SAFFRON (Meadow) |
COLCHICUM AUTUMNALE Indiscreetly used, this root is poisonous. Also known as Naked Ladies, this is a bulbous perennial, producing numerous leaves and flowers of a pale but elegant purple. It resembles a Crocus. Where to find it: Damp meadows. Flowering time: Early autumn. Astrology: It is under Saturn. Medicinal virtues: A single grain swallowed by a healthy person as an experiment, produced heat in the stomach, flushes of heat and shiverings, colicky pains and irritation in the loins and urinary passages. Other symptoms included tremor, head pain, rapid pulse, continual production of urine and great thirst. However, when properly prepared, it is a safe and powerful medicine. The best way is to make it into a syrup by digesting an ounce (28 g) of the roots sliced thin in a pint (568 ml) of white-wine vinegar, over a gentle fire, for 48 hours. It is then strained and two pounds (900 g) of honey mixed into it and gently boiled till it comes to a proper consistency. This syrup is agreeably acid, gently bites the tongue and is excellent for cleansing it from mucus. Too much causes vomiting and purging, so the dose at first should be no more than half a teaspoonful twice or three times a day. The quantity may be gradually increased, as the stomach will bear it, or as the case may require. It operates by way of the urine, for which it is a remarkably powerful medicine. It has been given with astonishing success in dropsies and tertian agues and it frequently succeeds as an expectorant when all other means fail. Modern uses: Colchicum is highly regarded as a remedy for gout and arthritis. but should be used only on the advice of a medical herbalist. It has to be used with utmost caution as it is a potent cell poison. Alkaloids contained in the plant have proved to be anti-cancerous and drugs derived from Colchicum were among the first to be used effectively against leukaemia. This plant is not recommended for domestic use. |