Herbs and their uses: general introduction | Fattoria Didattica biologica

Herbs and their uses: general introduction

Those herbs considered “culinary herbs” (parsley, mint, basil, etc.) have flavor profiles for use in specific recipes. As an aromatic, these herbs often help with the digestion of foods with which they are associated, or with general digestion within the body. The rather strong taste of such herbs allows them to be used in small quantities. The part of the plant used most is its' leaves. They are minced fresh or dried. Since antiquity these herbs were used to reinvigorate bland food such as; some fish, cereals, and vegetables. They were used more during Lent as spices since the food was insipid.

The history of the medicinal use of herbs goes back to Chinese herbaria about 5,000 years ago. And, there exists Egyptian papyrus from 2,800 B.C. that indicates the medical use of herbs such as mint, marjoram, and juniper during that time. The knowledge and experience of the Egyptians was assimilated into Greek medicine. Dioscorides, a military doctor who lived in the time of Nero (the first century A.C.), derived his catalog; comprising of around 400 medicinal herbs described in 4 volumes from this assimilation of knowledge. It would remain a reference point in European medicine for the next 1,500 years.
For centuries, plants were the only aid in health problems, and doctors had to be botanists as well as floriculturists at times. For many years, the medicine was managed by monastic orders, who arranged pharmacological gardens where they cultivated indispensable herbs for medical activity.
Most of the herbs grown in Great Britain – culinary, domestic, medicinal – actually arrived with the Roman invasion. In the same fashion, European herbs were introduced to the North American colonies in the 16th century, where they grafted with the preexisting herbal practices of the Indians.This created a considerable herbal therapy tradition using the plants originating from their soil.
In following ages medicine became more sophisticated, while staying based on herbs. Enriched by knowledge with the invention of the printing press, the transmission of precise and detailed information was now more accessible. The fashionable “doctrine of signatures” claimed that the plant similar to the symptoms would cure the disease itself, for example, pulmonaria was used to cure maladies of the lungs since the whitish speckles on the leaves resembles diseased lungs.
With 19th century medicinal progress, it is possible to correlate results obtained from chemical substances contained within the plants and then prescribe the pure chemical products adapted to treat the particular ailment.
Use of the leaves, flowers, or the whole plant has been abandoned, but there is no reason not to continue with the use of herbs to cure many minor maladies in the home. There is no doubt that the ancient medical system based on herbs (fresh or dried plants in simple infusions, cataplasms, or decoctions) is effective and to a great health benefit. There is need to pay close attention: the various parts of the same herbs can have diverse effects, since the seasons in which they are harvested can affect their contents. And, the dose is an important element.

The use of herbs in cosmetics and domestic management is currently under research. In Elizabethan times, a small sack of lavender served not only to give perfume to linens, but also to keep away moths, fleas, and other parasites. Stems of lavender were burned in sick rooms, and lavender oil was rubbed on the skin to keep away the fly and mosquito.

Hair dye can be obtained solely from plants. One of the oldest of such dyes is the red henna, obtained from dried and ground leaves of the Lawsonia inermis plant. Traces of henna have been found in buried mummies from Egyptian pyramids, and the same plant has been used for centuries to decorate the nails as well as the skin. Another plant useful for dying the hair is chamomile. The flower heads provide an ample solution to brighten blonde and brown hair. Saffron has the same effect.
Herbs can also be used to make lotion that cleans the skin, mascara, shampoo, oils and salts for the bath, soaps and talcum powders, creams, et cetera. Chinese women used to perfume their hair with plants. The Romans attended baths containing many herbs, mostly lavender. The ancient Britons used to color their skin with a bluish dye obtained from the masticated leaves of the woad. It seems the Britons used such dye to scare their enemies in battle, but it was probably also a strong haemostatic.

The progressive domestication of humans always renders changes to the home and makes worn materials more and more interesting. Edible plants that stained the skin were the first to be used as fabric dyes, such as the blackberry. Gradually the range of color obtained from plants widened with the mixture of other similar plants to produce each and every possible gradation. The Chinese had already practiced a refined art of dying as much as 5,000 years ago, and the herbs they used are remembered today for their dying ability (for example Isatis tintoria = woad). Elderberry gives a faint blue, lavender makes purple, the leaves of marigold were once used to coloring butter and cheese. Dandelion gives a nice pink.
The industrial revolution gave beginning to the development of chemical dyeing. The economy of fabrication methods and the guarantee of the perfect reproduction of each shade assured that the use of vegetal dyeing would fall off rapidly.
Herbs can create dyes in all of the colors of the rainbow, usually by boiling or masticating vegetal tissue. In the various methods practiced, there is a standard quantity of plants and of water used and a processing period within 6 hours. During this time the various phases of colorization are completed. To fix the dye, a bite material of chemical nature such as iron, chrome, tin, or aluminum is required. This can be purchased at a pharmacy. The material to be tinted must first be wetted very well, then immersed in the bite solution. It is boiled for a certain amount of time – usually an hour – and then transferred to the dyeing vat. The various bite solutions alter the shade and the intensity of the color. Onions, for example, produce a yellow with aluminum and a dark brown with chrome. The materials that can be dyed most easily are wool and silk. Cotton and linen are more difficult as they contain cellulose.

Perfumery is perhaps an older art than dying, if for no other reason than the perfume is one of the more evident characteristics of a plant and as such, was used very early as something to cover up bad odors. Fresh flowers help the environment to smell good, though the duration is limited. So, in an effort to conserve their fragrance, a mixture of petals were harvested in a certain stage of their development then dried and mixed with a fixative ingredient to keep the perfume (such as that of the iris) which can continue to emanate scents slowly and for long periods of time. Today we know this mixture as “potpourris” from the French pot, “bowl”, and pourrir, “to rot”, as the ingredients do not decay.
With time it has been discovered that a fragrant oil can be obtained by extraction from odorous flowers and leaves. One of the methods used for extraction is “enfleurage”, in which a species is sandwiched in fat with petals and flowers inside. Another method is distillation, in which the flowers are boiled in water and the vaporized essential oil can be collected and condensed in a cooling system. A third method is extraction with alcohol, in which the solvent drips through the material (flowers and leaves), and is collected and distilled. This obtains an oil in solid form.
Fragrant herbs form a basic role in what is known as “aromatherapy”, in which fragrant essential oils of vegetal origin are rubbed on the skin. It is believed that the different perfumes can relieve numerous physiological and psychological maladies.

Supplies: fresh aromatic herbs, a rubber band, ribbon, a straw hat for a doll, a safety needle.

Take a bunch of fresh aromatic herbs and tie the stems with a rubber band.
Tie the ribbon around the collar of the doll.
Hang the doll up on the wall.

Put the fragrant herbs in the centre of the basket, and make a small bundle tied with string.
If it is hung from the bathtub faucet, hot water will scald the herbs and release the perfume.

Supplies: pure ethyl alcohol, fragrant leaves and flowers, glass jars with sealable lids

Cut the plants into pieces and put them into the jars. Fill the jars all the way up with the alcohol and close the lids well. Leave these to rest for two weeks, then filter the liquid with a piece of gauze. If the fragrance is too intense, leave it to rest for another week. If it is too weak, add more pieces of plant and leave to macerate in the same liquid for another two weeks. Stickers can be prepared as well by wrapping a laminated card bearing the leaf or flower around the jar with thread.

The most favourable years for harvesting medicinal plants are those in which there was not too much rain. Years of drought are the most favourable for aromatics, such as thyme, juniper, and anise. The plants are mostly harvested when the buds begin to grow and before the flowers are completely open. Plants which contain the curative properties inside fruits or berries are harvested when their maturity is complete. Fruit, berries, seeds, nuts, and grapes to be stored are picked before they are completely mature. This differs from those which are used fresh.
Grapes are harvested when they are very mature. The roots are harvested when the stems of the plant begin to shrivel. The harvest of aqueous plants is done just before sunrise, and for other plants it is better to wait for the sun to set, so that the dew is evaporated. Harvesting is always done with plenty of time to spare.
Oils which bestow the particular aromas to herbs are volatile and thus vanish rapidly. Cuts or damage suffered by the plant provoke an oxidization on the surface that can modify the aroma. It is important to know then that the plant is in the most danger during harvesting. The desirable parts are cut and laid down in single layers on trays or shallow crates and quickly transferred to a place more suited to conservation. They cannot be overlapped since the process of fermentation could set in and different species must be kept clearly apart. The harvested herbs must be free of parasites or disease and free of damage or discolor. If they are dirty they must be cleaned rapidly with a cool, wet sponge and patted dry with paper towel.

