Rosa multiflora

This is the second year I've overdone it with harvesting Rosa multiflora blossoms. I know she's invasive and most people would rather chop these bushes down, but oh my goodness have you taken a walk in the evening on a humid night in June? The fragrance is overpowering! Gorgeous. It makes me feel like a honeybee. Or at least the way I imagine a bee must feel, laden with nectar. Honey has this way of capturing the aroma of the rose and bringing out spicy notes I didn't know were there. Don't miss your chance - go smell the roses, and capture the magic in a jar of honey. I keep mine in a secret, special place in the way back of my tea cabinet. My private stash of rose honey magic when I need a little extra care or when I'm just feeling a little extra...

It's probably no coincidence that I always fall hardest for the plants that have the deepest lore in the folktale traditions and myths of my European ancestors. I have always loved a good story. Roses might win the prize for the plant with the longest running and most frequent appearances in myths, folktales, art, poetry, and all manner of symbolic iconography in human cultures throughout time. Don't quote me on that - I will admit, I've been known to make up statistics when it's convenient. But without exaggerating, I can say with confidence that roses are front and center in our collective unconscious as important plant archetype.

So what's to love about the rose besides her poetic and romantic lore? She's got a lot of medicinal properties as well. And I don't just mean the metaphorical kind. The trick is, you have to find the right kind of roses. Most of the over-bred, hybridized garden varieties are sprayed with all sorts of chemicals and lack some of the health benefits of their older, wilder relations. If you want to learn more about the rise of rose gardens in history check out this great blog. Cultivated roses have their place, but if you want to find the good stuff, go out your door and into the closest weedy, overgrown patch o' land you can find that is not too close to a road. You'll probably hear me say this a lot, but I'm a fan of finding the wild, invasive or "weed" version of any plant that grows in abundance close to you. The closer you get to wild, the better. Why? First off, you don't have to worry whether it's okay to harvest or not, since there's more than enough to go around - in fact, you'll be helping the ecosystem by trimming the plant back. Plus you don't have to drive far or pay a ton in shipping costs to get it. They're free, abundant, and easy to access! That's what the folk herbalists call "people's medicine." The problem is, the common wild roses have gotten a bad rep in the last century. Currently, Rosa multiflora is one the USDA's most wanted invasive or noxious weed list as a plant that needs to be controlled. Yup, that's right - that just makes her a badass in my book.

Around here in the Northeast, if you go out with your guidebooks looking for wild roses, you're most likely ID Rosa multiflora. Or, rather, she'll find you when her prickers snag your pants as you walk by. She's everywhere. On almost every block. Other common and popular roses for medicinal purposes are Rosa rugosa (Beach Rose) and Rosa canina (Dog Rose). Both of these are nice options, but I like to use what I have on hand. I have been known to book a late-season beach excursion just to harvest the hips of the gorgeous Beach Rose (aka "tomato rose" due to the size of those hips!). I'm more likely to actually get around to harvesting and processing from a plant I can find in my yard or my neighbor's yard than one I have to make a special trip to at just the right time of year. It's all about timing when you're making your own medicine. But if you miss the few weeks of gorgeous and fragrant blooms in early June, it's okay - you can wait for the little hips to form and after the frost has sweetened them up, you can eat the little red fruits throughout the winter as a seedy trail snack.

Look for Rosa multiflora as you drive down the country lanes. When you find her, wave and tell her hi for me. We go way back, she and I. You can tell her she's scored a whole chapter in my upcoming book. If you're feeling brave, you might even pull your car over and snip a few stalks with flowers. When you get home, go ahead and pluck the flowers off into a jar. Pour some honey over the top until all the blossoms are covered. Go ahead. I dare you. You might just fall in love...

Wild Rose - Rosa multiflora

Common names: Japanese rose, rambler rose, baby rose.

Family: Rosaceaa

Parts used: flowers, hips (fruit), leaves

Description: Thorny shrub native to Asia. Introduced to north America to manage soil erosion. As will all members of the rose family, each flower has 5 petals and 5 sepals. Pale pink - white flowers May through June. Compound leaves with 5-9 leaflets. Likes to grow in disturbed soils, at edges of forests, yards, along fences and roads.

Actions: Astringent, anti-inflammatory,anti-depressant, vulnerary, nervine, mild antibacterial, styptic, cardiovascular tonic, blood tonic (esp Hips), aphrodisiac

Uses: as an edible wild plant, roses have many culinary uses. Petals and hips are popular as syrups, jellies, jams, cakes and cookies. The hips are high in vitamin C and antioxidants that serve well for immune support, for colds and flus and nutrient deficiencies. The seeds have a mild laxative effect.

