Holly leaves for urinary disorders and arthritis
Ho Ho Ho! As it’s Christmas Day, which is celebrated by many people around the world, I thought I would see if Holly had any properties as a herbal remedy. And as it turns out, it does.
Holly, Ilex aquifolium (though apparently sometimes called Ilex balearica), is also known (mainly outside the UK) as Mountain holly, English holly or European holly. There are a number of other plants in the Ilex genus with medicinal properties and these are all closely related, of course. Sea holly, although called a holly (and with very similar shaped leaves), is completely unrelated.
Holly is an evergreen shrub or small tree, growing to a height of around 30 feet (9m) eventually. It’s hardy enough to stand the snow and ice of what used to be a typical British winter, although it’s become rare to have snow on the ground for weeks on end any more due to global warming.
The berries are not often used in medicine nowadays and are toxic – so keep them away from small children and/or teach them not to eat them. They are very pretty, though, so it’s good to have a female holly, the type that bears berries, rather than a male one. Of course, there must be a male holly about somewhere or there will be no berries in any case.
Holly comes in a large number of cultivars (which means cultivated varieties), reflecting its popularity with gardeners. Most varieties are strictly male or female, which makes it easy to make sure you have the type you want, but there are some which can be either, which is obviously a bit confusing. Even more confusing is that many of the names for male varieties end in “Queen”.
| Female varieties | ||
|---|---|---|
| ‘Angustifolia’ | narrow green leaves, red berries | 12-20ft H x 6-10ft W |
| ‘Argenteo-marginata Pendula’ or ‘Perry’s Silver Weeping’ | weeping form, silver-edged leaves, bright red berries | 8-12ft H x 10-15ft W |
| Bacciflava’ or ‘Fructu-luteo’ | dark green leaves, bright yellow berries | 12-18ft H x 15-20ft W |
| ‘Handsworth New Silver’ | narrow silver-edged leaves, red berries | 10-15ft H x 5-8ft W |
| ‘J C van Tol’ or ‘Polycarpa’ | dark green spineless leaves, large red berries | 10-18ft H x 6-10ft W |
| ‘Pendula’ or ‘Weeping holly’ | weeping form, dark green leaves, red berries | 8-12ft H x 10-15ft W |
| ‘Pyramidalis’ | dark green leaves, some spiny, some spineless, bright red berries | 15-20ft H x 6-10ft W |
| ‘Blue Angel’ | dark bluish-green leaves, bright red berries | 6-10ft H x 6-10ft W |
| Male varieties | ||
| ‘Ferox’ or ‘Hedgehog holly’ | extremely attractive, dark green leaves covered with lighter green spines (not just around the edges) | 8-15ft H x 5-8ft W |
| ‘Ferox Argentea’ | similar to ‘Ferox’, but with white spines | 8-15ft H x 5-8ft W |
| ‘Golden Queen’ | gold-edged leaves | 10-18ft H x 6-10ft W |
| ‘Silver Queen’ | silver-edged leaves | 12-18ft H x 6-10ft W |
| ‘Blue Prince’ | dark bluish-green leaves | 6-10ft H x 6-10ft W |
| Varieties which can be either male or female | ||
| ‘Argenteo-marginata” | silver edged leaves, females have red berries’ | 18-25ft H x 10-15ft W |
| ‘Aureo-marginata’ | gold edged leaves, females have red berries | 15-18ft H x 8-10ft W |
Varietal information adapted from the Readers Digest Encyclopedia of Garden Plants and Flowers
As mentioned before, it is the leaves which are used medicinally, although the berries were once used as an emetic. You can use the leaves either fresh or dried, in which case they are gathered in the spring. Make a decoction using 2-4 tablespoonfuls of leaves to 570ml (2½ US cups, 1 UK pint). Put them into a small pan and bring to a boil, then simmer until the liquid is reduced by half. The dose is up to 1 cup a day and is used to treat gout, stones and urinary disorders, chronic bronchitis, pleurisy, catarrh and congestion of the lungs, and to reduce fevers.
As with all plants grown for medicinal uses, holly should be grown organically to avoid the properties being reduced or completely changed by chemicals. This basically involves feeding when necessary with garden compost rather than packets of fertilizer, and as holly is resistant to most attacks by pests and diseases, there should be no need for any other treatment except pruning into shape from time to time.
Let me just end this post by wishing you a very happy Christmas, or whatever your holiday of preference.
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