Donald Rice

Poison hemlock is quite widespread, and it is worth knowing how to distinguish it from other plants belonging to the same botanical family, Umbelliferae, to which it is similar: European …

Prickly lettuce is unlike farmed lettuce, which is tender and milky, just as it is used in salads; however, it lacks practically any medicinal properties. Instead, it is a valuable …

The red eyebright plant has been used since the Middle Ages and onwards to heal conjunctivitis, blepharitis (inflammation of the eyelids), superficial keratitis (inflammation of the cornea), and eye tearing. …

The great 11th-century Arabic physician Ibn Sina (Avicenna) said the bee balm plant “has the admirable property of giving comfort and joyfulness.” From the early 17th century onwards, the Barefooted …

The wolfsbane plant has the highest concentration of poison of all plants growing in Europe. This concentration is only exceeded by another species of the same genus, the Aconitum Ferox …

The Ebers papyrus records that the henbane plant was already used in Babylon (15th century B.C.) to heal toothaches. Dioscorides (1st century A.D.), the father of phytotherapy, also mentions its …

The Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder already knew about the many health benefits of hops because he christened the plant Lupulus. After all, it overgrows the gardens where it grows …

The devil’s trumpet plant was unknown in Europe during ancient times and the Middle Ages until it was brought to Spain from Mexico in the late 16th century. Because of …

Flakes prepared from the oat plant by pressing oats into ground grain are an integral food popular in Central and Northern Europe. Moreover, oats have stimulating effects on the nervous …

Be careful with the dragon’s blood plant, as it can be mistaken for poison hemlock. Both plants have unpleasant smells and very similar leaves. However, the dragon’s blood plant’s rose …