise
(Pimpinella Anisum, Linn.), an annual herb of the natural order Umbelliferae. It is a native of southwestern Asia, northern Africa and south-eastern Europe, whence it has been introduced by man throughout the Mediterranean region, into Germany, and ... Aniseed
The Anise (Pimpinella), from bipenella, because of its secondary, feather-like leaflets, belongs to the umbelliferous plants, and is cultivated in our gardens; but its aromatic seeds chiefly come from Germany. The careful housewife will do well alw... Apple
The term Apple was applied by the ancients indiscriminately to almost every kind of round fleshy fruit, [27] such as the thornapple, the pineapple, and the loveapple. Paris gave to Venus a golden apple; Atalanta lost her classic race by staying to p... Arum--the Common
The lords and ladies (arum maculatum) so well known to every rustic as common throughout Spring in almost every hedge row, has acquired its name from the colour of its erect pointed spike enclosed within the curled hood of an upright arrow-shaped l... Asparagus
The Asparagus, belonging to the Lily order of plants, occurs wild on the coasts of Essex, Suffolk, and Cornwall. It is there a more prickly plant than the cultivated vegetable which we grow for the sake of the tender, [36] edible shoots. The Greeks ... Balm
The herb Balm, or Melissa, which is cultivated quite commonly in our cottage gardens, has its origin in the wild, or bastard Balm, growing in our woods, especially in the South of England, and bearing the name of Mellitis. Each is a labiate plant, a... Balm
(Melissa officinalis, Linn.), a perennial herb of the natural order Labiatae. The popular name is a contraction of balsam, the plant having formerly been considered a specific for a host of ailments. The generic name, Melissa, is the Greek for bee a... Barberry
The Common Barberry (Berberis), which gives its name to a special order of plants, grows wild as a shrub in our English copses and hedges, particularly about Essex, being so called from Berberin, a pearl oyster, because the leaves are glossy like th... Barley
Hordeum Vulgare--common Barley--is chiefly used in Great Britain for brewing and distilling; but, it has dietetic and medicinal virtues which entitle it to be considered among serviceable simples. Roman gladiators who depended for their strength and... Basil
The herb Sweet Basil (Ocymum Basilicum) is so called because the smell thereof is fit for a king's house. It grows commonly in our kitchen gardens, but in England it dies down every year, and the seeds have to be sown annually. Botanically, it is na... Basil
(Ocymum basilicum, Linn.), an annual herb of the order Labiatae. The popular name, derived from the specific, signifies royal or kingly, probably because of the plant's use in feasts. In France it is known as herb royale, royal herb. The generic nam... Bean
(see Pea and Bean). ... Belladonna
(see Night Shade). ... Bennet Herb (avens)
This, the Herba Benedicta, or Blessed Herb, or Avens (Geum Urbanum) is a very common plant of the Rose tribe, in our woods, hedges, and shady places. It has an erect hairy stem, red at the base, with terminal bright yellow drooping flowers. The ord... Betony
Few, if any, herbal plants have been more praised for their supposed curative virtues than the Wood Betony (Stachys Betonica), belonging to the order of Labiates. By the common people it is often called Bitny. The name Betonica is from the Celtic b... Bilberry (whortleberry Or Whinberry)
This fruit, which belongs to the Cranberry order of plants, grows abundantly throughout England in heathy [52] and mountainous districts. The small-branched shrub bears globular, wax-like flowers, and black berries, which are covered, when quite fre... Blackberry
This is the well-known fruit of the Common Bramble (Rubus fructicosus), which grows in every English hedgerow, and which belongs to the Rose order of plants. It has long been esteemed for its bark and leaves as a [54] capital astringent, these conta... Bluebell (wild Hyacinth)
This,--the Agraphis mutans,--of the Lily tribe--is so abundant in English woods and pastures, whilst so widely known, and popular with young and old, as to need no description. Hyacinth petals are marked in general with dark spots, resembling in the... Bog Bean (or Marsh-trefoil)
The Buck-bean, or Bog-bean, which is common enough in stagnant pools, and on our spongy bogs, is the most serviceable of all known herbal tonics. It may be easily recognised growing in water by its large leaves overtopping the surface, each being c... Borage