Flowers + Leaves- as a poultice or vinegar wash, leaves and flowers are excellent for sores, wounds, burns, rashes, and other skin irritations. Mild anodyne action helps relieve pain. Keep some rose water on hand for first aid purposes.

Rose petal honey is helpful for soothing sore throats and chest coughs as well as a great topical on wounds and burns.

As a tea, rose petals and leaves give relief from the inflammation, congestion, and itchy eyes of allergies, and colds and coughs. Also helpful for gi complaints such as diarrhea, gas, cramping and gut inflammation due to food sensitivities.

Calms nervous tension, anxiety, stress and temporarily eases depression. Use as a tea for relaxing nervine action.

Anti-inflammatory properties are useful in treating arthritis and other inflammatory disorders. A Traditional Chinese Medicine formula uses Rosa mutiflora hips with Japanese honeysuckle flowers to combat inflammatory disorders with demonstrated clinical results. (See sources, below). Roses of all varieties are said to help reduce chronic muscular- skeletal pain.

For cardiac heath: roses have often combined with hawthorn berries in traditional heart tonics that promote healthy circulation and to help open the vascular system. Bioflavoniods in hips are very beneficial to heart. Rose hip powder has been shown to reduce blood pressure, lower cholesterol, and reduce risk for heart disease and diabetes.

For diabetes and obesity: some evidence in clinical studies show rose hip extracts can help regulate blood sugar and prevent excessive weight gain through complicated metabolic processes. More research is needed, but there's promising evidence to support the claim that rose hip extracts can help combat obesity.

History and Lore:

Over 100 varieties of wild roses throughout the world
The herbalist Juliette De Barclay Levy once said of the rose, “Love is like a rose, and roses are not made within days. Years are needed for full development, and each bloom has a slow unfolding.”
Multiflora rose is sometimes used as rootstock for propagating other roses.
Roses are associated with ancient goddesses Innana, Ishtar, Aphrodite, Eros, Adonis, as well as Virgin Mary,
Perhaps due to roses' association with fertility goddesses, roses became the no 1 symbol of love throughout history.
The name rose is derived from the Greek, rodon, meaning red. Red was the color of the ancient Greeks roses, and myth says that the rose was born of the drops of blood shed by Adonis.
In the 1960's, the Department of Highways planted multiflora rose in interstate medians as a means of reducing headlight glare and as a crash barrier.
Wild roses also played a role in traditional Native American herbal medicine, and rosehips were eaten as food in many tribes, either directly or as part of a pudding. Paiute, Nez Perce, and Interior Salish people believed that wild roses kept ghosts from causing harm to the living, so they were often placed in the homes or clothing of people who were in mourning or felt haunted. For more on Native American use and folklore about rose click here.
It has also been used for centuries by the Mayans for healing after birth. A vat of plants, including rose, would be heated. The new mother would sit on a chair with a hole in the seat, tarped from the neck down while the vat of steaming plants was slipped underneath. See Source here

Energetic/spiritual/magical Purposes: roses are great healers for emotional pain, sorrow, loss and grief. Known as 'heart-openers,' roses can quickly resolve trapped resentments, and clear the body of tension from anxiety, trauma and anger. Roses are great allies for depression as well as the scent lifts the spirits. Keep rose flower essence or rosewater on hand for stressful times, wounded hearts, and deep sadness. Traditionally, roses are used in all manner of love spells, sex magic and ritual.

As a traditional aphrodisiac, roses are well known allies in love. Said to increase libido and enhance sexual performance.

Roses are excellent when used in sacred ritual bathing - added to a bath with the intention to heal, purify, or restore. As taught by beloved ethnobotanist and Curandero, Rocio Alarcon. Rocio teaches this old traditional practice of using water blessed with herbs as a way removing the energy of depression and anxiety that result from our daily activities and the environment that surrounds us. Roses can be used to remove energy from the cells and generate positive thoughts.

Dosage and Preparations: Internally, lovely prepared in foods such as rosehip jelly, rose petal pudding, or as vinegar to add to salads and dressings. As tincture or glycerite, or vinegar, take a tsp up to 3 times a day or more as needed. Externally - Makes a great salve, liniment, or balm for lips and skin. Apply liberally to any skin that needs soothing. Dilute a few tsp of vinegar in water for burns or use freely on food.