The conservation process suggests drying the plant under the sun, on the stove, or in a bain-marie. A quicker way is to pile the plants in a large clay pot, press, then cap with a cork spread Melted wax goes on the interior part of the cork but it is covered externally with melted tar. In this way the plants can be conserved for a long amount of time without losing their virtues.
An alternative method to drying is freezing. The advantage is that this can be done immediately after picking and the rapidity of the process ensures a good retention of the taste and smell. But, it is a system only adapted to leaves, flowers, and whole stems.
When picked, and before withering, herbs for freezing should be tied in a bundle, put inside of a plastic bag, and placed into the freezer. It is not necessary to clean them first.
Another good solution is to mince the herbs while they are still fresh and put them into an ice cube tray full of water before freezing. This way the ice cubes can be used singularly without having to thaw all of the herbs. You can also freeze a single leaf or whole flower in each cube and use to decorate and aromatize a beverage.

To extract the principal medicinal activity of the plant there are several diverse operations.

INFUSION: crush and crumble the dried plant well. Put it in boiling water. Cover the receptacle and leave it to rest for fifteen minutes. The liquid must be strained or filtered with a cloth. This infusion method can also be used with wine, vinegar, or alcohol.

DECOCTION: put the plant in cold water and then boil for a long time (if the plant is woody it has to be left to macerate for 12 hours). Aromatic plants, in principal potent and volatile, are never used for decoction but rather, for infusion. Decoction is done in water.

MACERATION: this is accomplished by immersing the plant in cold liquid (water, vinegar, or alcohol) for a variable amount of time through which the medicinal values can be extracted.

DYEING: after reducing the dried plant into dust, it is left to macerate in alcohol. It is sealed in a container at 40° F or cooler. The operation is completed in two steps, first with half the alcohol to be used, then the second half, leaving a rest period each step for 4 to 5 days. The residue should be squeezed, and the two resulting liquids should be mixed and strained.

HYDROELECTRIC or DISTILLED WATER: this is done by passing a vapour current through the plant, and the water then changed easily and conserved.

EXTRACTION (or squeezing): by squeezing it is possible to extract the juice of the plant, that is, the liquid component made up of various substances, some salts, oils, resins, et cetera. The picked plant is washed and dried, cut into pieces then ground in a mortar, then the mash is placed into a canvas sack and squeezed to extract all of the juices. The juice can then be put into a glass jar, which is immersed into water near its’ boiling point, then filtered out juice when water has cooled.

Evidence of rudimental spinning and weaving has been found in dwellings from prehistoric epochs; made using the neutral colours of the materials. It very likely followed the advent of coloration with the observation of the natural stains left from plants, fruits, and animals.
In ancient Egypt they cultivated and worked mostly with linen and reached a high level of weaving art. The colours used most commonly were blue (obtained from wood and from some other unknown plant), yellow (from safflower, saffron, and turmeric), and various tones from pink to intense red (from henna and madder). This range of colours is due to the difficulty for linen to take the colours rather than a lack of understanding of chemistry; they also made ochre tints from rust and other minerals. To extract colour from the pigments during the tinting process, they used aged urine which was fermented with vegetables.
Nearby, the Jews were using tinted wool in the form of yarn coloured by dipping into marble vats. The colours were scarlet, hyacinth, purple, and black extracted from the galls (round outgrowths) from the oak tree or blueberry plant.
In the ancient world, the Phoenicians were expert and enterprising peoples, since they were dedicated exclusively to the production of purple and the tinting of fabrics for their own commerce. The molluscs Murex trunculus, Purpura haemastoma, and Murex brandaris, used for the preparation of purple dyes, were harvested only in autumn and winter since the animals produce the largest quantity of the colorant substance during these seasons, and it is possible to catch them by hand or in a net with the proper bait. To obtain one gram of colorant it is necessary to catch around 6,000 molluscs. Purpura haemastoma creates a handsome crimson, but it is less resistant than that of the Murex trunculus. M. brandaris creates a violet colour which changes to hyacinth if mixed with that of the Purpura.
Fabric tinted in this fashion were desired in the ancient world and were especially sought after by sovereignty, priests, and high dignitaries. These fabrics came at a high price thanks to the belief that power would be granted to those who wore that particular colour.
The Greeks worked mostly in wool and took their understanding of the art of dyeing from various coastal peoples.
The Romans made tunics and cloaks of wool in their natural colours, but following the conquest and its influx of culture, they began to use suits of red orange or purple for the emperor and the priests.
In medieval times the poor worked wearing wool and linen which was tinted with pigments extracted from plants, usually in yellow, beige, and brown, but not red since those reds extracted from vegetal sources were not solid and came out from washing or exposure to sunlight. Meanwhile the introduction of cotton was spreading rapidly as well as the silkworm and its cultivation. Linen, wool, silk, and cotton, woven and tinted, was the source of riches for many Italian centres, especially during the communal epoch.
With the discovery of America new fibres and colorant substances came to Europe, the most important being cochineal, obtained from the Dactylopius coccus, originating in Mexico where indigenous people had been using it for dyeing. It is an insect with a very short life cycle that lives on the Indian fig by sucking the juice with its bill. The females are harvested after mating and killed by throwing into boiling water for a few seconds, after which it is dried. In Mexico it is possible to have up to 6 harvests per year; to make a kilogram of cochineal 140,000 females are needed, which can be utilized whole or ground. A bright red colour is extracted which is used in the candy industry, also for food and liquor, and as a colorant. The tinting power stays strong through the first soak permitting successive colorations, with each resulting in a lighter gradation. The cochineal was accepted by the Spanish as a tributary payment.
In 1856 Perkin discovered the first chemical colorant, derived from aniline, called Mauvine, and soon the use of natural dyes faded away. Today synthetic chemicals utilize pure and controllable substances, easy and fast to use, safe in their results, and cheap to produce.

1) TOOLS
A table, stove, two 10 litre pots, two plastic buckets, a plastic sieve, gauze, sticks of wood, a balance and some weights, graduated containers for liquids, a thermometer that reads up to at least 140°C, plastic spoons, some glass rods or wands, glass jars, rubber gloves and aprons, scissors, and stickers.

2) WATER
Rainwater is the best type for dyeing, but in place you can also use distilled water, demineralised water, or regular potable water.

3) COLORANTS
These can be of animal origin (purple, Kermes, coccineal) or vegetable origin, easily available.

During the daytime, the best hours for herb harvesting are early in the morning, when the dew is evaporated and the plants are dry, but the temperature is still tepid.
The choice of the season of harvest depends heavily on the species and somewhat on the part of the plant being harvested, but generally the best period begins at the start of summer.
Roots, rhizomes, and bulbs are harvested in autumn and winter, during periods of rest, and that is best done by withdrawing the plants after they have grown 2-3 years.
The bark can be plucked very easily in the beginning of springtime, harvest them from shoots of 2-3 years of age, taking care to prune them in a way as not to damage the plant.
The leaves should be harvested only once fully developed, thus any time from the end of spring up until the beginning of autumn should be fine.
Flowers should be picked at the apex of flowering.
Fruits should be picked at complete maturation.
Lichens can be harvested any time of the year, preferably after a rain.

