Stress Treatments
The following plants are used to prevent and treat stress.
It is
surprising how many of these plants we come across everyday,
both around
the house and in the super market. Below, is a list of
plants,
categorized by their general function in treating stress.
Both the
scientific and common names are shown.
CALMATIVE: Relaxing or pacifying; sedative.
- Asperula odorata (master of the wood, sweet woodruff,
woodruff, woodward)
- Eleusine indica (cypress rosette grass, heller's rosette
grass, indian
goose grass, round-seed rosette grass, tapered rosette
grass)
- Galium verum (bedstraw, burweed, catch-weed, cheese rennet,
cleavers,
cleaverwort, coachweed, curdwort, goose grass, gosling weed,
hedge-burs,
lady's bedstraw, loveman, maid's hair, stick-a-back,
sweethearts, yellow
bedstraw, yellow cleavers, yellow spring bedstraw)
- Melissa officinalis (balm mint, bee balm, blue balm, cure-
all, dropsy
plant, garden balm, lemon balm, lemonbalm, melissa, sweet
balm)
- Mimosa pudica (shameplant)
- Papaver somniferum (opium poppy, poppy)
- Passiflora quadrangularis (granadilla, pasione)
- Persea americana (avocado)
- Prunus serotina (atlantic ninebark, black cherry, black
choke, cherry,
choke cherry, rum cherry, wild black cherry, wild cherry)
- Pyrus communis (common pear, pear)
- Rosa sp (sticky cinquefoil)
- Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary)
- Solanum tuberosum (irish potato, potato)
- Tagetes patula (french marigold)
- Tilia platyphyllos (large-leaf linden)
- Veronica officinalis
-
MUSCLE RELAXANT
- Magnolia officinalis (chuan how-pow, magnolia)
- Passiflora incarnata
-
RELAXANT: Relaxes or relieves muscular or nervous tension.
- Lobelia inflata
SEDATIVE: Soothes, calmes, or tranquilizes; reducing or
relieving
anxiety, stress, irritability, or excitement.
- Abronia elliptica (fragrant white sand-verbena)
- Abrus precatorius (rosary-pea)
- Achillea millefolium (common yarrow, milfoil, yarrow)
- Aconitum napellus (aconite, blue rocket, monkshood,
wolfsbane)
- Acorus calamus (calamus, grass myrtle, myrtle flag, rat
root, sweet
flag, sweet grass, sweet myrtle, sweet rush)
- Adonis vernalis (false hellebore, hellebore, peasant's eye)
- Agropyron repens (agropyron, couch grass, couchgrass,
coughgrass, cutch,
dog grass, durfa grass, quack grass, quick grass, triticum,
twitchgrass,
witch grass)
- Aletris farinosa (colic root, true unicorn root, white
colicroot)
- Allium cepa (onion)
- Aloysia citriodora (lemon verbena, lippia citriodora)
- Anethum graveolens (dill)
- Angelica atropurpurea (angelica, angelica, angelica,
archangel,
bellyache root, high angelica, masterwort, purple angelica,
purple-stem
angelica, wild archangel)
- Anthemis cotula (stinking chamomile)
- Anthemis nobilis (belgian chamomile, chamomile, roman
chamomile)
- Apium graveolens (celeriac, celery, wild celery)
- Argemone mexicana (chicalote, mexican prickly-poppy, prickly
poppy)
- Arisaema triphyllum (jack-in-the-pulpit)
- Artemisia vulgaris (common wormwood, mugwort)
- Asarum canadense (black snakeweed, canada snakeroot,
canadian wild
ginger, coltsfoot snakeroot, false coltsfoot, heart
snakeroot, indian
ginger, southern snakeroot, vermont snakeroot, wild ginger)
