Betony for when you’re feeling tense
Betony or Wood Betony is also called Bishopswort or Lousewort. The latin name is Stachys officinalis, but it’s also sometimes found with the label Stachys betonica or even Betonica officinalis. A hardy perennial, it prefers neutral to acid soils in full sun or partial shade. It’s closely related to Lambs’ ears and is attractive to bees.
Dried betony leaves can be used as tea, which apparently has all the qualities of ordinary black tea, but without the caffeine. Another use is as an ingredient of herbal tobacco, and when finely ground, as herbal snuff. Apparently this induces violent sneezing – and was used as a treatment for headaches. Kill or cure seemingly!
Betony was once used extensively as a treatment for many conditions including anxiety, nervous headache, and as a treatment for wounds. The whole plant is used, collected when in flower, and dried if not needed straight away.
Make a standard infusion from 2-3 teaspoonfuls of fresh or 1-2 teaspoonfuls of dried herb to a cup of boiling water. Allow to stand for at least 10 minutes before use. This infusion can be used to treat pms and nervous tension, nosebleeds and also as a general tonic which is said to improve memory. It can also be used externally when cool to treat bruises and wounds and as a gargle to treat sore throat and sore gums.
Like all herbs used for medicinal purposes, it’s important that Betony is grown organically, to avoid dilution of the herbal properties by foreign chemicals. To find out more about growing organic betony, visit the Gardenzone.
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November 28th, 2009 at 04:07
I’m 26 years old and I have a terrible memory for names and numbers. I honestly believe it’s worse than other people’s memories. Sometimes I think I’m missing quite a bit because of memory loss, but I don’t recognize what I’m losing because I can’t think back. Does anyone have any reason what could be causing this?
November 29th, 2009 at 19:10
A problem with names and faces runs in my family, and I believe it’s a genetic trait. But you can improve this – there was a book called “How to develop a Super Power Memory” which i read many years ago (must have been good, as i remember the title, though unfortunately not the NAME of the author, lol). You can probably find a copy online somewhere, maybe on Gutenberg or Amazon, or another book of a similar kind.
If you’re really concerned, the best way to put your mind at rest would be to ask your doctor to do some memory tests for you. These are very straightforward to do. Alternatively, you might be able to find something similar online. And good luck!