Herbal Infusions and Decoctions ~

[Old Herb Lady]

Hi ! Just wanted to give a quick FYI on my favorite subject real quick....

An herbal infusion is sort of like an herbal tea, BUT MUCH MUCH STRONGER.

An infusion is where you use the leaves, flowers, stems and berry part of the herb
where a decoction is when you use the bark, the roots (the harder parts) of an herb.

Unlike a regular herbal tea,with these you must let the herbs steep for a LONG period of time to pull the medicinal qualities out of the herbs. I only EVER use distilled water & NEVER heat the water in the microwave, only glass or stainless steel. And pour the boiling distilled water OVER TOP OF THE HERBS.

To Make an Herbal Infusion:

1.Place the dried and crushed herb in a mason jar or stainless steel pot. You need 2 teaspoons of dried herb per cup of distilled water. OR if using fresh herbs use 5 times the amount of herbs.

2.Boil the distilled water and pour the water over the herb.

3.Cover with a lid and allow to steep for half an hour or overnight. Then strain.

4. For a decoction, you'll need to chop up the roots or barks . (You'll get strong hand muscles, too !)

~ It is important that the herb leaves, plants and stems be covered when steeping so that the medicinal properties of the herb do not escape with the steam.
(If you don't cover the container/pot, the medicinal qualities evaporate away & you've wasted your time)

~ Coffee grinders, spice mills and food processors make excellent grinders for dried and fresh herbs.
Mortars and pestles are great, too.

~ My favorite healing herbal infusion in the world is made with Red Raspberry Leaves.
You can add lemon or honey or cinnamon (stick or ground) or stevia or mint leaves whatever you like, anyways it makes a person's hair and fingernails grow like WILD and makes the bones and teeth strong.
It is just unbelievable really. When a woman is pregnant & drinks it (during pregnancy & nursing) she will have a strong, healthy baby & that nursing baby will get the BEST, MOST NUTRITIOUS milk possible.

I could just live on it everyday, I love it so much. One of the best, most natural wholesome & organic ways to get vitamins & minerals .

I like other ones, too, dandelion, burdock, red clover, etc.

:) Hope you try it sometime :)

[Old Herb Lady]

Oh and enjoy every last sip ! And if you don't drink it all, put in refrigerator for 1-2 days.



http://i646.photobucket.com/albums/uu184/crumblescookies/Flowering%20Tea%20Pots-%20Mad%20Tea%20Party/IMG_0919.jpg


http://i1107.photobucket.com/albums/h392/Yacinario/Cafe/flowering.jpg

[EE_]

I just want to say I appreciate the info you provide. Fascinating stuff!
GSUS is a better place having our very own herbalist!
Thanks, EE

[Old Herb Lady]

I just want to say I appreciate the info you provide. Fascinating stuff!
GSUS is a better place having our very own herbalist!
Thanks, EE

Aw ! Thanks EE ! You must drink sweet tea or sumthin' .

[EE_]

I'd like to suggest maybe keeping this thread going with different combinations (one at a time) of herbs some of us can get our hands on, how use them for health, medicine and as a food source.
Keep it simple and tell what each does and how to get and prepare them.

I've looked at some of the plants around me that the Indians used to survive.
One of the most used it seems, is the Creosote bush. I have to laugh, while k-os was here and creosote plants being foreign to her...she would tell me in the morning about a rotting flesh smell.
I couldn't smell what she was talking about and realized it was the creosote getting ready to bloom.
A normal smell to me, having lived around them for so many years.
I guess it would be comparable to low tide in the salt marshes of Florida, which I first thought was offensive, until you get used to it.

Anyway, here are some of the plants in the Mojave desert you might look at for thier uses.
I would be willing to pick and send you some if you told me what you wanted, stems, roots, flowers or leaves.