Precautions and warnings: Beware the prickles (aka thorns) as you harvest. Hairs around seeds in hips can be irritating to throat and digestive tract if consumed in quantity. Strain well if making rose hip tea or separate the hairs when harvesting to avoid the itchy hairs. Also, when harvesting, be extra vigilant for ticks. Apparently tick nymph nests are more common in areas dense with invasive shrubs like Rosa multiflora.

Recipe: How to make your own rose water

1 cup of packed fresh rose petals (dried is OK, but fresh picked is better for scent)
2 cups of boiling water
Place rose petals in a large bowl & pour in 2 cups of boiling water.
Cover the bowl & let it sit for at least an hour or until the liquid is cool.
Strain & squeeze the liquid from the petals into a sterilized jar or spray bottle. Refrigerate the rose water & use when it's completely chilled. Add a little essential oil of roses if you like a stronger scent.
This is a great refreshing & cooling spray to use on your face & body during hot summer days. Keeps for a few weeks in the fridge. Add a splash of alcohol to preserve longer.

Sources:

Hardin, Kiva Rose.

Gladstar, Rosemary.

Grieve, M. A Modern Herbal

Herbal Academy - International School of Herbal Medicine

Shriver WG et all." Multiflora rose invasion amplifies prevalence of Lyme disease pathogen, but not necessarily Lyme disease risk." Parasite Vectors. 2018 Jan 23;11(1):54. retrieved: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29361971

Cheng, BC, and Yu, H et all. "A herbal formula comprising Rosae Multiflorae Fructus and Lonicerae Japonicae Flos inhibits the production of inflammatory mediators and the IRAK-1/TAK1 and TBK1/IRF3 pathways in RAW 264.7 and THP-1 cells" J Ethnopharmacol. 2015 Nov 4;174:195-9.

Cavalera M, Axling U, Berger K, Holm C. "Rose hip supplementation increases energy expenditure and induces browning of white adipose tissue." Nutr Metab (Lond). 2016 Dec 6;13:91. eCollection 2016.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2087820/Daily-dose-rosehip-extract-help-cut-heart-disease-lower-blood-pressure-reduce-cholesterol.html

Tussilago farfara

Family: Compositae (formerly Asteraceae)

Common Names: coughwort, bullsfoot, foalswort, horsehoof,

Parts used: leaves, flowers, roots

Description: Coltsfoot is a perennial plant that looks similar to a dandelion when it blooms in spring. This wild edible plant is unusual in that the flowers bloom and die before the appearance of any leaves. One of the first plants to flower in late winter, heralding the beginning of spring.

Grows in poor, disturbed soils, along roadsides and waste places. It has long-stalked, hoof-shaped leaves (hence the common name), about 4 inches across, with angular teeth on the margins. Both surfaces are covered, when young, with loose, white, felted woolly hairs, but those on the upper surface fall off as the leaf expands. This felty covering easily rubs off and before the introduction of matches, wrapped in a rag dipped in a solution of saltpetre and dried in the sun, used to be considered an excellent tinder

Actions: anti-tussive, anti-inflammatory, demulcent, expectorant and tonic

Constituents: All parts of the plant abound in mucilage, and contain a little tannin and a trace of a bitter amorphous glucoside. The flowers contain also a phytosterol and a dihydride alcohol, Faradial

History and Lore

From A Modern Herbal:

An old name for Coltsfoot was Filius ante patrem (the son before the father), because the star-like, golden flowers appear and wither before the broad, sea-green leaves are produced The botanical name, Tussilago, signifies 'cough dispeller,' and Coltsfoot has justly been termed 'nature's best herb for the lungs and her most eminent thoracic.' The smoking of the leaves for a cough has the recommendation of Dioscorides, Galen, Pliny, Boyle, and other great authorities, both ancient and modern, Linnaeus stating that the Swedes of his time smoked it for that purpose. Pliny recommended the use of both roots and leaves. The leaves are the basis of the British Herb Tobacco, in which Coltsfoot predominates, the other ingredients being Buckbean, Eyebright, Betony, Rosemary, Thyme, Lavender, and Chamomile flowers. This relieves asthma and also the difficult breathing of old bronchitis. Those suffering from asthma, catarrh and other lung troubles derive much benefit from smoking this Herbal Tobacco, the use of which does not entail any of the injurious effects of ordinary tobacco

In Paris, the Coltsfoot flowers used to be painted as a sign on the doorpost of an apothecary's shop

Medicinal Uses and Formulas

In my opinion, the best way to take coltsfoot is to go take a walk when she's in bloom and eat her stalk and flower fresh. When you pick one, try to find a patch that's not too close to the road, preferably uphill from the embankment. The texture on the mouth is a lot like the feeling of eating a dandelion blossom. There's a pungent, acrid taste, but it's also very sweet with not nearly as much bitterness as a dandelion. What a beautiful spring tonic! It's also wonderful as a remedy for those persistent coughs and colds that come with the late winter/early spring.

