POWER OF PLANTS Natural remedies to forage in October Burdock and Lesser Burdock
Identification: Many people ask me if burdock is rhubarb when they see the leaves. They are very large, but slightly more “pointy” and downy than rhubarb leaves, with white-ish undersides. Burdock produces rounded thistle-like flowers in its second year, followed by extremely clingy round seed heads.
Preparations: Root – decoction, tincture, wine, beer, cordial (traditionally with dandelion root), as a cooked vegetable. Stem – in the first year, peel the fibrous outer layer from the stem and cook as a vegetable. Seed heads – tincture, or dry and grind into a powder for sprinkling on food.
Health uses: Nourishing and cleansing; elimination – liver, kidney and lymphatic function; immune health; probiotic; diuretic; circulation; stabilising blood sugar; gout; arthritis; psoriasis; acne.
Sorrel
Identification: Vibrant, small (sheep’s sorrel) to medium-sized (common sorrel) waxy green leaves are rounded or arrow shaped, with a distinctive pointy upside down “V” at the bottom of the leaf where it joins the stem. The flowers are very small with a green centre and bright-red edge, and the whole upper stem seems to glow a reddish colour when coming into flower.
Harvesting: Pick the young fresh leaves from the stem. Sorrel is at its best before it flowers, and is usually available to harvest most of the year. Many would consider it a spring plant, but I’ve included it in October’s section as there is usually a “second coming” of this plant after the first flowering. I’m often picking it right through until
Bramble
November or even through the winter in mild years. In this respect, common sorrel is a really valuable early spring green or winter vegetable.
Preparations: Poultice, and as a fresh leaf to add into salads and cooking.
Identification: Lots of people confuse raspberries with brambles, so here’s how you can tell. Brambles have large creeping thorny briars covered with the characteristic glossy dark green leaves (a bit like roses) in sets of three, sometimes five. To tell the difference between a bramble and a raspberry, check the bottom of the leaf, raspberries have a pale silvery surface on the underside of the leaf, brambles do not. Preparations: Leaves – tea, tincture, infused vinegar. Berries – as a food, jams, jellies, wine, vinegar, tincture, cordial, syrup, fruit leathers, sauces, cakes, pies, crumble.
Health uses: Gum health; digestion; anticancer; wounds and bleeding; sore throat; piles.