many misunderstood symptoms. The root in decoction or powder is effective for all the above purposes, plus jaundice, gravel and stones of the kidney and bladder. The boiled root is used for profuse menstruation and stomach haemorrhage. If there be any sign of scurvy, Sorrel is your food.
SORREL Rumex acetosa, L.( Ontario Department of Agriculture, Toronto, Canada, 1966)
Externally: For cutaneous tumours, tetters, ringworm, boils, etc., the express juice with a little cider vinegar applied often will prove effective, if at the same time Sorrel is taken internally. Homoeopathic Clinical: Tincture of the leaves— Convulsions, Gastritis, Oesophagus( inflammation of), Paralysis, Throat( sore), Uvula( elongated). Russian Experience: The Rumex family grows abundantly in Russia. Shavel( Male Rumex acetosella L.) is often found in areas of what seems to be complote Sorrel beds. Uses: Decoction for internal bleeding, compress for external bleeding( Bello-Russ. Academy of Science, 1965).
SPIKENARD
Aralia racemosa, L.( N. O.: Araliaceae)
Common Names: Indian Spikenard, American Spikenard, Petty Morrel, Like of Man, Spignet, Old Man’ s Root, Wild Licorice. Features: Spikenard is a perennial plant of the Ginseng family Araliaceae. Found from Quebec to south-eastern Manitoba, south to Georgia and Kansas, in rich wooded areas. The root stalk is light brown, thick and fleshy, with prominent stem scars and furnished with numerous long, thick roots, which have a spicy taste and have been used in flavouring root beer. The large, compound, ratherimposing leaves, sometimes nearly 3 ft. long with broad leaflets, grow alternately from a slightly zigzag stem; and are light green with deeply furrowed indentations the length of the leaf. The flowers are small and greenish-yellow or greenish-white, and are in many-branched, long clusters. The dark purple berries are pleasantly flavoured and can be made into jelly. Medicinal Parts: Root, rhizome. Solvent: Water. Bodily Influence: Alterative, Diaphoretic, Expectorant. Uses: Our North American Indians used the whole root as food. For many years Spikenard has been used as an addition to cough syrups, with other agents according to the nature of the cough. For irritable conditions, combine with 1 oz. of Wild cherry syrup( Prunus serotina); for old coughs, 1 oz.