Mojave Desert Shrubs

Shrubs & Bushes List
Common Name Scientific Name Family
Big sage Brush Artemisia tridentata Sunflower
Bud Sage Artemisia spinescens Sunflower
Dwarf Sage Artemisia arbusculo nova Sunflower
White Bursage Ambrosia dumosa Sunflower
Woolly Fruited Bursage Franseria eriocentra Sunflower
Baccharis - Seep Willow Baccharis sp. Sunflower
Sweet Bush Bebbia juncea aspera Sunflower
Brickell Bush Brickellia sp. Sunflower
Black Banded Rabbit Bush Chrysothamnus paniculatas Sunflower
Golden Rabbit Bush Chrysothamnus nauseous Sunflower
Brittle Bush Encelia farinosa Sunflower
Rayless Encelia Encelia frutescens Sunflower
Snake Weed Gutierrezia sp. Sunflower
Golden Bush Haplopappus sp. Sunflower
Cheese Bush Hymenoclea salsola Sunflower
Mohave Aster Aster abatus Sunflower
Pygmy Cedar Peucaphyllum schottii Sunflower
Arrow Leaf Hoffmeisteria pluriseta Sunflower
Paper Flower Psilostroph cooperi Sunflower
Groundsel Senecio sp. Sunflower
Horse Brush Tetradymia sp. Sunflower
Golden Eye Viguiera deltoidea Sunflower
Four Wing Saltbush Atriplex canescens Goosefoot
All Scale Atriplex polycarpa Goosefoot
Shad Scale Atriplex confertifolia Goosefoot
Desert Holly Atriplex hymenolytra Goosefoot
Spiny Hopsage Grayia spinosa Goosefoot
Greasewood Sarcobatus vermiculata Goosefoot
Winter Fat Eurotia lanata Goosefoot
Mahonia - Barberry Berberis sp. Barberry
Desert Senna - Cassia Cassia armata Pea
Indigo Bush Dalea fremontii Pea
Ratany Krameria sp. Pea
Cliff Rose Cowania mexicana Rose
Apache Plume Fallugia paradoxa Rose
Antelope Bush Purshia tridentata Rose
Black Brush Coleogyne ramossissima Rose
Range Almond Prunus fasciculata Rose
Mormon Tea - Ephedra Ephedra sp. Joint Fir
Yerba Santa Eriodictyon angustifolia WateLeaf
California Buckwheat Eriogonum fasciculata Buckwheat
Heerman's Buckwheat Eriogonum heermannii Buckwheat
Ocotillo - Coach Whip Fourquieria splendens Fourquiera
Desert Olive - Forestiera Forestiera neo mexicana Olive
Single Leaf Ash Fraxinus anomola Olive
Spiny Menodora Menodora spinescens Olive
Silk Tassel Garrya flavescens Garrya
Coffee Berry - Pigeon Berry Rhamnus californica Buckthorn
Evergren Buckthorn Rhamnus crocea Buckthorn
California Lilac Ceanothus vestita Buckthorn
Bladder Pod Isomeris arborea Caper
Bush Penstamen Penstamen microphylla Snapdragon
Creosote Bush Larrea tridentata Caltrop
Desert Thorn Lycium sp. Potato
Jimson Weed - Datura Datura sp. Potato
Sandpaper Plant Petalonyx thurberi Loasa
Squaw Bush Rhus trilobata Cashew
Turpentine Broom Thamnosma montana Rue
Mohave Sage Salvia mohavensis Sage
Great Basin Blue Sage Salvia carnosa Sage
Rose Sage Salvia pachyphylla Sage
Chia Salvia columbarie Sage
Mohave Yucca Yucca schidigera Lily
Bear Grass - Nolina Nolina sp. Lily
Century Plant Agave deserti Lily

Creosotebush has been highly valued for its medicinal properties by desert peoples. It has been used to treat at least 14 illnesses. Twigs and leaves may be boiled as tea, steamed, pounded into a powder, pressed into a poultice, or heated into an infusion.

Creosotebush is host to an insect, Tachardiella larreae, which produces lac and deposits it on the stems of creosotebush. Lac is plastic when heated but hardens again on cooling, forming a strong bond like commercial sealing wax. Lac has been used by desert peoples to seal lids on food jars

[Old Herb Lady]

Thanks EE, I will keep that offer in mind ! I am only familiar with maybe a dozen of those.
Actually I have to go to Utah in the future & will get to learn more about the ones you posted from the Mojave Desert when I get to be with my herb friends there.