- Asarum caudatum (long-tail wild ginger, western wild ginger)
- Asparagus officinalis (asparagus, garden-asparagus, sparrow
grass)
- Atropa belladonna (belladonna, black cherry, deadly
nightshade, dwale,
poison black cherry)
- Beta vulgaris (beet)
- Betula alba (birch, canoe birch, european birch, paper
birch, white
birch)
- Bidens cernua (nodding burr-marigold)
- Calluna vulgaris (heather)
- Cannabis sativa (cannabis, dagga, diamba, ganja, hashish,
hemp, maconha,
marijuana, pot, riamba)
- Castanea dentata (american chestnut, chestnut, horse-
chestnut, spanish
chestnut, sweet chestnut)
- Catharanthus roseus (madagascar periwinkle, madagascar-
periwinkle,
periwinkle)
- Caulophyllum thalictroides (beechdrops, blue cohosh, blue
ginseng,
cohosh, papoose root, squaw root, yellow ginseng)
- Ceanothus americanus (new jersey tea, new jersey-tea)
- Ceanothus fendleri (fendler's buckbrush)
- Celastrus scandens (american bittersweet, bittersweet)
- Chenopodium album (lamb's-quarters, lambs quarters)
- Chrysopsis mariana (maryland golden-aster)
- Cichorium intybus (chicory, false boneset)
- Cimicifuga racemosa (black bugbane, black cohosh, black
snakeroot,
bugbane, bugwort, cimicifuga, macrotys, rattleroot,
rattleweed,
richweed, snakeroot, squawroot)
- Citrus aurantium (orange, sour orange)
- Citrus reticulata (mandarin orange, orange, tangerine)
- Citrus sinensis (moli kai, orange, sweet orange)
- Corallorhiza odontorhiza (chickentoe, coral root, crawley,
dragon's
claw)
- Corianderum sativum (chinese parsley, cilantro, coriander)
- Cornus amomum (silky dogwood)
- Crocus sativus (autumn crocus, saffron, spanish saffron)
Cypripedium acaule (pink lady's-slipper)
- Cypripedium pubescens (greater yellow lady's-slipper)
- Datura innoxia (angel's-trumpet)
- Datura stramonium (jimson weed, jimsonweed, stramonium,
thornapple)
- Digitalis purpurea (foxglove, purple foxglove)
- Duboisia myoporoides (corkwood)
- Eryngium yuccifolium (button eryngo)
- Erythrophleum guineense (sassy bark)
- Eschscholtzia californica (california poppy, poppy)
- Eupatorium maculatum (spotted joe-pye-weed)
- Gelsemium sempervirens (evening trumpet-flower, gelsemimi,
gelsemin,
wild jessamine, woodbine, yellow jessamine)
- Gerardia pedicularis (american foxglove, fever weed,
lousewort)
- Geum urbanum (avens, bennet, blessed herb, colewort,
european avens,
geum, star of the earth, yellow avens)
- Gilia leptomeria (sand gily-flower)
- Glaux maritima (sea-milkwort)
- Gnaphalium obtusifolium (false boneset, hyssop-leaf
thoroughwort,
rabbit-tobacco, round-leaf thoroughwort)
- Grindelia camporum (grindelia)
- Grindelia robusta (common sand-aster)
- Gutierrezia sarothrae (green rabbitbrush, kindlingweed)
- Hamamelis virginiana (american witch-hazel, common witch
hazel, hazel
nut, pistachio, snapping hazel, spotted alder, striped
alder, tobacco
wood, winterbloom, witch hazel)
- Humulus lupulus (common hop, hops)
- Hybscyamus niger (henbane, hogbean)
- Hyoscyamus niger (black henbane)
- Hypericum perforatum (common st. john's-wort, st john's
wort, st. john's
wort)
- Ipomoea leptophylla (bush morning-glory)
- Juniperus communis (common juniper, juniper)
- Juniperus horizontalis (creeping juniper)
- Juniperus scopulorum (rocky mountain juniper, rocky mt.
