Medicine Plants

(Adapted from the U.S. Army Survival Manual)

PLANTS FOR MEDICINE

In a survival situation you will have to use what is available. In using plants and other natural remedies, positive identification of the plants involved is as critical as in using them for food. Proper use of these plants is equally important.

Terms and Definitions

The following terms, and their definitions, are associated with medicinal plant use:

Poultice. The name given to crushed leaves or other plant parts, possibly heated, that you apply to a wound or sore either directly or wrapped in cloth or paper.
Infusion or tisane or tea. The preparation of medicinal herbs for internal or external application. You place a small quantity of a herb in a container, pour hot water over it, and let it steep (covered or uncovered) before use.
Decoction. The extract of a boiled down or simmered herb leaf or root. You add herb leaf or root to water. You bring them to a sustained boil or simmer to draw their chemicals into the water. The average ratio is about 28 to 56 grams (1 to 2 ounces) of herb to 0.5 liter of water.
Expressed juice. Liquids or saps squeezed from plant material and either applied to the wound or made into another medicine.

Many natural remedies work slower than the medicines you know. Therefore, start with smaller doses and allow more time for them to take effect. Naturally, some will act more rapidly than others.

Specific Remedies

The following remedies are for use only in a survival situation, not for routine use:

Diarrhea. Drink tea made from the roots of blackberries and their relatives to stop diarrhea. White oak bark and other barks containing tannin are also effective. However, use them with caution when nothing else is available because of possible negative effects on the kidneys. You can also stop diarrhea by eating white clay or campfire ashes. Tea made from crowberry or cranberry or hazel leaves works too.

Antihemorrhagics. Make medications to stop bleeding from a poultice of the puffball mushroom, from plantain leaves, or most effectively from the leaves of the common yarrow or woundwort (Achillea millefolium).

Antiseptics. Use to cleanse wounds, sores, or rashes. You can make them from the expressed juice from wild onion or garlic, or expressed juice from chickweed leaves or the crushed leaves of dock. You can also make antiseptics from a decoction of burdock root, mallow leaves or roots, or white oak bark. All these medications are for external use only.

Fevers. Treat a fever with a tea made from willow bark, an infusion of elder flowers or fruit, linden flower tea, or elm bark decoction.

Colds and sore throats. Treat these illnesses with a decoction made from either plantain leaves or willow bark. You can also use a tea made from burdock roots, mallow or mullein flowers or roots, or mint leaves.

Aches, pains, and sprains. Treat with externally applied poultices of dock, plantain, chickweed, willow bark, garlic, or sorrel. You can also use salves made by mixing the expressed juices of these plants in animal fat or vegetable oils.

Itching. Relieve the itch from insect bites, sunburn, or plant poisoning rashes by applying a poultice of jewelweed (Impatiens biflora) or witch hazel leaves (Hamamelis virginiana). The jewelweed juice will help when applied to poison ivy rashes or insect stings. It works on sunburn as well as aloe vera.

Sedatives. Get help in falling asleep by brewing a tea made from mint leaves or passionflower leaves.

Hemorrhoids. Treat them with external washes from elm bark or oak bark tea, from the expressed juice of plantain leaves, or from a Solomon’s seal root decoction.

Constipation. Relieve constipation by drinking decoctions from dandelion leaves, rose hips, or walnut bark. Eating raw day lily flowers will also help.

Worms or intestinal parasites. Using moderation, treat with tea made from tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) or from wild carrot leaves.

Gas and cramps. Use a tea made from carrot seeds as an antiflatulent; use tea made from mint leaves to settle the stomach.

Antifungal washes. Make a decoction of walnut leaves or oak bark or acorns to treat ringworm and athlete’s foot. Apply frequently to the site, alternating with exposure to direct sunlight.

Steve's Notes: There are hundreds of medicine plants you could use, but if you only have time to learn a few, concentrate on those that relieve pain or are antiseptics. Willow bark, and possibly the buds from some poplars have salicylic acid, the pre-cursor to aspirin, and will relieve pain. Sap from "blisters" on balsam firs, and crushed leaves of St. Johns Wort can be used as antiseptics.

Continue with Miscellaneous Plant Uses.

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