I like to talk about any kind of herbal preparations & formulas etc.

It is best to buy a field guide for your area of the country &
go foraging & identifying & then experimenting with them.
That's probably my favorite thing in life there is to do.
To know what is abundant in your area & be able to go get it & bring it in is a necessity , IMO.

One can incorporate herbs into every area of their life.
Making & using salves,soaps, lotions, compresses, fomentations, poultices, teas, snuff (for healing yes)
meals, vinegars, chap sticks, candy, cleaning supplies ,hair rinses, skin toners, hand sanitizers, toothpastes, mouth rinses,
enemas, eyedrops, eardrops, ....the list is ENDLESS .

These are the ones that I am experienced in and a few I still need to learn :

Alfalfa Medicago sativa Herb Vitamin & Mineral
Aloe Vera Aloe vera Leaves Cell Proliferant
Apricot Prunus armeniaca Seeds Anti-Cancer
Black Cohosh Cimicifiiga racemosa Root Hormonal
Black Walnut Juglans nigra Hull/ Bark/ Leaves Anti-fungal
Blessed Thistle Cnicus benedictus Herb Galactogogue
Blue Cohosh Caulophyllum thalictrioides Root Parturient
Blue Vervain Verbena hastata Herb Nervine
Brigham Tea Ephedra viridis Stems Decongestant
Bugleweed Lycopus virginicus Herb Chelation
Burdock Arctium lappa Root Blood purifier
Carrot Daucus carota Root Carotene
Cascara Sagrada Rhamnus purshiana Bark Laxative
Catnip Nepeta cataria Herb Calmative
Cayenne Capsicum annuum Fruit First aid
Cedar Juniperus monosperma Berry Pancreatic Alterative
Chaparral Larrea tridentata Leaves Blood purifier
Chickweed Stellaria media Herb Emollient
Cloves Syzygium aromaticum Cloves Anodyne
Comfrey Symphytum officinale Root/Leaves Cell Proliferant
Cramp Bark Viburnum opulus Bark Uterine Antispasmodic
Dandelion Taraxacum officinale Root/Herb Hepatic/Tonic
Echinacea Echinacea angustifolia; Root/Herb Immune-stimulantE. purpurea
Elder, Blue-berried Sambucus caerulea Flower/Berry Febrifuge
Eyebright Euphrasia offzcinalis Herb Ocular Alterative
False Unicorn Chamaelirium luteum Root Anti-miscarriage
Fennel Foeniculum officinale; Seed Anti-flatulentF. vulgare
Flax Linum usitatissimum Seed Essential fatty acids
Garlic Allium sativum Bulb Antiseptic
Ginger Zingiber officinale Root Circulation
Gingko Gingko biloba Leaves Vascular integrity
Ginseng Panax quinquefolius; Root Adaptogen P. ginseng
Golden Seal Hydrastis canadensis Root Antiseptic
Gravel Root Euptorium purpure um Root
Hawthorne Crataegus laevigata Berry Cardiac tonic
Hops Humulus lupulus Flowers Sedative
Horseradish Armoracia rusticana Root Decongestant
Horsetail Equise turn hyemale Herb Silica
Juniper Juniperus communis Berry Diuretic
Kelp Laminaria digitata Herb Iodine
Licorice Glycyrrhiza glabra Root Adrenal Tonic
Lobelia Lobelia inflata Herb/Seed Emetic
Marigold Calendula officinalis Flower Emollient
Marsh Mallow Althaea officinalis Root Demulcent
Mullein Verbascum thapsus Leaves/Flowers Lymphatic/Glandular
Myrrh Comm iphora myrrha Resin Antiseptic
Nettles (Stinging) Urtica dioica Leaf Anti-inflammatory
Oats Avena sativa Straw Silica
Olive Olea europaea Oil of Fruit Nutritive
Onion A ilium cepa Bulb Antiseptic
Papaya Carica papaya Fruit/Seed/Leaf Digestive
Parsley Petroselinum crispum Herb/Root Diuretic
Pennyroyal Mentha pulegium Herb Emmenagogue
Peppermint Mentha piperita Herb Digestion
Pine Pinus spp. Needles/Resin Antioxidant
Plantain Plantago major Herb Drawing
Poke Phytolacca americana Root Glandular
Pomegranate Punica granatum Root bark Vermifuge
Raspberry Rubus idaeus Leaves Anti-nausea
Red Clover Trifolium pratense Blossom Blood purifier
Rose Rosa species Hips Vitamin "C"
Rosemary Rosmarinus officinalis Leaves Encephalic tonic
Sage Salvia officinalis Herb Galactophygous
Sarsaparilla Smilax officinalis Root Hormonal
Sassafras Sassafras officinale Root Bark Blood purifier
Saw Palmetto Serenoa repens Berry Prostate
Skullcap Scutellaria lateriflora Herb Spinal Nerve Tonic
Senna Cassia angustifolia Pods/Leaves Cathartic
Shepherd's Purse Capsella bursa-pastoris Herb Hemostatic
Skunk Cabbage Symplocarpus foetidus Root Antispasmodic
Slippery Elm Ulmus rubra; U. fulva Inner bark Nutritive/Demulcent
Spearmint Mentha spicata Herb Diaphoretic
Squaw Vine Mitchella repens Herb Pregnancy Tonic
St. John's Wort Hypericum perforatum Herb/leaf/flower Depression
Turkey Rhubarb Rheum palmatum Root Aperient
Uva-Ursi Arctostaphylos uva-ursi Leaves Urinary disinfectant
Valerian Valeriana officinalis Root Nervine
Watercress Nasturtium officinale Herb Nutritive
Wheat Triticum turgidum Grain Nutritive
White Oak Quercus alba Inner bark Astringent
Wild Yam Dioscorea villosa Root Anti-spasmodic
Willow Salix spp. Inner Bark Anodyne
Wood Betony Stachys officinalis Herb Nervine
Wormwood Artemisia absinthium Herb Vermifuge
Yarrow Achillea millefolium Herb Diaphoretic
Yellow Dock Rumex crispus Root Alterative
Turmeric
Lavender