juniper)
- Juniperus virginiana (eastern red-cedar)
- Kalmia latifola (calico bush, lambkill, mountain laurel,
sheep laurel,
spoonwood)
- Kalmia latifolia (leatherleaf, mountain laurel, mountain-
laurel)
- Lactuca canadensis (florida blue lettuce, hyssop-leaf
thoroughwort,
round-leaf thoroughwort)
- Lactuca sativa (garden lettuce)
- Lactuca virosa (lettuce, wild lettuce)
- Lantana camara (hedgeflower, lantana, talatala)
- Lantana involucrata (button-sage)
- Leonurus cardiaca (herb of life, motherwort)
- Lepidium densiflorum (miner's pepperwort)
- Ligusticum canbyi (canby's wild lovage)
- Linaria vulgaris (butter and eggs, flaxweed, greater butter-
and-eggs,
pennywort, toadflax, wild snapdragon, yellow toadflax)
- Linnaea borealis (american twinflower)
- Lippia dulcis (lippa)
- Liquidambar styraciflua (sweet gum, sweet-gum)
- Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree, tuliptree)
- Lithospermum canescens (hoary puccoon)
- Lonicera canadensis (american fly-honeysuckle)
- Lonicera oblongifolia (swamp fly-honeysuckle)
- Lupinus littoralis (chinook lupine)
- Lycopus virginicus (betony, bugleweed, buglewort, gypsyweed,
horehound,
virginia bugleweed, virginia water-horehound, water bugle,
wood betony)
- Lysichiton americanum (western skunk cabbage)
- Magnolia kobus (kobus magnolia)
- Magnolia salicifolia (anise magnolia)
- Malva neglecta (dwarf mallow, mallow)
- Matricaria chamomilla (chamomile, garden chamomile, ground
apple,
pinheads, roman chamomile)
- Mentha arvensis (american wild mint, brook mint)
- Mentha piperita (peppermint)
- Mentha sp (spearmint)
- Mentha spicata (spearmint)
- Mimosa pudica (shameplant)
- Mitchella repens (checker berry, deer berry, one berry,
partridge berry,
partridge-berry, squaw berry, winter clover)
- Monarda didyma (scarlet beebalm)
- Monarda fistulosa (oswego-tea)
- Monotropa uniflora (bird's nest, fit plant, ice plant,
indian pipe,
one-flower indian-pipe, ova-ova)
- Morinda citrifolia (indian mulberry, nonu, painkiller)
- Nepeta cataria (catmint, catnip)
- Nicotiana tabacum (cultivated tobacco, tobacco)
- Oxydendrum arboreum (sourwood)
- Papaver somniferum (opium poppy, poppy)
- Passiflora incarnata (passion flower, passionflower, purple
passion-flower)
- Passiflora quadrangularis (granadilla, pasione)
- Pinus glabra (spruce pine)
- Pinus virginiana (virginia pine)
- Piper methysticum (ava, awa, grog, kava, yaqona)
- Piscidia erghrina (dogwood, jamaican dogwood)
- Platycodon grandiflorum (balloon-flower)
- Pluchea sericea (arrow-weed, lacy tansy-aster)
- Polygonatum biflorum (king solomon's-seal, small solomon's-
seal)
- Polygonum hydropiper (arsesmart, mild water-pepper,
smartweed, water
pepper)
- Polymnia uvedalia (bearsfoot, yellow leaf cup)
Primula officinalis (cowslip, herb peter, paigles,
palsywort)
- Prunella vulgaris (all-heal, blue curls, brownwort,
carpenter's herb,
carpenter's weed, common selfheal, heal all, hercules
woundwort,
hock-heal, self-heal, sicklewort, woundwort)
- Prunus amygdalus (almond, greek nuts, jordan almond)
- Prunus armeniaca (apricot)
- Prunus cerasus (atlantic ninebark, cherry, sour cherry)
- Prunus laurocerasus (cherry-laurel, english laurel)
- Prunus persica (peach)
- Prunus serotina (atlantic ninebark, black cherry, black
choke, cherry,
choke cherry, rum cherry, wild black cherry, wild cherry)
- Prunus virginiana (atlantic ninebark, choke cherry, common
chokecherry,
sticky cinquefoil)
- Pyrola asarifolia (pink wintergreen)
- Ranunculus abortivus (kidney-leaf buttercup)
- Ranunculus acris (meadow buttercup, tall buttercup)
