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HOW ABOUT HERBS 



JU 



Caution — Herbs in Use 



Plants contain powerful pharmacological ingredients. 

 Herbal preparations are becoming increasingly pop- 

 ular as interest grows in non-traditional medicine. But 

 many people are not aware of the dangers of some of 

 the most common of herbal plants — side effects that 

 can be uncomfortable — even fatal. 



A case in point — some years ago, 1 made "Peter 

 Rabbit tea" with my ten-year-old daughter and we 



tic horseradish scent and bite would be missing and 

 it's not likely that a careful harvester would make the 

 mistake, but it has happened and it's good to be 

 aware. 



Awareness is key. I nearly made a serious mistake 

 when searching for angelica [Angelica archangeUca) a few 

 years ago. My sister and I had a nice moist shady area 

 in our garden and we decided that a patch of tall and 



shared a happy time together enjoying chamomile tea elegant angelica would look perfect there. We'd seen 



and little English-type biscuits. Later I began to 



sneeze and I sneezed hard for more than a day. The 



symptoms did not hang on the way those of a cold 



do — and the next day I was okay. 1 



thought about what had happened 



and then I tried chamomile tea again, 



but rather than several cups, 1 drank 



just one or two. And sure enough, I 



began to sneeze — so I did some more 



reading. 1 learned that if you have hay 



fever-type allergies, you may also be 



troubled by chamomile, and since 



then, 1 have steered clear of that 



herb. 



That was a relatively simple prob- 

 lem. Others are of a more serious na- 

 ture. 



One of the possible problems is 

 that of confusing one plant for an- 

 other. As a young plant, foxglove 

 (Digitalis purpurea) looks very much like 

 comfrey [Symphytum officinale and S. 

 caucasicum). The mature plants do not 

 resemble each other much, but the 

 first young leaves can be easily con- 

 fused. Comfrey leaves are used to 

 make tea, to add to greens (like spinach), or to make 

 salves and ointments. Foxglove provides the heart 

 medicine, digitalis, and is lethal when not used in a 

 properly prescribed dosage. It readily reseeds and fox- 

 glove could be mistaken for comfrey if both are grown 



^^erbal preparations 



are becoming 

 increasingly popular as 



interest grows in 



non-traditional medicine. 



But many people 



are not aware of 



the dangers of some 



of the most common 



of herbal plants — 



side effects that can be 



uncomfortable — 



even fatal. 



some in an abandoned area alongside a small stream 

 and decided to dig some up But a little niggling 

 thought kept creeping into my mind and 1 got out my 

 reference books. Sure enough, we 

 were not looking at angelica, but the 

 very poisonous water hemlock [Cicuta 

 douglasii, C. maculata, and others). 

 These tall, native perennial herbs of 

 the carrot family very much resemble 

 the tall, hollow, licorice-flavored stalks 

 of angelica, which are commonly used 

 as drinking straws for summer bever- 

 ages and can be candied and eaten 

 as snacks or used as a cake or cookie 

 decoration. The toxin in water hem- 

 lock acts on the central nervous sys- 

 tem, producing frothing at the mouth, 

 tremors, spasms, vomiting, delirium, 

 respiratory failure, paralysis, and 

 death. Children have been poisoned 

 from using whistles and pea-shooters 

 made from the hollow stems. Water 

 hemlock, considered by many to be 

 the most violently poisonous plant in 

 the North Temperate Zone, is also 

 mistaken for wild parsnip and wild ar- 

 tichoke. 



It's impossible in this short article to mention all 

 the potentially dangerous plants we could run into. 

 The best approach is a cautious one Always carefully 

 identify plants you plan to use and, even if it's a safe 



in the same garden. This is not a mistake one might plant, proceed carefully, just in case it might give you 



make twice. an allergic reaction. Plants are wonderful, but can be 



Horseradish {Armoracia lapathifolia) root, one of my extremely powerful in the least expected ways, 

 family's favorite seasonings, is quite similar to the root 



of monkshood [Aconitum napellus, and others). All parts Tanya ]ackson, a well-known area herbalist, can be reached at 



of monkshood have aconine and aconitine in them and 603-431-6774. 

 even small amounts can be poisonous. The characteris- 



FEBRUARY ♦ MARCH 1996 



23 