In order to dry the plants with the minimum loss of volatile oils they need warmth, a place to hide, and clean air. The ideal temperature is between 21 and 33°C and must not exceed 36°C, or the plants will dry at different rates. They will need to be checked on frequently. Drying times vary from 2-3 days up to one week, according to which part and which species of plant is being dried.
It is important to select a well aerated environment to rapidly disperse the humidity that will evaporate off of the plants; and darkness, to impede upon the oxidation of materials that would consequently modify the aroma.
The harvested plants should be laid in a single layer on trays or alternatively hung on wooden racks and covered with thin canvas veil, then set in a well ventilated area. Wooden crates for holding fruit are particularly adept at this function since they can be stacked upon one another while still allowing good air circulation throughout the insides.
Another method of drying consists of tying the tips, roots, or flowers in bundles and hanging them upside down on a clothesline.
Drying time varies from plant to plant. Well-dried leaves will be brittle and can crumble easily into dust. The tips break off in a clean way but the roots when dried will crumble easily in all parts.
The seeds are a bit more complicated to harvest, as their final maturation occurs in quite a hurry, after which they fall. Lightly knocking the stem of the plant, your seeds will fall, this indicates they are ready to harvest. Seeds should be dried in a well-ventilated area, without artificial heat. The seminiphorous capsules close to maturation could be put into a paper bag in a way so that the majority of the seeds fall into the bag as they mature. The seeds must be completely dry before they can be stored, and this can take up to 2 weeks.

Some plants can be dried in the oven in as little time as 3-6 hours. The temperature still should not exceed 36°C, and the most delicate plants, such as basil, must stay at a lower temperature around 30°. The plants have to be hung on sheets of perforated parchment paper and the oven door must be kept open to allow humidity to exit.
The microwave oven may also be used: the smallest leaves such as rosemary and thyme, dry well enough when heated for just about 1 minute, while larger and juicier leaves such as mint and basil dry in about 3.

All parts of any dried vegetable can be stored whole or in pieces. They should be stored away from humidity, away from light, away from air, and away from such pests as insects or mice. Conservation works best in paper bags in a dry place. Flowers and leaves, if not used immediately for dyeing, can be used to prepare vats of colour by boiling them in water until they take on the appearance of a very concentrated decoction which can be strained and then frozen.
Fruits and berries to be used as a dye should be harvested at full maturation, and used fresh or immediately frozen. They cannot be dried since doing so will yield much different colours.

Natural textile fibres can come from animal, vegetable, or mineral origins. Though, textiles of mineral origins are dangerous to human health.
Cannabis was introduced in Italy by the barbarous populations and was cultivated during the communal epoch, chiefly in the Po Valley, and used in the preparations of clothing, linens, bags, ropes, and fishing nets. Cannabis can easily be tinted.
Cotton was already known in the Indus Valley more than 5,000 years ago, from whence it spread throughout the Middle East and was introduced into Italy by the Arabs towards the middle of the 9th century B.C. From the start it was considered a fibre of luxury and thus was reserved for few users. Today, it can be spun by itself or with other natural or artificial fibres. It is used for shirts, linens, drapery, gauze, and et cetera. The harvesting of cotton, made up of a sticky peel and seeds, to which confer a degree of protection, is costly because it must be done manually to allow complete maturation of the fruit which occurs gradually and can continue for 2-3 months. The usable part of the cotton must be separated from the seeds and amassed in drying silos, aerated and protected from the sun, which yellows the fibres. The colour varies from white to yellowish to bluish to gray. Cotton fibres can be tinted easily and well.
Other vegetal fibres: from the core of the mulberry tree you can obtain gelsolino, a light fibre put forward as a alternative to silk which is less costly to produce.
Broomrape is a plant used mainly as an ornamental bush, and from the stalks can be obtained a crude fibre used for preparing rope, bags, and et cetera. It is refined for use in resilient, dark-coloured fabrics which tend to whiten with time and are very expensive.
Jute is used for bags and packing canvas; the finer fibres are used in the preparation of fabric for furniture, tents, and draperies.
Flax requires a particular cure in the process for dyeing since the fibres present a certain resistance to taking on the colour.
The fibres obtained from the nettle can be used to produce a bright, soft, and resistant fabric.
Wool can come in many diverse qualities depending on the part of the body from which it was shaved. The best quality wool is that of the shoulders. Wool is particularly adaptive as well as sensitive to any type of dyeing.
Silk is obtained from a worm, killed by means of drying once it has reached complete mature development and has constructed its cocoon. The cocoon is then placed in hot water in order to disentangle the thread filaments from which can then be collected anywhere from 500-1500 meters of silk. Silk is very well adapted to any type of dyeing.

Biters are substances capable of fixing the colorant to one side of the fibre separate from the opposite, thus capable to fix a colour to each single fibre. They can be found at drug stores, pharmacies, stores for colorant materials, or your local agrarian consortium. They are conserved in hermetic containers as to protect them from the damaging effects of humidity and light.
Principle biting materials are:
- Alluminum potassium is a white crystalline powder; non-toxic.
- White vinegar (cooking vinegar) can be added to the colour vat to fix the colours and to give lucidity and softness to the fibres; it is used mostly with pink and reds.
- Tannic acid is a brownish dust made of a mix of wood stems and barks.
- Potassium bichromate is a yellow-orange crystalline powder. Poisonous; it is used to give a yellowish colour to yarn.
- Copper sulphate is a blue-green salt, poisonous; used to fix and to strengthen greens and to obtain browns from pink and red colours.
- Iron sulphate is a greenish crystalline powder, poisonous; used to darken colours including greens, greys, and blacks, but cannot be used with silk.
- Tin chlorite is a white powder used especially for wool and for vegetal fibres excluding flax. It is effective for pink and red colours.

- Cream of tartar is a chalky white powder that unifies with the biter to prevent any excessive saturation of the fibres and to improve colour absorption.
- Ossalic acid is a white crystalline powder used to reinforce the biter in vats of red dye.
- Ammonia is added to the water of the vat to favour the extraction of pigments from vegetal sources.

Any and all types of thread must be washed before being dyed in order to eliminate residues.
Washing animal fibres is done by immersion in soapy, boiled water for one half hour per each skin, maintaining the temperature of the water at 50°C, while stretching delicately or spinning via centrifuge. Dyeing can also be done while the fibres are still wet.
Fibres from vegetal sources must be immersed in soapy water and boiled for one hour on a low flame, and then left to cool; and finally rinsed with cool clean water.

The biting is done in water into which the threads or fibers are stirred to loosen and soften. This can be done before or after the actual process of dyeing, depending on the type of fiber being used.

This is the solution containing the natural vegetal or animal derived colorant substance extracted through decoction from the plant or animal tissues. The colour vat can be prepared by soaking finely ground vegetal matter, either fresh or dried, for 12 hours, in 4 litres of water and one spoonful of ammonia. After the soaking period has elapsed the entire rig should be boiled for 1 hour and then allowed to cool. Once the mixture is cooled, all of the solids should be filtered out. At this point pure water can be added to bring the level back up to the original 4 litres, and once warmed up to tepid degree, the colour vat is ready to dye by immerging 100g of thread or fibres at a time.

DIRECT DYEING does not require the use of a biter, but with this method some vegetal derived colorants can show up weakly and less resistant. To dye directly, you add 100g of thread or dried fibre to a 4 litre colour vat and heat the mixture slowly until it begins to boil, at which point it should be left boiling for 1 hour as you stir continually from the top to the bottom. At the end of the boiling, the thread or fibre should be immediately removed and either be rinsed in clean boiling water or just left to cool in the colorant while splashed with some cool water. Next you should wash the threads or fibres in batches with soapy water to remove any excess of colour. And finally, rinsed with clean water, making sure not to wring them. They should be left to drip dry in a cool and well-ventilated place.

SINGLE VAT DYEING requires the same aforementioned preparation for the colour vat which should be heated to 40°C prior to dyeing, at which point you add the correct quantity of the desired biter. Then you immerse the dried threads and heat slowly to a boiling point which should be then maintained for 1 hour. Once an hour has passed, drain the threads, then rinse, wash, rinse again and let drip dry in a cool and well-ventilated place.

YARN DYEING immerse the yarn or fibres, already treated with biter, into the colour vat and bring slowly to a boil for 1 hour while continually mixing. Either extract the yarn from the vat or leave it to cool inside, then rinse, wash, rinse again, and leave to drip dry. The colour vat in this method can be re-used up to 1-2 more times, though yielding a more muted colour.

