L Section
Lady's Mantle,
Alchemilla vulgaris
Lady Slipper
Orchid (Cypripedium parviflorum L.) (yellow)
Lamb's Quarters (Chenopodium
album)edible quinoa seeds (C.
quinoa)
Larch, Larix decidua
Lavender (Lavandula officinalis L.)
Leeks, wild ramps (Allium tricoccum)
Lemon (Citrus limon (L.))
Lemon balm, Balm Melissa (Melissa officinalis
(L.))
Lemongrass, Cymbopogon citratus
Lemon Verbena, (Aloysia triphylla)
Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra L. and G.
uralensis)
Avalanche lily,
yellow avalanche lily, dogtooth violet (Erythronium grandiflorum )
Lily of
the valley (Convallaria majalis (L.))
Lobelia, asthma weed, puke weed (L. inflata an
Lobelia cardinalis)
Lousewort, (Pedicularis spp.)
Lovage (Levisticum officinale (L.))
Alchemilla vulgaris
Rosaceae
Medicine: A bitter, astringent herb, aerial parts as a drug approved by Commission E to treat diarrhea. Plant in flower is harvested and dried. Commercially prepared extracts or as a tea (Tea: teaspoon of dried drug to cup water off the boil).
Used externally for vaginal itching and discharge. Once commonly used for treating irregular menstruation.
Use under the supervision of a holistic health care practitioner.
Chemistry: Flavonoids, tannins.
Cypripedium parviflorum L. (yellow)
C. parviflorum var. pubescens (yellow); C. acaule (Aiton) (pink)
Orchidaceae
Uses: (photo of pink lady slipper orchid)
Medicine: Root is styptic and astringent. This is a superior nervine (tranquilizer) and has been over harvested in the wild. Rhizome was used in decoction or tincture. Native Americans boiled the plant and used it as a panacea: Nervine, colds, cramps, diabetes flu, hysteria, inflammations (poultice), menstrual problems, tranquilizer, tonic, antispasmodic. Root is typically harvested in autumn used fresh or dried for later use.
Chemistry: Resins, tannins, gallic acids, glycosides. Phenanthrene quinones: cypripedi; volatile oils.
Larch, European Larch, Tamarack (American Larch) Western Larch, L. occidentalis
Larix decidua L., L. laricina (DuRoi) K. Koch, L. occidentalis Nutt.
Pinaceae
Food: Native Americans make tea from the end shoots and needles.
Medicine: Extracts from the bark of this tree are used to treat colds, fevers, bronchitis, coughs, inflammation of oral mucosa, arthritis rheumatism, urinary tract infections and other infections, diarrhea, to induce menstruation (unproven).
Native Americans used tamarack (L. laricina) resin like gum as a chewable digestive. Also used needles and inner bark in infusion for coughs and colds; decoction of needles used as a wash for the skin to treat sores an burns. Infusion of buds used as an expectorant. Crushed needles and bark used in sweat lodge to treat headaches and backaches. Smudging and inhaling (sweeping away bad spirits) to chase away the bad spirits (disinfectant). L. Occidentalis used end branches as a hot soak for arthritis. Plant ends and tops used in infusion (sometimes with Oregon Grape) as tonic and blood purifier. Pitch mixed with animal fat used as a poultice on wounds and sores. Infusion of branches considered a panacea.
Chemistry: Alpha pinene, delta 3 -carene, beta pinene, beta pyrones various resins including oleoresin acids.
Lavandula officinalis L.
Labiatae
Uses: (photo, more)
Food: See our Edible Flowers video for recipes for ice cream, sorbets, appetizers. Good with lean beef, cold beef cuts.
Medicine: Relaxant, carminative, stimulates blood flow antidepressant, antiseptic, antibacterial, relieves muscle spasm. Used to treat asthma (essential oil in baths as inhalant). Essential oil massaged into temples for headache, sleeplessness, irritability. Lavender oil in a bath is antiseptic and relaxing. Oil reduces pain and nerves. Flowers are antiseptic and antibacterial. applied to skin flowers are insecticidal and rubefacient, that is they will stimulate circulation of blood to skin. Sleep aid, asthma aid as inhalant (volatile oils). Essential oil is good on sores, wounds and burns.
On insect stings provides relief. Used externally to treat scabies and lice.
Steam bath or bath therapy: Place leaves in a clean pair of panty hose, tie off and put under hot bath water. Or soak leaves and throw them on hot rocks in Native American steam bath.
Chemistry: Coumarins, tannins, flavonoids and volatile oils: linalyl acetate, cineole, borneol, linalool, nerol.
Wildlife/Veterinarian: Insecticide, also rub flowers on stings, bites. Essential oil in shampoo may be helpful against head lice. Dilute oil on scabies may help.
