Great Burnet for burns and all kinds of discharge
Great Burnet, Sanguisorba officinalis (sometimes labeled Poterium officinale), is also known as Italian burnet or Italian pimpernel, or sometimes just burnet. It’s closely related to the salad burnet, and both are members of the Rose family, which is quite obvious when you look at the leaves of this plant. Great burnet is generally found growing in damp meadows and peat bogs, but it will grow almost anywhere not in the shade, even very alkaline soil.
Great burnet is a hardy perennial which reaches a height of about 3 feet (1m). The whole plant is used medicinally, but especially the root, which is dug up in the fall.
An ointment made from crushed fresh root mixed with petroleum jelly is an effective treatment for eczema. A standard infusion can be made from 3 handfuls of fresh or 30g (1 ounce) of dried leaves to 570ml (2½ US cups, 1 UK pint) of boiling water and allowed to stand for at least 10 minutes (up to 4 hours) before straining for use. This can be used as a treatment for feverish conditions, as an astringent, and also as a lotion for burns. The dose is 75ml (a third of a cup) up to 3 times a day.
The same infusion, or a decoction made by simmering 30g (1 ounce) of fresh or half that quantity of dried root in 570ml (2½ US cups, 1 UK pint) of water until the liquid is reduced by half, can be used to treat all conditions relating to discharges, eg. diarrhea, heavy periods, peptic ulcers and so on. The dose is one cupful a day.
As regular readers will be tired of hearing, all herbs grown for medicinal use should be grown organically to avoid their properties being reduced or completely destroyed by foreign chemicals. To find out more about growing organic herbs visit the Gardenzone.
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