You will need some strawberries (1kg will print about 40cm of fabric).
Wash them and blend well adding a small spoonful of salt.
Use already dyed textiles which are still wet from the dyeing process. Use a syringe with the needle removed and fill it with the blended fruit and squirt the colour onto the fabric to create stripes, or whatever pattern you like.
Leave the fabric to rest for at least one hour, and then wash with hot water.

You can use all different types of fruits and vegetables for this: mushrooms, radishes, lemons, cauliflower…
Divide your fruits or vegetables in half with a clean, straight slice in a way that the resulting surface of the slice is flat. Dry the cut side well with some paper towel.
Use a paintbrush to apply colour to the dried cut surface for stamping and press it onto some scrap paper or a piece of newspaper, until the a clear image of the fruit or vegetable is achieved. Use appropriate colour types to stamp onto fabric (such as tempera).
Potatoes are especially good for stamping since once they are cut, they can be further incised or even carved to produce a relief effect.

This method can tint a textile any colour.
Use a textile that is still wet from the dyeing process, and hang it in a horizontal position to eliminate any creases.
Spread the salt over the textile in whatever pattern you prefer, and leave it to rest for a few hours.
When the salt has absorbed enough of the colour, it should be removed and the textile left to dry. In those places where you put the salt there will be spots of lighter colour.

Originating from northern Europe, it was probably used in pagan festivals and the practices of witchcraft. After the advent of Christianity, it assumed the name that we now it by. The plant flowers on the eighth of May, during the festival of Saint Michael the Archangel.
Cooking: leaves and young stalks can be eaten raw as a salad item or cooked in the same way a spinach. They have a pleasant taste and a very tolerable aroma. The tips of the flowers have found application in the sweets and spirits industries, and the seeds are used as an aromatic in beverages such as vermouth and gin.
Medicine: this plant was highly utilized in official medicine (insofar as to be classified as a medicinal plant) empirically so for the concentrated virtue of the roots. Rich in mucilaginous substances and the essence of stomach action, carminative and anti-catarrhal, it is used as a cure for various digestive dysfunctions and as an expectorant. Leaves and flowers have always been used for detoxifying infusions.
Dyeing: boiling the leaves in water gives it a yellow colour, which in some places was used for the tinting of textiles.

This plant is also called rocket.
Cooking: arugula is used in soups, salads, and sauces. It is added to grappa as a green colorant and to reduce the burning taste of the alcohol.
Medicine: it was used in the past to combat surliness, to accelerate digestion, to stimulate the bile ducts, and also as a decongestant.

This plant gives off an acute perfume, as told by its name: ocimum is in fact the Latin translation of the Greek ozein, which means “to give odour”. It is considered to be of Middle Eastern or African origin. In India it was considered sacred by the Hindus and used for disinfecting homes that contained malaria.
Cooking: basil imparts a particular piquant flavour and harmonizes pleasingly with many foods, also rendering them more digestible.
Medicine: basil contains some substances that have the property to stimulate gastrointestinal secretion and are even used to sedate cramps of the stomach and to eliminate intestinal catarrhs. Leaves and flowers, well dried and pulverized, can be sniffed like tobacco to calm hunger pains and headaches as well as nervousness due to hysteria. It can be added to dried ground tobacco to aromatize it. All parts of the plant, especially the leaves and flowers, are rich in substances including a mix of cineolin, linaiolin, camphor, and dozens of secondary products.
Cosmetics: this plant can be used in various preparations for ointment when mixed with different types of fats, oils, butters, or even pulverized basil; it creates lucidity when applied to the skin. This method is still common in central Africa and especially with aboriginal women.
Home: basil keeps flies at bay; at one time it was scattered around the home environment for this purpose and probably also to keep lice away.

The common name “borrana” or borragine, and the classical Latin name, are of uncertain origin. It seems to have been derived from borrà, which means richness of the skin. Pliny called this plant “euphrosinum” since it retained the joy and happiness that he brought to it. Greeks and Romans considered it a plant that in some degree strengthened one’s courage.
Cooking: the leaves, which with time become dark and consistent, are picked when they are tender and eaten as a salad green or to be boiled in water as would spinach, for which it could be substituted for the richness of calcium and potassium.
Medicine: the leaves contain small quantities of bitter substances and potassium salts, which in effect produce a diuretic and colagogal action. An infusion of the leaves can be used for detoxification.
Cosmetics: preparations based on borage leaves serve to soften and clean the skin.
Period: spring.

Originating from Asia and Europe, it is also called cat’s herb since bruised leaves, with an odour recalling mint, induces cats and kittens to roll around joyfully on the plant until it is destroyed.
Cooking: fresh leaves can be used in moderation for flavouring sauces.
Medicine: the tips of the flowers can cure colds, catarrhs, and bronchitis.
Cosmetics: catnip is used as a cure for the hair which stimulates growth.
Home: catnip can be used to keep mice away.

Although many attribute the origin of this plant to the provenience of Russia, the name is of Greek origin and means “hedge flower”: this is because the wild form of the plant, with its tiny and numerous white flowers, loves to grow around and within hedges and bushes in spring.
Cooking: freshly harvested leaves can be chopped fine and added in modest proportions to soups, sauces, and meats to impart to them a bitter yet pleasing aroma, a tasty flavour, as well as the added benefit to favour digestion. The wild version cannot be used because it is toxic.
Medicine: all green parts of the plant (above all the leaves) contain a bitter substance denominated apiina, which is very volatile and of a taste similar to that contained in parsley. In the past cerfoglio was used under the form of infusion, decoction, and pills for increasing gastric secretion and for an aid to digestive function, as well as help with uro-genital dysfunction.
Cosmetics: fresh leaves can be used to make a detergent infusion for the skin.

True chamomile is a pleasing aromatic with the characteristic odour of apples which explains the Hellenic derivation of the name of the plant. The Greeks called it the “apple of the earth” from kamai, “earth”, and melon, “apple”.
Cooking: this plant is used to aromatize the Spanish sherry Manzanilla (meaning “little apple”)
Medicine: dried flowers can be used to make a tisane to control flatulence, dyspepsia, and other disturbances of the stomach. It is also a mild sedative as well as a good tonic for stimulation of the appetite.
Cosmetics: dried flowers can be used to dye the hair blond, and as a detergent and an emollient.
Home: chamomile can be used in the prevention of maladies of plants caused by fungus.
Dyeing: chamomile can be used to make an orange or brownish-green tint.

The Latin name allium, already noted by the Romans, is derived from Celtic and means to burn, referring more to the taste than the odour because of the propensity to provoke irritation to the ocular mucous and tear glands.
Cooking: sheaves of stems can be picked and chopped finely to be added to soups, sauces, and salads.
Medicine: the stems contain numerous essences of sulphur that reminds us of the taste of the onion and the odour of mustard. It is used for the cure of vesicular disturbance and calcareous renals; constant with the present of other vitamins and some ferments to which are attributed particular digestive qualities.
Home: it is said to prevent apples from rotting.

It is not certain whether the name is derived from the Greeks to recall some nymph. It is more likely that the name is derived from bees, which in Greek are called melissai. They flock to this plant with greed. It grows anywhere from spring to late autumn, and has a pleasing odour of citrus tree and lemon for which reason it is also known as lemon balm, citrus herb, Luigia herb, or melissa.
Cooking: the leaves and young shoots can be used as an aromatic in salads and fish and to impart a citric aroma to white wines and other liquors. It can be also be used as a substitute for lemon zest.
Medicine: the leaves and flowers are rich in essences with a penetrating perfume and aromatic taste that have an optimum antiplasmodial action and an anti-nervous effect on animal organisms and even more so on humans. In the past, the extract of citronella was obligatory in all pharmacies since it was prescribed as a medicinal herb. The use of the water of citronella or the spirits of citronella were irreplaceable as a reliever for pain of any nature. The leaves can calm the nerves and induce sleep, and also reduce the pain from bug bites.
Cosmetics: up until the 19th century actresses in French theatres often suffered fainting fits. They were immediately spritzed with a spray of eau de mélisse (water of citronella). The leaves are used in various products for their perfume and flavour and as an astringent for the skin.
Home: citronella is used in furniture wax, as a deodorant, and also in potpourris. It can be put in with laundry during washing to give a fresh, clean smell.

