Written by Krista Poulton, RHT – Medical Herbalist
To view entire article with recipe, directions and photos, please visit: http://kristadawnpoulton.com/2017/01/grindelia-honey/
With the flu season upon us – time to get prepared for those inevitable and irritable coughs!
No matter where you live I am positive you have weeds growing. You probably have weeds in your garden, weeds in the cracks of your sidewalk, and weeds growing, in this case, on a rocky coastline.
Have you ever stopped and pondered the fact that these weeds were once the cure for illnesses before pharmaceuticals? And that many pharmaceuticals are derived from the constituents found in our most common weeds? And many of the plants are still used today by herbalists to cure illnesses – without the harsh side-effects that pharmaceuticals have. Makes you really question composting those dandelions you just ‘weeded’ (or harvested) out of your garden…. doesn’t it.
Gumweed (Grindelia integrifolia) (3) is one of those weeds that have been used traditionally for medicine. Grindelia belongs to the Asteracea family – a very common medicinal plant family. Grindelia is used to treat asthmatic and bronchial conditions with its antispasmodic, and expectorant actions on the body (1). Grindelia is useful for asthma, bronchitis, whooping cough, and upper respiratory catarrh (aka phlegm) (1), including harsh, dry cough and wheezing (2). Perfect for that Autumn chest cold that often goes around when you get caught underdressed for the quick weather changes in September.
On Vancouver Island you can find Grindelia growing near the ocean – often on rocky slopes. “These shrub-like plants grow to 2-1/2 feet in height and are laden with bright yellow sunflower-like blooms that reach a diameter of 2-1/2 inches” (3). It is a very sticky, resinous flower, and will often look like sap is coming out of its flowers. “Immature flower heads have a bur-like appearance and exude a white sticky substance” (3).
It is best to harvest the Grindelia flowers away from traffic and vehicles to avoid toxins from exhaust.
Grindelia flowers are like sunshine – sticky, gooey sunshine!
The Grindelia Honey Recipe:
The recipe is very simple – you can do the folk method with just adding honey to cover the flowers or you can weigh your flowers and your honey (see below).
Honey in this case is your preservative – so if you don’t add enough honey to the flowers your medicinal honey might not last as long (It has to do with the water content of the flowers diluting the preserving aspect of honey). If you are unsure just keep your honey refrigerated to extend its shelf life. The folk method is an easy way to make a medicinal honey, but if you are really wanting to know the potency of your medicine, measuring is the best method.
1 part grindelia flowers : 4 parts raw honey
Put the flowers and the honey in a double boiler (two pot system where you put water in the bottom pot and the second pot is where the flower/honey mixture goes). Simmer on low heat so you don’t pasteurize the honey.
To view entire article with recipe, directions and photos, please visit: http://kristadawnpoulton.com/2017/01/grindelia-honey/
