< previous page | page_48 | next page >
Page 48
| professional herbalists as a potent antispasmodic and sedative. The black, cherrylike berries may be attractive to children and are fatal. |
| Delphiniums (D. grandiflorum) and their more medicinal relative monkshood (Aconitum napellus) can also be very toxic in untrained hands. As florists often discover, handling monkshood stems can cause numbness or pins-and-needles in the fingers, so wear gloves and never take internally. |
| Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) is the source of the heart drugs digoxin and digitoxin. Foxglove is no longer used in herbal medicine but the leaves (before the flowers form) can be easily mistaken for comfrey and cases of poisoning have been reported. |
| Greater celandine (Chelidonium majus) has a bright yellow corrosive sap that will clear warts but can irritate healthy skin. It is used internally for liver complaints by professional herbalists. Handle with care or wear gloves when pruning. |
| Henbane (Hyoscyamus niger) is an attractive wildflower used medicinally as a sedative and antispasmodic in treating severe colic pain and asthma. Traditionally, it was used as a hallucinogen by witches in "flying ointment." Henbane is reasonably safe to handle but do not take internally. |
| Hemlock (Conium maculatum) is a white flowered member of the carrot family (Umbelliferae) and can easily be mistaken for its hedgerow relatives, cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris) and sweet cicely (Myrrhis odorata) (although leaf textures, smell, and seed shapes usually make identification easy with a little practice). The occasional red blotches on the stem are a useful clue to identity. Hemlock can be fatal. It was used as a form of execution by the ancient Greeks: the philosopher Socrates had to drink hemlock when he fell foul of ruling government thinking. Do not take internally and handle with care. |
| Rue (Ruta graveolens) was once used to strengthen eyesight |
< previous page | page_48 | next page >

If you like this book, buy it!