The name derives from the Arabic term quaranful, meaning clove “nails” or “studs”. The intense perfume and sweetness of the clove has made it popular in cooking and aromatizing for more than 2,000 years. In the 1st century B.C., Pliny wrote that the clove was discovered in the preceding century in Spain where it was used to aromatize beverages. In Medieval times this was mixed with wine and beer as a substitute for the much more expensive oriental cloves.
Cooking: fresh flowers can be used to aromatize many foods such as preserves, syrups, sauces,and can be added to soups and salads.
Medicine: rarely used today, it was at one time used to mask the undesired taste of medicines.
Cosmetics: used in homemade cologne.

According to Dioscorides, one of the founders of botanical medicine in the times before Christ, the name ligusticum indicates the regional province of the plant, now known as the northern Italian province of Liguria.
Cooking: the leaves can be used to compliment raw or cooked salads with a delicate aroma or anise or of leek. This will be present in the flavour and in the perfume. Some leaves can be used to mask the flavours of other food such as garlic and onion.
Medicine: the essences contained in the plant are volatile, and have a digestive property. They activate gastric juices and ferments and as such render food more digestible.

Myth narrates that ivy itself appeared after the birth of Dionysisto protect the infant from the flames that burned the mother’s corpse: it would grow winding around houses affected by the shock of the earthquake that had accompanied the rage of Zeus. A different legend narrates that one day, Dionysis, abandoned by his mother Semele, took refuge under the ivy plant and thus giving it the name (Dionysis was also named kissos, the Greek name of the plant). Another Greek myth refers to Kissos as the child of Dionysis who died suddenly while dancing in front of his own father. Gaia, Goddess of the Earth, mutated into ivy, and from then on the plant carried her name.
Medicine: ivy is a very efficient plant for calming toxic shock, for dilating the bronchial tubes, and for the elimination of bronchial catarrhs. This property is due to the presence of saponine, which gives it a certain degree of toxicity and makes home preparations of this plant not to be recommended since one error in dosage could produce serious inconveniences. External uses of ivy, on the other hand, provide a secure action without inconvenience. Decoctions and infusions of ivy leaves exercise an effective anaesthetic and anti-nervous action, and can be used on rheumatic pains and arthritis. It provides beneficial properties also in cellulites, where the anaesthetic action stimulates a deep massage. The astringent and vasoconstrictor actions favour the re-absorption of liquids that impregnate the tissue. The fruit of the ivy plant are venomous.
Dyeing: leaves harvested in any period as well as mature fruits from March-April are used to make solid enough colours. The leaves with aluminium give a yellow colour, and the fruits with chrome make a pallid red, and with aluminium or iron, various shades of green.

This plant has a mythical origin: Apollo fell in love with a nymph named Daphne, who one day was followed by him into the forest. She pleaded to mother Earth for help, who transformed her into a laurel tree. From that day on not only the Greeks have called this tree the Daphne, but it was declared sacred by Apollo, and its branches would concede only to those who were surrounded by glory in poetry, art, and sport. The laurel crowns all of the statues representing the god Esculapio. In popular belief the laurel was the preserved form of lightning and for this reason the emperor Tiberius always draped himself with crowns of laurel.
Cooking: the leaves are used as an aromatic for meats, fishes, and poultry. It is also served to mask strong odours present in other foods, and fresh food that is perishable can be jarred along with a few leaves of laurel to keep mould from forming.
Medicine: laurel contains vitamin A. Various properties attributed to the laurel include stimulation of gastric secretion, as well as a virtuous anti-influenza when administered in the infused form, it can even be placed in boiling water producing vapours that fight all forms of respiratory inflammation.
Home: laurel is used as a home deodorant and insecticide; the wood is used in works of intarsia and inlay.

Lavender was used by all Mediterranean peoples for domestic and cosmetic tasks. It is very probable that it was one of the numerous plants brought to Great Britain by Roman soldiers to remind the legionnaires of the hot and dry climate of their homes.
Cooking: usually it is not used, but it is possible to utilize this plant in a gelatine or as a glacè on either sweets like cookies or on extremely flavourful cuts of meat.
Medicine: dried flowers and the essential oils of lavender are both used as antiseptics and reconstituents, and against distortions and rheumatic pains.
Cosmetics: lavender can be put in water for washing as well as in the bath; as an astringent for the skin; in perfumes or pot pourri; and can be used for revitalizing the hair.
Home: use it against insect bites and to keep bugs away. It is found in furniture creams and waxes as well.

The first news of this plant dates back to an Egyptian papyrus from 1,500 years before Christ. Pliny the Elder cited it many times as a medicinal plant, with the capacity to strengthen vision. In medieval times they believed this plant to have magical properties.
Cooking: spring shoots are used for stews and the base spring leaves can be eaten raw with oil and salt. The bulbs can be used as would onion, the tops as an herb; the seeds can also be eaten.
Medicine: empirical medicine attributes the leek to stomach and diuretic powers, and the same for official medicine using the green parts for diuretic infusions. Masticated seeds eliminate the sense of hunger, and so it also seems to be an excellent adjuvant for weight loss diets.
Cosmetics: all parts of the plant, but especially the seeds (produced in autumn) are rich in essential oils (leek oil) which is harvested for pharmaceutical purposes and for perfumes. Decoctions of leaves are used for tired and dry eyes. Leaf infusions can also be used for inflamed eyelids and compressed leaves can be used to soften the skin of the face.

This herb came from western Asia and for this reason is also called “persia” or “persia herb”. In Greece it is woven into crowns worn by couples on the day of marriage.
Cooking: the aerial part is harvested in full flower to be dried and ground. It has a taste similar to that of oregano, and can be used as an aromatic with many foods including pizza in particular. It can be used also in roasts and sauces to which it confers a delicate aroma and flavour, and to render fats more digestible.
Medicine: this plant contains numerous essences of pleasing odour but the taste is very bitter. All together they constitute oil of marjoram, containing turpentine derived from camphor. Well known since ancient times, it has always enjoyed fame as a cerebral exciter, and as a narcotic, used to combat headaches and any other form of psychic confusion. It is still used in medicine prepared by pharmacists as a calm inducer, and it is used even more in the industries for liquor and cosmetics.
Cosmetics: marjoram is used to give perfume to various products.
Home: marjoram keeps away insects. It can also be used in herbal pillows.

Of ancient origin, this plant was well known by the Greeks and Romans. According to mythology, Minta (or Menta) was the beautiful daughter of the god Cocitus, river god and lover of Ditus, god of the afterworld. Her beauty filled Persephone with jealousy and so she transformed the girl into a plant, making sure it would grow near river banks. In despair her father Cocitus requested from Jupiter that the plant would perpetually recall youth with the emanation of a delicate and fresh perfume. At this point we can add that the plant assumed astrological significance in medieval times, since mint was placed under the dominion of Venus and thus possessed virtues as an aphrodisiac.
Cooking: the leaves are used as an aromatic and as a corrective for the strong flavours present in some vegetables.
Medicine: mint contains numerous extracts from which can crystallize into a substance known as menthol. The extract is heavily used in mixtures for various preparations. The most common applications are for anaesthetic therapy of the digestive and respiratory systems.
Cosmetics: mint is used in the preparations of perfumes; fresh leaves combat spots on the skin; and it is used in the bathroom to aromatize toothpastes.

This herb has always been an essential ingredient in the cuisines of Egypt, Phoenicia, and Greece; the latter population used them the most, also putting it in their wine. The high consideration of this herb is found also in its’ name, which could signify “mountainous splendour” from the Greek oros: mountain, and ganos: splendour.
Cooking: dried and ground leaves are used as an aromatic.
Medicine: all of the upper parts of the plant contain a precious oil composed of numerous volatile extracts and tannic substances. In the past leaves were used for infusions to combat dysfunctions of the bile and intestinal systems, and the extract was also obtained for the distillation of components for purification and for revulsive and an anti-rheumatic.