[zap]

OHL, where do you get Red Raspberry Leaves? Order them online?

[Old Herb Lady]

OHL, where do you get Red Raspberry Leaves? Order them online?

If you don't have any locally, this is the best place to buy them.....
http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/bulkherb/r.html

[Old Herb Lady]

Preparation for Herbal Tinctures

Need:

Mason Jar
100 proof Vodka ( or 80 proof is good too)
herbs
labels ( remember to label EVERYTHING /most important !)
unbleached cheesecloth
glass bowl
sieve
1 oz dropper bottle

Procedure:

Fill clean jar with herbs


Fill half with Vodka


Stir


Fill more vodka if needed to cover herb


Put lid on jar, label with name, date and ingredients


Shake every day for first week and often for next 5 weeks.


Cover strainer with cheesecloth


Pour tincture into cheesecloth and glass bowl


Bring cheesecloth ends together and squeeze tincture out over bowl. Yield will be about half a jar.


Store in dropper 2 oz bottles on a dark shelf.

I have recipes using vinegar or vegetable glycerin, also, but I mainly just use vodka.
Also, if you mess it up, you've still done better than the ones you buy at the store .

[Old Herb Lady]

yarrow & comfrey tinctures
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r156/rixieboy/tinctures/IMG_0374.jpg

you can buy these bottles at Mountain Rose Herbs http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h275/babymakers/misc%20ebay/0918091701.jpg

[beefsteak]

OHL,
have you ever considered treating your distilled water to magnetic water treatment prior to your intended usages in you decoctions or tinctures?

Or do you not want that much of a "wallop" in your punch?

[Old Herb Lady]

OHL,
have you ever considered treating your distilled water to magnetic water treatment prior to your intended usages in you decoctions or tinctures?

Or do you not want that much of a "wallop" in your punch?

I would definitely consider it Beefsteak.