Alpine Calamint for fevers

Alpine Calamint, Acinos alpinus but may be labelled Calamintha alpina or Satureja alpina, is also known as Rock Thyme or Alpine Rock Thyme. It’s a native of central and Southern Europe, where it can be found growing on mountains and rocky places. It is not related to lesser calamint, common calamint, showy calamint or thyme.

Alpine calamint is a hardy perennial which reaches a height of 18 inches (45cm). It is not fussy about soil, so long as it is well drained. It prefers full sun, will not grow in the shade and tolerates drought well.

Alpine calamint is not very active medicinally, and I’ve really only included it so as to help you tell it apart from the more active calamints. Its leaves can be used in the kitchen for flavoring or tea, and it’s an attractive plant in any case, so you may like to grow it just as an ornamental.

Medicinally, the only uses I’ve found for this plant are to induce sweating and reduce fevers (you might even think these are one and the same, and they certainly go together well). If you wish to use it for these purposes, you will need to make a standard infusion using 1 oz (30g) of dried or 3 handfuls of fresh leaves to 2.5 US cups (1 UK pint, 570ml) boiling water. Leave to stand for between 15 minutes and 4 hours and strain before use. The dose is up to 1 US cup a day split into 3 doses.

As with all herbs, iin particular when used for medicinal purposes, Alpine calamint should be grown organically to prevent the active ingredients being corrupted or entirely eliminated by the presence of antagonistic chemicals. To find out more about growing organic herbs visit the Gardenzone.

Related Posts

1. Common Calamint
2. Lesser Calamint
3. Showy Calamint

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