permaculture

[Keith Johnson <keithdj@mindspring.com>]

souscayrous wrote:

Amygdalin/e isn't poisonous in small doses, in fact it's beneficial to
respiration, digestion and a sense of well-being (from the ever useful
Plants for a Future database).  My experience comes from the numerous almond
trees of this region of France; I test each to find the sweet almonds (does
any one know what to do with bitter almonds?) and also from the numerous
sloe (Prunus spinosa) here, the fruits of which, once softened by frost, are
quite palatable.  Tea made from its leaves have the characteristics
described by Andreas - I wonder if sloe or bitter almonds would also have
the same effect upon intestinal worms.  If the amygdalin is the active
ingredient this would likely be true.

Comments anyone?

Souscayrous

Keith - Here's a clip from a recent correspondence on the NAFEX listserve
which speaks to the sloe fruit and raises other questions of interest to
the permaculture list.

Donna - Another fascinating fruit that ought to be in Doreen's gem of a book is
the sloe.  It looks like a small plum, it IS a Prunus, Prunus spinossima I
believe, but is also akin to persimmon in effect. It grows in hedgerows,
and LOOKS like something edible.  I only tried biting into one once, not a good
idea.  This is a favorite tree of fairies, and particularly bad luck to cut
if one tree is growing on it's own, a good indication that generations past
considered it special. My husband has heard stories of people who cut down
fairy trees......
     Long years ago, back in England, my husband to be  threw some sloes in
some with an apple dessert in a cast iron pan, and said they turned the
dish the most amazing color of blue, apparently due to interaction with the
iron.
I believe one of the major active ingredients in sloes is malic acid, a
very sharp acid that is helpful in fibromyalgia.  People with fibromyalgia often
really like the taste of malic acid.  The FMS expert, Dr. St Amand, says
FMS eventually turns into arthritis.  The "Ice Man", frozen some 5,000 years
ago, was found to have severe arthritis and tattoos on traditional
acupunture points for arthritis.  He also had dried sloes and "medicinal
mushrooms" in his bag.  I'll bet the sloes tasted pretty decent to him, and
relieved his pain. ( If any of you have read the species of mushroom he had
with him, I'd love to know.  I'm a bit of a mushroom nut too.)

Keith - I had read, and heard confirmed by Paul Stamets, that they were common woodconks, those large dark, shelf-like growths on decaying trees. They are attributed with many health benefits.

Donna - I always like the thought that medicine also grows on trees.  We ought to talk more
about that kind of thing in NAFEX.

Keith - There's an excellent article by Michael Pilarski (Medicinal Trees, Shrubs, and Vines for Cold Temperate Climates) and another by Martin Crawford, editor of Agroforestry News  (Medicinal Tree Crops) in the March 2001Permaculture Activist, #45, Medicine and Health  issue. http://www.permacultureactivist.net/backissues/BackIssu.htm 

Donna - I am going to a Chinese woman for acupuncture, and showed her a bag of
lycium berries I had bought at an oriental grocery.  She said they were
about the best thing for female trouble, menopausal women in China always
eat them.  The favored approach is to soak them in wine.  I haven't tried
that, I just eat them, they are good.  I have been trying to grow lycium
for about 7 years, can't seem to keep the dang seedlings alive, they damp off
by one inch tall.  Lycium has supposedly naturalized as a weed in Virginia.
You can sprout them right out of the dried berries.  The seeds contain
germanium, a mineral found in the entire herbal hall of fame (like ginseng,
aloe, garlic).  Germanium is being heavily researched in Japan as a cancer
cure.

Keith - I've tried to grow Lycium in Cal and NC and haven't had much success yet. Joe Hollis of Celo, NC has grown it, but I don't have the details from him. Other's experience??

 
-----Original Message-----
From: permaculture-admin@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:permaculture-admin@lists.ibiblio.org]On Behalf Of keller
Sent: Saturday, February 23, 2002 7:21 PM
To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: Re: [permaculture] Worms

Hi Keith,

> FYI amygdala translates as (from the Greek) an almond. Amygdaline is a
glucoside (C20H27NO11) present in bitter almonds.

I don't think it contains that. It is not a poisonous plant. The name
probably referes to the shape of the leaves.

I have just tasted a piece of of the dried leaves (raw). It is bitter, but
not that bitter. The taste resembles green tea or oolong tea, something in
that direction. Quite nice.

Andreas
>
> Keith
>
> keller wrote:
>
> > > Thanks for the info. re intestinal worms. Will look for the African
> > > herbal plant (though a botanical name would be a big help).
> >
> > Vernonia Amygdalina
> >
> > http://www.fao.org/ag/aga/agap/frg/Visit/Ida/Vernonia%20amygdalina.htm
> >
> >The vegetable Ndole is a domesticated variety. This is a widespread
plant in Africa, but I don't know if it is easy to get elsewhere.