Traditionally, both flowers and leaves make an excellent cough remedy, although you have to wait a little longer for the leaves to appear. Often combined with horehound, marshmallow and licorice or elecampagne. Commonly made as a syrup or tea.

For tea, steep 1-2 teaspoons of leaves or flowers in 1 cup boiling water.

For a syrup, make a decoction of 1 OZ. of leaves, in 1 quart of water boiled down to a pint, sweetened with honey or licorice, and taken in teacupful doses frequently. This is good for both colds and asthma.

Drink no more than 3 cups daily.

While I have no experience with this, I've heard it can also be smoked by those with asthma, bronchitis and other lung problems, particularly those involving wet coughs.

Hot or cold coltsfoot tea compresses can be applied to swollen areas, and a cool such compress is soothing on the forehead or stomach when one has a fever.

A poultice of the leaves or flowers can be applied to eczema, sores, ulcers and insect bites.

The root is also useful for similar purposes, but it has higher levels of potentially toxic alkaloids and it is not recommended that it be used internally. All parts of coltsfoot contains these alkaloids, which can cause liver disease, but the leaves and flowers are considered safe for normally healthy adults to use in moderation. If you still aren't better after a few days, switch off with mullein for awhile.

Spiritual and Energetic Attributes

One of my favorite of the early spring blooms, some of coltsfoot's strongest medicine is in her ability to uplift and encourage us that brighter days are coming. She rises to greet me in my dullest of winter-weary March moods, when I just about weep to see such a bright color. She always changes my mindset. I love that in a plant.

Unlike the woodland spring 'ephemerals' that get so much press, coltsfoot is hardy and humble. She grows along asphalt roads and drainage ditches - mundane places no delicate spring ephemeral could tolerate. And yes, she's common. But I love that about her too. She is there on my ordinary walks to and fro on the neighborhood roads, not just on the special hikes into the deep woods.

The idea of medicine for the soul is embodied in coltsfoot's brazen, early spring leap. Just go for it, she says. Don't bother looking, just take the leap. Like the Fool of the Tarot, she springs into action without looking or caring what's ahead.

She's available, abundant, and exuberant. Each year, I get the sense that she's happy to see me, like that bubbly child who rushes up and sequels and gives a big hug, like you're the best thing shes been waiting for! And I swear, she giggles when I pick her and eat her.

Coltsfoot is one of the first flowers to emerge in the springtime, often appearing as early as February. This and its bright sunny yellow flowers make it suitable for springtime rituals welcoming the return of the sun, such as Imbolc, Ostara and Beltaine- depending on when they bloom that particular year! The long stems can be woven into wreaths.

In olden times, coltsfoot was used by country healers on Europe as a visionary and love herb – burned in rituals to increase psychic and visionary abilities. Carried as charm for love and good fortune.

Precautions

Do not confuse common coltsfoot with Western coltsfoot Petastites frigidus, which has much higher levels of potentially toxic alkaloids. This plant may not be used to substitute for the other under any circumstance.

Coltsfoot, like comfrey, has come under fire for containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids which can cause liver damage. There's been much controversy regarding appropriate use of these plants, with some people calling for their use to be banned altogether. That being said, Tylenol contains these same alkaloids. One of the most helpful bits of advice I've heard about plants containing these alkoloids is to take the same precautions with coltsfoot (and comfrey) as you would with Tylenol.

Don't combine coltsfoot with blood pressure medication. People who are allergic to ragweed are also likely to be allergic to coltsfoot, proceed with caution. People with a history of alcohol abuse or liver disease should not take coltsfoot. Do not combine coltsfoot with other potentially liver damaging substances, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) or comfrey.

If you ever begin to feel nauseated while using this herb, stop immediately. It is not a "normal" side affect, but a sign that the coltsfoot is hurting your liver.