Dioscorides talked extensively about this plant, the name of which means “celery of the rocks” (from selinon: celery). The plant has always found used around the ancient world for not only cooking but also for honorific decoration: the branches can be woven into fronds to be worn as a crown on the heads of poets and heroes. Later it even became a funereal crown and thus came forth the saying “he needs parsley” to indicate that a person is slated for death. The name selinon traces back to the city of Selinunte, as the rocky crags that surround it are the habitat of this plant. In later antiquity, it was believed that parsley was the love of the moon (Selene) and was thus planted during the crescent phase.
Cooking: parsley can be simply sprinkled over various dishes. At elevated quantities parsley can however provoke nausea, vertigo, and buzzing. When picking parsley, pay attention to not confuse it with the venomous hemlock that appears to look similar.
Medicine: all parts of the plants are rich in an ether-like oil that recalls camphor. All pharmacies used to carry water of parsley and considered it as a carminative, diuretic, and as a sedative. It even has the capacity to function as an emmanagogic and a vermifuge.
Cosmetics: parsley is used to prevent couperose. It is also said to eliminate freckles.
Dyeing: parsley produces a cream colour or various greenish tonalities according to the fashion in which it is used.

Cooking: the petals can be used to prepare a liquor. The fruit can be used in the preparations of preserves.
Medicine: rose petals have astringent, tonic, and anti-diuretical properties. The juice taken from the hollow spring shoots of the flowers can be used as eyedrops. The false fruits (the real fruits grow internally) contain vitamin C and other vitamins that render the rose plant precious against scurvy and in any case of vitamin deprivation.

The name of this plants means “mountain dew”, a poetic allusion to the preferred living environment of the wild form. The Greeks used the plant as incense by burning it in honour of the gods and to propitiate future immortality: for this reason it was considered in antiquity to be a beneficial plant for augurational purposes, and also for Christians thanks to a legend that rosemary was used to consecrate the baby Jesus. The Andalusians tell a story that on Christmas day the Madonna hung the first clothes of the infant above a bush of rosemary that she found in front of nativity. The plant was from then on tied thusly to the life of Christ that on the day of passion flowering announces the next resurrection and continual flowering each year. On Christmas night the Andalusians love to decorate their homes with bouquets since the aroma accompanied the birth of Christ and was propitious for the next year. Rosemary was also well known in the Middle East, where it was also used for proprietary rites, and largely used in the Arab world. Since the classical age, it has been associated with intelligence and good memory.
Cooking: fresh or dried leaves are used as an aromatic in any type of meat or fish.
Medicine: the leaves and the oil of rosemary are antiseptics, tonics, diuretics, and combat nerves. It is a valid remedy for fatigue, abstention, depression, impotence, and frigidity.
Cosmetics: it is used in shampoo to reinforce dark hair colours, and to make astringent lotions. The oil has been adopted by the perfume industry and in the preparation of insecticides. A bath with a decoction of rosemary has stimulant properties, which could become aphrodisiacal if a confectioned infusion of mixed sage and mint are added.
Home: rosemary keeps insects away, and deodorizes the environment, linens, and clothing.

The name of this plant is derived from the Greek rueo, to liberate, and this is because it keeps mankind free of a grand number of ailments; it was prescribed by the Greeks to increase vision for example.
Cooking: the leaves can be used with parsimony as an aromatic salad green. A stem cut before flowering can be put into grappa for an aromatic taste.
Medicine: this plant should be used with great caution as it can provoke serious reactions. It was used traditionally to control epilepsy and as an abortive.
Home: it has the power to repel lice and other insects, and it can be burned as an environmental deodorant.

The use of this herb in Europe dates back many centuries before the time of Christ. Its name seems to be derived from the Latin salvare (to save) to indicate its beneficial values (the Romans called it Salvia sanatrix). According to a medieval legend, it was sacred to the Madonna since she hid the sacred family in its bushes while they were fugitives through Egypt followed by the soldiers of Herod.
Cooking: sage is used as an aromatic with meats and fish, and it makes fats more digestible.
Medicine: the leaves and essential oils are used to an astringent and antiseptic effect, and sage is a efficacy against sore throats and ulcers of the oral cavity.
Cosmetics: sage can be used to darken the hair, stimulate hair growth, and better the hair in general. It whitens the teeth and reinforces the gums. It is an astringent and a deodorant and can be used in the bath with water for washing. It also has the ability to tone and revitalize the skin.
Home: sage can be scattered liberally around the house. At one time the flowers were used to colour foods. It can also go into the armoire, or closet, to keep moths away from clothing.

The stimulant effect of this plant justifies its reputation as an aphrodisiac; the very name of the plant is in fact derived from satire.
Cooking: the leaves can be used with legumes and meat. The extract is removed and distilled for use in the liquor industry.
Medicine: the leaves and flower tops, when dried, take on tonic, digestive, and antiseptic properties; it is said to instantly relieve pain from insect bites.
Home: this plant can be used as a deodorant.

The Greek name of this plant is derived from the verb thyein, “to perfume”, and it in fact has an acute odour.
Cooking: as an aromatic; all parts of the thyme plant have an anti-fermentative and an anti-putrefaction property, for this reason the leaves are picked and added to unconsumed food to slow decomposition.
Medicine: thyme is a strong antiseptic, and effective against disturbances to the respiratory and intestinal systems, also it is used as a gargle and mouthwash. The oil is a vermifuge, and helps digestion and stimulates the appetite.
Cosmetics: it can be used as a deodorant and to combat spots and blackheads. It is also used in toothpaste.
Home: thyme is used in cleaning and can also be burned as an aromatizer for the home. It is also present in candles, scented tobacco, and also can be used in laundry products.

The name of this plant is derived from the word Tages or Tagus, the name for an Etruscan god who was the nephew of Jupiter and the founder of divination arts in Etruria. The flower has since become a symbol of divination. In 18th century Italy the tagetes plant was called puzzola (polecat) in reference to the odour that emanated from the entire plant. The odour is so unpleasant that if it is crushed or decomposed, it is called flower of death.
Dyeing: mature flowers as well as the roots when dried are used for dyeing and give an excellent colour. With untreated wool it creates a pallid yellow, and with aluminium bite it makes a golden yellow. The colours are resistant but do tend to darken with time.

Cooking: the stalks can be boiled and eaten much like asparagus and can be fried as well. The roots, which have to be taken from young plants without breaking them, are cooked thoroughly and dressed with a full-bodied oil: this is a healthy and nutritious dish. Young leaves can also be eaten as a salad.
Medicine: this plant contains tannin, mucillagin, potassium salts, and calcium. It has been well known since ancient times and is widely used in natural medicine as an effective detoxifier, dermopathic, diuretic, and vulneraria. It is often cultivated for the roots as well.

Ranunculus means “little frog”, and is to indicate the habits of the flowers to grow in places where stagnant water can be found. These plants, often known by their other name, “gold buttons”, have either whole leaves or varied and divided leaves of mostly radial patterns, and flowers of white or yellow and at rare times pink or red, with a callyx and corolla made up of five or more distinct elements. The fruit is a compressed achenio. About 250 species of this plant exist, but we are mostly referring to the specific Ranunculus acer or the wider group of field buttercups. About 20 of these species are cultivated and pared for ornamental purpose.
All buttercup species contain acrid juices which are toxic to animals. The venom itself exists sparsely in all parts of the plant and is contained in the acrid substance which is fortunately volatile, and as such the buttercup can be reduced to hay and mixed with other types of hay as beast fodder without presenting any danger to the animals.
The buttercup was referred to as a “wicked plant” by Apuleiosince at one time beggars used the plant to scrape their legs which caused horrible sores, in hopes of receiving the compassion of passers-by. The strong revulsive action of the juice was used in the preparation of cataplasms that give energy.
To ingest the poison of the green part of the plant causes violent gastroenteritis, and if the stomach is not emptied of its contents by vomiting, death will occur in 1-2 days.

The name dandelion goes to indicate many different plants which are similar for the irregular form of the leaves. They have large teeth which are grow regularly along both sides and differs from the tarassaco in the form of pointed tips. It is widely diffused in fields and pastures of plains and hills terrain.
Cooking: leaves which are picked before flowering can be eaten raw or cooked.
Medicine: dandelion is used for its detoxifying and diuretical properties, and due to a pleasant bitterness it has been well received in antiquity, considered to be the spring cure to cleanse the toxins accumulated during the winter.