- Ranunculus recurvatus (blisterwort)
- Rhamnus alnifolia (alder buckthorn, alder-leaf buckthorn)
- Ribes hudsonianum (northern black currant)
- Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust, silverleaf milkvetch)
- Rumex patientia (patience dock)
- Ruta graveolens (garden rue, rue)
- Salix candida (sage willow)
- Salix discolor (pussy willow)
- Salix pyrifolia (balsam willow)
- Salvia lyrata (lyre-leaf sage)
- Salvia officinalis (sage, salvia)
- Sambucus canadensis (american elder)
- Sanguinaria canadensis (blood root, bloodroot, indian paint,
indian
plant, indian red paint, pauson, red paint root, red
puccoon, red root,
sanguinaria, tetterwort)
- Satureja douglasii (oregon-tea)
- Saururus cernuus (lizard's-tail)
- Scutellaria lateriflora (mad dog skullcap, scullcap)
- Sedum spathulifolium (broad-leaf stonecrop, spatula-lf
stonecrop)
- Senecio triangularis (arrow-leaf ragwort, arrowleaf
groundsel,
california dwarf-sunflower)
- Serenoa serrulata (sabal, saw palmetto)
- Simaba cedron (cedron)
- Smilacina racemosa (false solomon's seal)
- Solanum carolinense (carolina horse-nettle, horsenettle,
nettle)
- Solanum dulcamara (bittersweet, climbing nightshade, woody
nightshade)
- Solanum nigrum (european black nightshade, garden
nightshade)
- Solidago canadensis (canadian goldenrod, hyssop-leaf
thoroughwort,
round-leaf thoroughwort, wild quinine)
- Sonchus asper (basin-daisy, california dwarf-sunflower, lacy
tansy-aster, round-leaf thoroughwort, spiny-leaf sow-
thistle, wild
quinine)
- Spergularia rubra (ruby sandspurry)
- Stachytarpheta jamaicensis (blueflower)
- Staphylea trifolia (american bladdernut)
- Symplocarpus foetidus (polecat weed, skunk cabbage, skunk-
cabbage)
- Tanacetum vulgare (bitter buttons, common tansy, hindheal,
parsley fern,
tansy, wild quinine)
- Tanaecium nocturnum (koribo)
- Taraxacum officinale (basin-daisy, california dwarf-
sunflower, common
dandelion, dandelion, hyssop-leaf thoroughwort, round-leaf
thoroughwort,
wild quinine)
- Terminalia catappa (telie, tropical almond, tropical-almond)
- Thelypodium wrightii (entire-leaf thelypody, wright's
thelypody)
- Thespesia populnea (milo, pacific rosewood, portia-tree)
- Thymus vulgaris (garden thyme, thyme)
- Trifolium pratense (missouri milk-vetch, red clover,
trefoil, wild
clover)
- Valeriana officinalis (allheal, common valerian, heliotrope,
valerian)
- Veratrum viride (american false hellebore, american white
hellebore,
bugbane, devil's bit, earth gall, green hellebore,
hellebore, indian
poke, itchweed, swamp hellebore, tickleweed, white
hellebore)
- Verbascum thapsus (california figwort, great mullein,
mullein, rosy
desert beardtongue)
- Verbena hastata (american vervain, blue vervain, false
vervain, hyssop,
indian hyssop, purvain, simpler's-joy, simplers joy,
travelers joy,
vervain, wild hyssop)
- Vitex agnus-castus (chaste tree berries, lilac chastetree)
- Withania somnifera (kuthmithi)
- Yucca glauca (soapweed yucca, soapwort)
- Ziziphus jujuba
-
TRANQUILIZER: Reduces tension or anxiety.
- Citrus aurantium (orange, sour orange)
- Lagochilus inebrians (intoxicating mint)
- Papaver nudicaule (iceland poppy, icelandic poppy)
- Passiflora incarnata (passion flower, passionflower, purple
passion-flower)
- Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary)
- Valeriana officinalis (allheal, common valerian, heliotrope,
valerian)
- Verbena hastata
There are many ways to use these plants to help treat
stress. Below are
descriptions of various ways to prepare herbal remedies for
the soul.
