BALLOTA NIGRA |
HOREHOUND (Black) It is recommended as a remedy against hysteric and hypochondriac affections. Black Horehound is taller and more branched than the White. The flowers are reddish-purple and labiated like the Nettle family. Where to find it: Common in waste places, roadsides and hedges. Flowering time: Midsummer. Astrology: A herb of Mercury. Medicinal virtues: This has not as much virtue as the White Horehound. Only the leaves and tops are used. Beaten with salt, the leaves applied to a wound cures the bites of mad dogs, and the juice, mixed with honey, cleanses foul ulcers. An intense bitter, it strengthens weak stomachs. It is endowed with the properties of a balsam, acting as a powerful alterative and capable of opening obstructions of any kind. It also promotes the menses. Some praise it very much as a pectoral in coughs and shortness of breath, but it is necessary to observe some caution. It ought only to be administered to gross phlegmatic people and not to thin plethoric persons. The powder is good to kills worms. Modern uses: Black Horehound is an anti-spasmodic, a stimulant and a. vermifuge. It has a relaxing effect on heart tissue and is used by some herbalists as a circulatory tonic to help lower blood pressure. It also acts on the hormonal system and will normalise heavy or scanty menstruation. The whole herb is used, but because of its unpleasant nature it is usually prescribed as a fluid extract in doses of half a teaspoonful. |