The name of this plant seems to be derived from the Greek hero Achilles, who had used it to cure the wounds of his soldiers during the battle of Troy. At one time it was even known as “military herb”.
Cooking: fresh leaves can be used in salad.
Medicine: fresh leaves, applied to wounds, seem to have an astringent, sanitizing, and healthful effect; when dried, the leaves, tips, and flowers are effective against dysentery. Beware that consumption in large doses can result in headaches and constipation.
Cosmetics: a decoction can be used against baldness, and as an astringent for fat skin.
Home: it is an excellent natural activator for fertilizer.

The nettle has a significant place in history. In the countryside of Novogord, Russia, during the waking of St. John on the solstice night, children jumped over nettles just like latroves jump over fire. In the town of Canavese, Piedmont, the farmers maintained that keeping nettle with you could keep you from any and every malady. The nettle is also a plant that protects you from lightning. When thunder is heard in Tirolo, they dive for the nettles to keep away from various dangers (but especially the strike from a bolt of lightning) – because according to a belief existing throughout central Europe, lightning never strikes the nettle plant. In the town of Lugnacco, Piedmont, they do the same with conviction to keep witches away as it is believed that witches are the cause of thunder.
The burning sensation caused by contact with the leaves of the nettle are due to the fact that each petal is a hollow spine in which are contained the substance silica, a substance that gives them a fragile and glassy appearance; the points of the spine break easily and the liquid contained within (formic acid) bleeds out.
Cooking: nettle contains vitamin A, vitamin C, and iron, as well as some mineral salts. Young leaves and tips can be used in recipes calling for spinach.
Medicine: the leaves are effective against rheumatism, in the control of internal haemorrhages and many dermatological problem. It is also a good diuretic.
Home: fresh leaves can yield a good liquid fertilizer, and are also good for keeping flies away.
Dyeing: the roots make a gray, yellow, or orange tint depending on the bite used.

Sybil, the mother goddess, was often represented with bunches of wheat and poppies in hand, because of the infinite number of their seeds and the representation of fertility. The poppy is known in Latin poetry as a symbol for dreams; and it is in fact sacred at Morpheus.
Cooking: young spring shoots are eaten raw and well dressed, or conversely cooked in a pan, or eaten in soups or with rice (risotto).
Medicine: from the latex (opium) you can extract various principal activators, such as morphine, codeine, narcotine, and et cetera; it has the properties of a narcotic, a calmant, and as well a decongestant.
Dyeing: the petals can be used to dye wool but do not yield a solid colours.

Even known by the name of estragone, it was already noted in ancient Greece through the provinces of the Middle East. The name is of Greek origin, since artemesia is derived from the substantive artemes which meant “sane” to indicate the healthy properties of the plant. Dracunculus is the Latin term for “little dragon”: this association refers to the belief that the plant possesses the cure to the deadly bite of snakes and other venomous creatures.
Cooking: in France it is used to prepare a type of vinegar: a good number of freshly picked tarragon leaves are put into a bottle over which is poured white wine vinegar, and it is left to macerace for a few months after which it is filtered. French cooking makes much use of this herb, in the form of a paste, adding aroma to meats and sauces. Young leaves harvest before the plant flowers can be added in unlimited amount to raw or cooked salads. A pleasing odour emanates from the entire plant which resembles that of celery and leek; masticated and left on the tongue for a certain time gives a sense of a tender pinch, or pins-and-needles.
Medicine: all parts of the plant above ground contain a substance called “estrapolo” with the capacity to exercise strong stimulant action in gastric secretion, as well as a subtler laxative action. At one time the roots were used to control maladies of the teeth.

This ancient plant seems to be one of the bitter herbs cited in the holy bible. The name is of Greek origin and appears to mean “care of the view” from taraxia, and akos, the remedy. It is known by many other name also: dog’s tooth, for the formation of the leaves, puff for the lightness of the fruits, flat star for the shape of the yellow flowers, and little chicory for its use in the kitchen. There are many other names that refer to the plant for its diuretic properties.
Cooking: young leaves can be eaten as salad.
Medicine: high vitamin C content and also substances useful in fighting liver maladies.
Home: fresh leaves are the best rabbit food.
Dyeing: the roots applied with an aluminium bite yield a magenta tint and a yellow brown when paired with iron.

Since longer than can be remembered people have the branches of the elder, and making a small hole into the centre, constructed a musical instrument. The musical sense connected to the elder began from the moment it was derived from the Greek word sambykè, meaning musical instrument. Children of the countryside made not only elder wood whistles, but also miniscule cannons to launch pebbles or projectiles of paper. In medieval times, the elder plant was a sure fire remedy for keeping witches away from the home, and they thought that it would never be struck by lightning and that cutting it brought bad luck (according to tradition, it was wood of the elder that built the cross of the Christ).
To the Germans the elder was called Holunder, or “tree of Holda”. Holda, was a fairy of German medieval folklore, created in the image of a benign young woman with long golden hair, and who lived in the elders that you would find growing near banks on the waters of rivers, lakes, and other water sources. At the end of the century the German farmers respected the elder to the point that when passing by one of the plants they would lift their cap to it. They would not have dared to cut it down and, when it was necessary to cut away one branch, they would kneel before the elder with an open hand, praying, “Frau Holda, give me some of your wood and I, when I grow, will give you something of mine”. To cure toothaches the would have walked around the elder plant incanting three times: “Frau Holda, Frau Holda, send me a splinter and I will bring it back”. A splinter would be taken and then brought home where it was used to incise the gums and spot the wood with a bit of blood. Then they would return to the plant, walking backwards, and return the splinter to the very point from which it was taken on the tree.
In Germanic legend the magical flute was an elder stick, hollowed out in the middle, which had to be cut at some point as not to sound throaty like the shrill yell of the rooster. The sounds protected one from witchcraft, just like the testimony of the homonym opera of Mozart, in which the Queen of the Night gave a magical instrument to Tamino, which was made entirely of gold, and gave a little bell to Papagheno: to be played at the moment of danger to liberate them from trouble.
Cooking: the flowers are used to make tea and infusions and can also be added to various gelatines and preserves, or they can be breaded and fried. The fruits are used to make elder wine (sambuco) and to make preserves as well. When the flowers are still tender and aromatic, they can also be served fried in oil or butter as fritters.
Medicine: all parts of the plant are useful. An infusion of the flowers and the juice of the well matured fruits have a laxative, anti-nervous, antiperspirant, and anti-rheumatic effect and are efficient in curing influenza and common cold related maladies.
Cosmetics: the water of the elder flower softens and moistens the skin, eliminates freckles, and decongests the eyes.
Home: keeps away flies and is especially adept at keeping away parasites from rabbit cages.
Dyeing: the fruits give a lavender or violet colour.

Originating in the middle east, this plant was already cultivated by the ancient Romans.
The hazelnut, well protected inside of its shell, was a symbol of internal wisdom for the ancient Celts; it was said that to eat the nuts provided one with knowledge of the secret arts and sciences. The druids and the bards used divination tablets made of hazelnut wood to indicate its magical properties. A forked branch, typical of the dowsers, was always used as a magical wand for the discovery of treasures and to give invisibility.

The reason this tree is called the “horse chestnut” is because Turks, and later Europeans, fed the ground chestnuts of this tree to asthmatic horses to cure them.
Medicine: the principle activators in the horse chestnut have the prerogative to be contemporaneously useful and irritating to the skin and the mucous membranes, including those of the intestines. This plant has a beneficial effect on blood flow, can be used as a toner, and to normalize the permeability and cure inflammation in the eyelids. It is then useful for the treatment of haemorrhoids, fleabites, and various ulcers; as well as for minor itches and pains. It favours the re-absorption of liquids that may accumulate in tissues. The astringent action is also useful for more general afflictions, for example swollen extremities and minor skin defects.
All of the actions described are for explicit internal use, but in consideration, it in toleration for its active principles it is better to use only externally.
One curiosity: in Italian folklore it is believed that to combat the common cold, one is required to carry two horse chestnut seeds in your pocket.
Cosmetics: a dough prepared with horse chestnut flour, almond flour, and wheat flour then mixed with olive oil can be useful to soften the skin.
Dyeing: the spiny capsules of the fruit as well as the leaves can be used either fresh or dried.