MACERATIONS: The maceration method is used for those plants
that might
be adversely affected by heat. The plant material is
steeped in water,
alcohol (ethanol), spirits, or white wine at a room
temperature.
Normally the proportions are 1 part herb to 20 parts liquid-
a typical
quantity would be 4 grams and 100 ml. Herbalists will
advise the
necessary time of steeping when they prescribe a treatment.
INFUSIONS: The infusion method is used for extracting
active
constituents from an herb by steeping it in hot water. It
is a quick
and common method of making herbal teas and is applied
mainly to the
soft parts of plants-the leaves, flowers, stems and seeds.
The infusion
is prepared by pouring the required amount of boiling water
onto the
herb or herb mixture in a warmed cup or larger nonmetallic
container,
then covering it with a tight fitting lid. The liquid is
then allowed
to stand for 5-15 minutes with occasional stirring. After
the mixture
has been strained muslin, a filter paper or a fine
nonmetallic sieve it
is usually taken immediately. The usual proportions are
one to three
teaspoons of dried herb to each teacupful of liquid.
DECOCTIONS: The decoction method is for extracting active
constituents
from an herb by boiling it in water. It is applied mainly
to hard plant
parts-wood, bark, stems, roots, hard fruits and some seeds-
for which a
simple infusion would not be sufficient. To prepare, water
at room
temperature is poured over the cut-up herb in a nonmetallic
container
and is then brought slowly to a boil and simmered gently.
It is then
strained while still hot and water is added to bring it up
to its
required volume. The usual proportions are one to three
teaspoons of
the dried herb to one cup of water. Decoctions should be
used as soon
as possible, and always within one day.
EXTRACTS: An extract is obtained by steeping an herb in
water, alcohol,
ether, or a combination of these liquids and then
concentrating the
preparation by evaporating it. The herb is usually first
steeped in
water. Then the liquid is strained off and simmered very
gently for a
long time in nonmetallic container with constant stirring
until most of
the water has evaporated and the extract has the required
consistency.
TINCTURES: A tincture is prepared by prolonged steeping of a
fresh or
fried herb in a solvent, which is usually alcohol or alcohol
and water.
Instructions for preparation are given in pharmacopoeias.
Usually the
proportions are 1 of crushed plant material to 5 parts of
60% alcohol.
The prepared herb is soaked in the alcohol in a stoppered
glass vessel
for 3-7 days, kept in a cool, dark, dry place and
occasionally stirred
or shaken. The liquid is then poured off and also pressed
out of the
soaked plant and topped up to the required volume with
alcohol (and
water). The solution is then left to stand undisturbed
until it is
clear-for a minimum of 12 hours-after which it is filtered.
INHALATIONS: Essential oils, finely dispersed solutions and
fine powders
are used as inhalants. They are best applied with an
instrument called
a nebulizer, which produces a fine spray of the product.
HERBAL VINEGARS: Herbal vinegars are prepared by steeping
about 10 grams
of fresh or dried herbs in 200 ml of wine or cider vinegar
and alcohol
or vinegar and water. This mixture should be left for at
least 24 hours
and then strained into bottles.
HERBAL WINES: Herbal wines are prepared by steeping fresh or
dried herbs
in a good white wine. The proportions are the same as for
vinegars.
HERBAL OILS: Herbal oils are prepared by steeping 5 grams of
fresh or
dried herbs in 100 ml of a pure vegetable oil for several
weeks in a
warm, dry, sunny place and then straining.
AROMATIC WATERS: Aromatic waters are aqueous solutions,
usually
saturated, of essential oils to which alcohol is usually
added. They
are freshly prepared as required, a month’s supply at the
most because
they do not keep as well as herbal vinegars.
WARNING: Never mix use any of these treatments without
first
consulting with an herbalist or physician.
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