Leeks, wild ramps
Allium tricoccum Ait.
Liliaceae
USES: (photo and information)
Food: steam leaves, chop into omelets, great in burritos and tacos leaves chopped fine, stir chopped leaves into sour cream and infuse, same with tofu but add tablespoon of seasoned gourmet rice wine vinegar to tofu and ramps then puree in blender, use soft tofu, saute whole ramps, add to Chinese stir fry. try in all savory dishes where sharpness and punch is needed.
Storage: leaves may be dried and stored in a jar. they impart wonderful flavor to sandwiches, soups, stews, vegetable bullion, dips and spreads. Use wherever you use garlic and onions, chives.
Medicine: SULFUR COMPOUNDS SIMILAR TO GARLIC AND ONIONS, heart disease prevention, hypotensive, antimicrobial, antibiotic, use for acute infections colds and flu. Bulb is most potent after seeds. Seeds come late in season after leaves disappear. This is a warming herb.
Chemistry: Sulfur compounds see garlic.
Citrus limon L.
Rutaceae
Uses: (Photo, more)
Food: This is a vital ingredient for fish soups and stir fry. It is often just the right zest for a salad dressing that is missing something. Choose firm, close grained lemons for best results. Lemons enhance flavor and can be used as a salt substitute. The juice is a good marinade for fish, game, vegetables. I add it to almost all my cold herbal tea infusions. Three of four thin slices per quart.
Medicine: Cooling diuretic, antioxidant, tonic, antiscorbutic, expectorant, helps lower homocysteine with its folic acid content and high fiber (may help prevent heart disease). Homocysteine may also be reduced by other high fiber foods such as pulses, whole grains. Vitamin C content helps prevent colds, flu and other acute infections. Try it for stomach infections. Flavonoids improve poor circulation problems, strengthen capillaries and varicose veins. May reduce atherosclerosis (stroke, heart disease, high blood pressure). Fruit juice is natural antiseptic for bites and stings. Capillary strengthening may help prevent bleeding gums (gum disease, gingivitis). Alleviates rheumatism (arthritis) and intestinal complaints. Alkalizing effect on body thus positive effects on rheumatic conditions. Useful, addition to diet of any chronically ill person. Juice has been used directly on ringworm, warts, acne, athlete's foot.
Preparation: Juice for infections, liver and pancreas tonic, gum disease gargle, reduces stomach acidity (yes, you read that right). Pulp, pith and whole fruit is rich in bioflavonoids for treating atherosclerosis and strengthening capillaries.
Wildlife/Veterinarian: Juice is natural antiseptic and relieves insect bites and stings.
Chemistry: Modified citrus pectin inhibits metastasis of prostate cancer in rodent studies. High in vitamin C with mucilage, potassium and folic acid, 6% to 10% citric acid, essential oil 95% terpenes: limonene, alpha terpinene, beta-pinene, citral. Also coumarins, flavonoids, vitamins B1, B2, B3/volotile oil limonene. Lemon flower has caffeine.
Melissa officinalis L.
Labiatae
USES: (Photo, more)
Food: As tea, steep in water off boil, covered till warm or cool, pot licker is potent oil, cook with fish and game, put in salads (leaves), salad dressings, flavor peas and other foods, vinegars. Great cold infusion see Herbal Preparations cold infusion.
Medicine: Relaxing tonic, strongly antispasmodic, calms nervous palpitations, anti-microbial, antiviral, antibacterial, immune enhancing, improves distal circulation by relaxing blood vessels, memory strengthening and improving, mood elevator, cooling, sedative, lowers fevers, sinusitis, improves digestion, inhibits thyroid activity, insect repellant, for nervous disorders, tension, excitability, ADD, depression, tension headaches, externally: herpes, sores, insect bites...Reduces nervous tension. German studies suggest that citral and citronellal relax the central nervous system. Polyphenolic compounds are antiviral, used specifically on herpes simplex (cold sores). Traditional longevity drug.
Chemistry: Tannins, triterpenes, polyphenols, bioflavonoids, volatile oils: citral, linalool, citronellal, caryophyllene oxide.
Caution: Lemon balm may inhibit thyroid function. Naturopaths use it to treat overactive thyroid.
Cymbopogon citratus
Graminaceae
Food: Key ingredient in Thai food and other Asian flavor principles. Try it in sweet and sour recipes. Buy it fresh or dried at Oriental supermarkets.
Medicine: Commission E approves use of cut, sifted and powdered drug three times a day, typically an infusion: 2 grams of drug to a cup of water before meals.
Other reported uses of the herb as therapy for gall bladder and liver problems, for colds and fever (acute infections), infections and inflammations. Used as a rinse for mouth inflammations.
