"Sometimes we are not always meant to know the deeper meaning of certain occurrences and need only move forward."
This is a great quote for anyone who questions everything. I used to be one of those people. I always needed the science behind what I was asking. I was trained to make decisions on medicines based on double-blind studies. For me today, this is totally different story. I do not need to know the deeper meaning. I accept it and move forward. The are the three A's I have learned: AWARE, ACKNOWLEDGE and ACCEPT. Acceptance is the key. It was a difficult concept at first, but with a day at a time, or sometimes for me a moment at a time-- it became easier.
In the same vain, I do not need double blind studies for herbs. I need to know the clinical and medical use only. I love the history behind the herbs.
So speaking of herbs, I want to describe my day in Ithaca. The blog today will be about 6 hours spent in Roy H. Park reservation. Roy H. Park was born in Dobson, North Carolina, in 1910. He graduated from high school at the age of 15 and entered North Carolina State University where he majored in journalism. His adopted home became Ithaca, New York. His foundation has two scholarship programs: one at Ithaca College, the other at Cornell University; and has spent money set aside for land preservation . His wife, daughter and granddaughter are the trustees. I am very grateful to Mr. Park, because today with my fellow colleagues I was privileged to walk through the Roy H Park Reservation.
As we walked in, 7song rattled off three species--jewel weed, goldenrod and two species and yarrow. I have blogged about jewel weed and its use in relieving poison ivy. I will talk about both golden rod and yarrow today.
The goldenrods are genus of flowering plants in the Family Asteraceae. The are about 100 perennial species that make up the genus Solidago, most being found in the meadows and pastures, along roads, ditches and waste areas in North America. Many species are difficult to distinguish. Probably due to their bright, golden yellow flower heads in late summer, the goldenrod is often unfairly blamed for causing hay fever in humans. The pollen causing these allergy problems is mainly produced by Ragweed (Ambrosia sp.), blooming at the same time as the goldenrod, but is wind-pollinated. Goldenrods are easily recognized by their golden inflorescence with hundreds of small capitula, but some are spike-like and other have auxiliary racemes.They have slender stems and are usually hairless but S. canadensis shows hairs on the upper stem. They can grow to a length between .60 and 1.5 m.
Goldenrod is also used as a food plant by the larvae of various Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) species. The invading larva induces the plant to form a bulbous tissue mass (called a gall) around it, upon which the larva then feeds. We saw many galls on the two different species of goldenrods. Various parasitoid wasps find these galls and lay eggs in the larvae, penetrating the bulb with their ovipositor. Our mentor opened a gall to show us the wasp larva killing the Lepidoptera larva. The gall for the wasp resembles anatomically the gallbladder in my mind. It is the size of a walnut, except smooth. The medicinal use was not discussed. I do know that some herbalists have used it as a kidney tonic. The variety Solidago virgaurea is used as a traditional kidney tonic. Some practitioners of herbal medicine use it as an agent to counter inflammation and irritation of the kidneys when bacterial infection or stones are present. I never have used it personally. I hope to use it in the future.
I was intrigued by Milkweed, Hawthorne and Honeysuckle. I love the latter two because of berries. I have used hawthorne in my clinical practice. I have blogged about it in the past. When you cut the stem of a Milkweed plant, white resin drips out--thus it is called Milkweed. My mentor was also photographing the butterflies that are attracted to the plant. I believe he stated that the Monarch Butterfly is most attracted to the flower Asclepias syriaca, called Common Milkweed. Butterfly flower, Silkweed, Silky Swallow-wort, Virginia Silkweed, are all herbaceous plant species in the genus Asclepias, making them types of milkweed. I know we did not discuss if there are any medicinal benefits to these plants.
I do know that Yarrow has a medicinal purpose. I have used Yarrow for bacterial infections in my NYC practice. The yarrow plants are called Achillea millefolium. Another common name is "milfoil." It is named for the Greek God, Achilles. It has antibioitc, antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties. It is said that the Greek God, Achilles was a insomniac. Thus, yarrow does have some mild sedative effects. I have seen yarrow in Fire Island. I have used it externally for cuts and bruises. I have done this by crushing the flower tops in my hands and applying it to the wound. I find it very effective for healing bruises, cuts and swellings. The bruises I have used it on are from the loose boards on the Brookhaven Boardwalks in Cherry Grove, Fire Island.
During the next week, although I will be continuing with the heart , I will show and describe new plants discovered at Roy H Park Reservation.
Photographs: Top: Milkweed; Bottom: Goldenrod
I didn't get a great photo of Yarrow. Will put one on this coming week
Until tomorrow..
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