The Borage, with its gallant blue flower, is cultivated in our gardens as a pot herb, and is associated in our minds with bees and claret cup. It grows wild in abundance on open plains where the soil is favourable, and it has a long-established repu... Borage
(Borago officinalis, Linn.), a coarse, hardy, annual herb of the natural order Boraginaceae. Its popular name, derived from the generic, is supposed by some to have come from a corruption of cor, the heart, and ago, to affect, because of its former ... Broom
The Broom, or Link (Cytisus scoparius) is a leguminous shrub which is well known as growing abundantly on open places in our rural districts. The prefix cytisus is derived from the name of a Greek island where Broom abounded. It formerly bore the na... Bryony
English hedgerows exhibit Bryony of two distinct sorts--the white and the black--which differ much, the one from the other, as to medicinal properties, and which belong to separate orders of plants. The White Bryony is botanically a cucumber, being ... Buckthorn
The common Buckthorn grows in our woods and thickets, and used to be popularly known because of the purgative syrup made from its juice and berries. It bears dense branches of small green flowers, followed by the black berries, which purge violently... Burnet Saxifrage
(see Pimpernel). ... Buttercup
The most common Buttercup of our fields (Ranunculus bulbosis) needs no detailed description. It belongs to the order termed Ranunculaceoe, so-called from the Latin rana, a frog, because the several varieties of this genus grow in moist places where... Cabbage
The time has come, as the walrus said in Alice and the Looking Glass, to talk of many things-- Of shoes, and ships, and sealing-wax; of Cabbages, and kings. The Cabbage, which is fabled to have sprung from the tears of the Spartan lawg... Capsicum (cayenne)
The Capsicum, or Bird Pepper, or Guinea Pepper, is a native of tropical countries; but it has been cultivated throughout Great Britain as a stove plant for so many years (since the time of Gerard, 1636) as to have become practically indigenous. Mor... Caraway
The common Caraway is a herb of the umbelliferous order found growing on many waste places in England, though not a true native of Great Britain. Its well-known aromatic seeds should be always at hand in the cupboard of every British housewife. The ... Caraway
(Carum carui, Linn.), a biennial or an annual herb of the natural order Umbelliferae. Its names, both popular and botanical, are supposed to be derived from Caria, in Asia Minor, where the plant is believed first to have attracted attention. From ve... Carrot
Our garden Carrot, or Dauke, is a cultivated variety of the Dalucus sylvestris, or wild carrot, an umbelliferous plant, which groweth of itself in untoiled places, and is called philtron, because it serveth for love matters. This wild Carrot may be ... Catnip
or =cat mint= (Nepeta cataria, Linn.), a perennial herb of the natural order Labiatae. The popular name is in allusion to the attraction the plant has for cats. They not only eat it, but rub themselves upon it purring with delight. The generic name ... Celandine (greater And Lesser)
This latter flower is a conspicuous herald of spring, which is strikingly welcome to everyone living in the country throughout England, and a stranger to none. The Pilewort, or lesser Celandine, bespangles all our banks with its brilliant, glossy, g... Celery
The Parsleys are botanically named Selinon, and by some verbal accident, through the middle letter n in this word being changed into r, making it Seliron, or, in the Italian, Celeri, our Celery (which is a Parsley) obtained its title. It is a cultiv... Centaury
Of all the bitter appetising herbs which grow in our fields and hedgerows, and which serve as excellent simple tonics, the Centaury, particularly its white flowered variety, belonging to the Gentian order of [97] plants, is the most efficacious. It ... Chamomile
No Simple in the whole catalogue of herbal medicines is possessed of a quality more friendly and beneficial to the intestines than Chamomile flowers. This herb was well known to the Greeks, who thought it had an odour like that of apples, and theref... Cherry
The wild Cherry (Cerasus), which occurs of two distinct kinds, has by budding and grafting begotten most of our finest garden fruits of its genus. The name Cerasus was derived from Kerasous, a city of Cappadocia, where the fruit was plentiful. Acco...