Commission E approved for treating insomnia and nervousness.
Applied externally as hot poultice for pain.
Chemistry: Starch, tannins, generole, flavonoids, volatile oils and pungent substances: galangol
Glycyrrhiza glabra L. and G. uralensis
Fabaceae
(also in Chinese section to follow in this file)
Uses: (photo/more)
Food: candy, condiments, flavoring, in soups, salad dressings. I like to make a stomach and intestine healing and protecting rice by simmering one ounce dried licorice root with six tongue depressors of Astragalus in three cups of water. Simmer down to about 2 cups. Add whole grain brown rice. Simmer covered for 35 minutes or until rice is soft (helps to soak rice in refrigerator overnight). Eat rice for treating ulcers, flatulence, nervous stomach, stomach infections.
Medicine: Glycyrrhetinic acid as a cough suppressant, but may raise blood pressure dangerously in hypertensive patient. Deglycyrrhinated licorice does not effect blood pressure.
Anti-inflammatoryglycyrrhetinic acid similar in action to adrenal hormones.
Isoflavones and biogastrone from glycyrrhizin show anti-ulcer activity.
Isoflavones show anti allergic activity.
Immune system suppressing activity.
Weakly hemolytic activity of glycyrrhizin as compared to other saponins.
Europeans have formulated deglycyrrhinated licorice to solve high blood pressure problem. Deglycyrrhinated licorice may help heal ulcers of duodenum.
Licorice may be anti inflammatory internally and externally.
Triterpenoids in licorice may be anti-ulcer, prevent dental decay and inhibit some forms of cancer.
May stimulate immune system to produce interferon, anti bacterial, anti fungal.
Chinese use to improve liver function. Detoxifying effects from food poisoning, drug poisoning and toxic metabolites. Glucuronic acid combine with and removes toxins from liver.
Raises blood pressure by adrenal cortical like action, similar to caffeine, and fasting.
Causes retention of water, secretion of potassium and increases blood pressure. Used to treat Addison's disease.
Inhibits gastric secretions caused by histamine reaction. (animal studies).
Commission E approved for (G. glabra): gastritis, coughs, bronchitis.
Chemistry: Root: saponins, up to 14%. Glycyrrhizin (50X sweeter than sugar) when hydrolyzed forms glycyrrhetic acid and glucuronic acid. Other saponins include: gabrolide, glabric acid. Also, flavonoids: the aglycones liquiritin, isoliquiritin, licoricone, licoflavone, 2-methyl-7-hydroxyisoflavone, licoricidin...mannitolasparanic acids, isoglycyrols, glycyrols.
Avalanche lily, yellow avalanche lily, yellow dogtooth violet
Erythronium grandiflorum Pursh
Liliaceae
Description: On Mt. Raineer spring comes in July for the Avalanche lily. As the snow fields retreat the lilies pop through the melting ice in huge colonies, blooming in a blaze of yellow. This plant is similar and from the same genus as the trout lily (Erythronium americanum) and the white dogtooth violet (Erythronium albidum) of the Eastern United States. The lance shaped leaves grow from a deeply buried edible corm. Leaves are usually two, lance and ellipse shaped, narrowing at base. There is a single yellow flower (sometimes two) on a 7 or 8 inch stem. Found in alpine meadows, high slopes in Western mountains. (photo and description)
Uses:
Food Cooking tips: Reaching the corm is a difficult dig, much effort is needed. This is remarkable because unlike me Native Americans did not use dynamite and a back hoe. Consider the Lytton people of Canada gathered about 225 pounds per family for their winter food store. The corm contains the polysaccharide inulin and thus must be cooked to be edible. Native Americans wrapped the bulbs in cattails and reeds then cooked them in a pit covered with earth over which a fire was burned. Ten to twelve hours in the hot pit would render the corms delicious. CAUTION: A few tribes thought the bulbs poisonous, others claimed that eating them caused vomiting.
Medicine: The inulin rich bulb may be helpful to diabetics. Inulin requires several digestive cleavages before it is reduced to simple, usable sugars. Inulin in burdock root is used for treating diabetics in Japan.
Chemistry: Inulin, polysaccharides.
Convallaria majalis L.
Convallariaceae/Liliaceae
Description: Lance like lily leaves. typically two leaves sheathing the flower spike, racemes, white flowers cup shaped and nodding to one side. Often found growing around old homes as ground cover on hills, shady areas.
Uses:
Cosmetics: Farnesol, the essential oil, used in perfume.
Medicine: Long history in treatment of dropsy (congestive heart failure). Leaves and flowers are used to make tinctures. Cardiac glycosides in Convallaria similar but not as potent or as cumulative as foxglove (Digitalis spp.). Used for treating hypertension, arteriosclerosis, angina (arrhythmia), urinary infections (animal studies). kidney and bladder stones, venous insufficiency.