Immersed in water this plant becomes nearly invincible, and for this reason it was used in remote antiquity in the fabrication of foundation piles and for pile-dwellings (see Venice and Ravenna). At one time it produced three distinct dyes: green from the flowers, brown from the stems, and red from the cores; which in ancient times stood to symbolize water, earth, and fire which seem to reunify the tree. The flame burns almost without smoke; the slack developing more heat than any other species and producing potash. The red stalks, hollowed out, at one time served to make whistles, a testament to the affinity of this plant with the fourth element, air. It was considered a tree of life after death. It was also considered a cursed plant, as once the wood had been cut it takes on a reddish colour that gives the impression of bleeding.
Medicine: the elevated presence of tannins has made this plant precious in popular medicine as a combatant against angina, tonsillitis, and faringitis, using the cores for a decoction to be gargled. It also has a property to heal sores and ulcers. The cores, ground and mixed with dry white wine, is useful for intermittent fevers.
Cosmetics: a decoction can be used as a detergent for the skin of the face.
Home: the wood serves well for lathe work especially for wooden legs.
Dyeing: the feminine flowers, or kitties, give a yellow colour when used with an aluminium bit; the stems go brown when with a copper sulphate bit, and when bit is either aluminium or iron sulphate a black colour is produced.

This tree is also called “spiny prune” for the spininess of its branches. It is also called wild susan.
Cooking: the spring fruits of this tree are used for confections, preserves, and refreshing syrups.
Medicine: prune has astringent properties and can be used for rehydration in the case of inflammation of the mouth and of the throat. Care must be taken giving the dose, since prune also contains some dangerous substances.

This tree grows almost anywhere and flowers in late spring.
Cooking: the flowers are used to in the preparation of a pleasing tea. The fruits can be used to prepare preserves and aromatic juices.
Medicine: it has a diuretic property, and is useful as an astringent and an anti-scorbutic. Consumed as a marmalade or as a syrup, it takes on an anti-diarrheal function. While taken as a decoction it cures inflammations of the oral cavity and alleviates hoarseness.
Dyeing: leaves and fruits are used in dyeing.

The older name is vimine, “wicker”, which at one time was used to designate all of the willows, it then became reserved as reference to those species with flexible branches. From the word vimen, meaning flexible wood, came the term Viminale, meaning the Italian Ministry of the Interior, which was founded at a place that was planted with willows. It was at one time considered evil, and was associated with a spell of the moon goddess. To express the name of the tree in the diverse Nordic languages, especially in English the equivalent “willow witch” carries negative connotation. In this case, the witch rides a broom tied of willow branches.
Dyeing: young shoots are used to obtain diverse tonalities from yellow to green.

This lab has the duration of about 2 hours and should preferably be conducted in the outdoors, under a portico, using tables for the hands-on activities and having an oven nearby.
Before the arrival of the children, get plenty of water boiling and keep it on a low flame to continue the boil, wash and rinse some doilies (if they are already washed it is at least necessary to wet them before beginning the dyeing process).
Place baskets on one table holding the different types of tinted wool along with bottles containing the corresponding colorant and bit materials.
It is also necessary to have a handy collection of various-sized pots, wood sticks for mixing, rags for dyeing, bags and jars for the harvest of the plants, and buckets of cool water for rinsing the doilies. It is recommended that you use gloves if at least for handling the biter.
This lab can be given by one person, but it is important that someone keeps an eye on the fire during the dyeing.

The children sit around the table where the material has been set out. Make a brief introduction on the activities of the lab and show them the different colours of the wool. Invite them to guess how they took on their colours (you can make this fun by turning over cards with the answer written on the back); then explain the process, and depending on the plant and which part of the plant how different colours can be achieved.

Emphasize the fact that they will have the chance to do the same vegetal dyeing themselves and that they are going to the fields to gather material first. Distribute the bags for carrying the 4-5 different types of plants, and according to the pots at your disposal, distribute to the number of children taking part in the lab. The children will get to choose a plant to use (we can address the choice of plants from what we have already tried, or just experiment), and the others decide together based on those plants which are available, growing in the fields. They should choose plants that are dissimilar (including ivy, tarassaco, thistle, leaves of the horse chestnut or other trees, elder, alder, poppy, and evidently the cores since they are difficult to reach) and any others that are nearby. Remember to bring gloves if the children decide to pick anything spiny.

Let the children pick the plants, provide information on those plants which they are finding and other plants you may encounter along the way.

Begin the dyeing. Have the kids crush the harvested plants, those remains should be put into rags and tied at the top like little bundles. Each bunch should be put into a pot full of boiling water (show the kids how some plants lose their colours immediately and some take longer). Each child takes a doily and a pot of their choice, and after mixing in the colours with a stir stick, you put them back on the heat to boil for at least 30-40 minutes. While overseeing the entire operation, give the kids some technical information pertaining to the various passages and processes of dyeing. Make it clear that the correct procedure of dyeing must be followed and how it can be done taking more or less time.

Move on to the second part of the lab. Ask the kids what the plants could possibly be used for, and introduce a discourse on the aromatic herbs.

Distribute the containers that have been designated for the harvesting of test plants, and use them to play a guessing game where the object is to identify which plant emanates which aroma.

Take a trip through the vegetable garden, and in the orchard to discover the aromatic herbs. Paying overall attention to the curiosities on the plants. It’s important that the kids touch the leaves and that they pick a few of them to take with.

While taking the children through nature, it is fundamental that someone keeps an eye on the stove boiling the water. Check that if, after 20 minutes of boiling, the colours are not those that we would expect. If not, then you can in help the process along by adding: a pinch of saffron for yellow, copper sulphate to accentuate green, and iron sulphate to darken any colour (pay attention with the latter as it may also result in browning). After 30-40 minutes cooking time, take the pots off of the heat and leave them to cool. When the group has return from the field trip, the pots should be already taken off of the flame.

Go over conclusions from the dyeing activity: take one pot one at a time and show to the kids the colour that was obtained, then take the doilies and put them in a bucket of water (one each per colour) in a way that the kids can now rinse their own doilies. Observe how the colours obtained are different from each other and examine together what could be the reason for the colour (the difference in the leaves, the boiling time, different period of harvest, if there was a period of rain, et cetera)

Work together to hang all of the doilies in the sun to dry. If the children have to leave immediately there will not be time to dry them, and there should be some plastic bags available to carry the wet material.

Kermes: a brilliant red colorant product obtained from the dried body of a cochineal species (the Coccus ilicis), was used in the past for tinting fibres. It is now used for colouring a type of liquor called alchermes.

Medicinal plant: from the Latin officina, pharmaceutical laboratory, indicating a time in which the use of plants was reserved for medical personnel and could be bought and sold at pharmacies

Carminative: a substance capable of absorbing or expelling intestinal gasses

Dionysis: a divinity of uncertain origin, but most probably attributable to Greece. His divine entity was split into two contrasting aspects; one of benevolent joy and the raucousness of festivities, and other of destructive furor. He is a son of Zeus and the mortal Semele. According to popular tradition, there was an argument concerning the rank of the god. Dionysis was the protector of life and a symbol of natural victory or vegetation that dies and re-grows each year.

Achenio: a dry fruit, with only one seed, wrapped with a leathery non-adherent shell (for example, the achenio of the oak tree is the acorn).

Lucio Apuleio: a Latin naturalist, nicknamed Platonico, who lived in the 4th century and was the author of a plant guide entitled; Herbarum vires et curationes, written on the medicinal properties of plants.

Revulsive: that which provokes a cutaneous irritation with intense rush of blood to the superficial tissues in order to decongest and reactivate.

Cataplasm: a wet paste of curative vegetal substance, wound in gauze or cloth and applied to the skin at the site of a malady as a local therapeutic (as an emollient, sedative, or revulsive)

Potash: potassium carbon, industrially produced for the fabrication of soaps and types of glass, and for other various industries.