Commission E approved for treating cardiac insufficiency NYHA I and II., arrhythmia and arrhythymia due to nervous hear complaints.
Caution:
Potential drug interactions with quinidine, glucocorticoids, laxatives.
Excessive dose may be fatal.
To be used only by skilled medical professional.
Chemistry: Farnesol, cardenolides (cardio glycosides), convallatoxin, convalloside,
Notes: A Russian physician friend used this plant dried (in tincture) as a drug to treat congestive heart failure in the old Soviet Union as a substitute for digoxin. In the last stages of dropsy (congestive heart failure), the drug was administered with an alcohol as a diuretic. Alcohol was taken intravenously.
Lobelia, asthma weed, puke weed (L. inflata L.)
Lobelia cardinalis L.
L inflata L.: L. tupa; L. siphilitica L.
Campanulaceae
Uses: (Photo/More)
Food: Not used as food, toxic.
Medicine: Used to induce vomiting, increase respiration, narcotic, analgesic (treat toothache). L. siphilitica used with Podophyllum peltatum to treat venereal diseases. Various species used for treating dysentery, cirrhosis, gastroenteritis, edema, eczema, schistomiasis. This is a very potent and potentially toxic herb. Do not experiment with it.
The alkaloids in various lobelia species have been patented. These include lobeline, lobelanidine, lobelanine and their various salts. The drugs may be used to treat abuse of cocaine, amphetamines, caffeine, opiates, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, cannabinoids, hallucinogens, alcohol, phencyclidine. Treatment with the drugs may reduce the person’s desire for the drug. Also, used for appetite suppression.
Chemistry: Piperidine alkaloids: lobeline, lobelanidine, lobelanine.
Notes: this is a beautiful species to enter into your garden. Smoking the leaves is reported to decrease the desire for nicotine. This is a potentially dangerous treatment, don’t try it.
Pedicularis bracteosa Benth.
P. canadensis L.
Scrophulariaceae
Uses: Thompson tribe weave the leaf pattern into basket and blanket designs.
Food: Pedicularis canadensis L. the Canadian lousewort, leaves and stems were cooked and eaten. Nectar may be sucked out of flowers as Native Americans practiced. Leaves cooked like spinach. Considered an aphrodisiac. Pedicularis lanata Cham & Schlect.m Woolly Lousewort, Eskimos boil and eat flower stems...Also, prepared eaten with seal oil. Leaves and tops fermented in water and eaten, or fermented in water, frozen, mashed with sugar and eaten as dessert. Can be fermented like sauerkraut.
Medicine: P. canadensis L.: Rid lice from abode or body. Analgesic, blood purifier, Love potent (aphrodisiac), dermatological aid, abortifacient (Mohegan infusion of roots of P. canadensis). Infusion of powdered leaves for coughs. Sweat lodge, whole plant used in steam to treat arthritis and orthopedic injuries. Chippewa used infusion of dried roots for treating anemia. Poulticed on tumors.
P. groenlandica Retz., Elephanthead Lousewort used by Cheyenne as cough medicine dried and powdered leaves and stems in infusion for cough.
Veterinarian/Wildlife: Leaves mixed with oats used as forage for Potawatomi Indian ponies. Plant put to bed with dogs, especially pups to delouse them. Also used to de-lice sheep, humans. Nectar favored by many bees and hammer birds, humming birds.
Levisticum officinale Koch.
Umbelliferae
USES: (Photo/more)
Food: I eat the leaves and young stems in early spring. Leaves get stronger as season progresses. I stuff a big bunch in an old pair of panty hose and let them infuse in the hot tub before a soak. Third year roots can be dried and infused in water for gargle. Seeds may be dried, crushed and infused in water as a gargle or flavoring agent in cooking.
Steam young shoots and leaves and eat. Seeds can be dried and used in cooking like celery seeds, or as medicinal teas. Later in season strong leaves used to flavor soups, stews, salad dressings and other savory dishes. One of my favorite herbs, hardy perennial that gives every year. I use flowers in salads late in the season to capture flavonoids in my diet.
Medicine: sedative, relaxant, warms, increases perspiration, diuretic, expectorant, relaxes spasms, anti-microbial, treat indigestion, flatulence, appetite stimulant, fights kidney stones eat with spinach to neutralize oxalic acid (may prevent calcium loss), PMS, may alleviate painful menstruation. Externally used as poultice over sores, gargle for sore throat and mouth ulcers.
Chemistry: seed 20 percent protein 14 percent fat. Root has coumarins, cuparene, p-cymene, eugenol, limonene and linalool, psoralen, umbelliferone, angelic acid, seed has apiole.