Galangal | Garlic | Gentian | Ginger | Ginseng | Golden
Rod | Golden
Seal | Great Celandine | Green
Hellebore | Ground Ivy | Groundsel
Note: This
information is not intended as medical advice, and should not be
relied upon as a substitute for consultation with your doctor who
is familiar with your medical needs. Galangal (Alpinia galanga) 1-1.5 m (3-5 ft).
White flowers in clusters growing from procumbent stem. Creeping root,
cylindrical and branched, ringed with old leaf sheaths. Odour and taste
of root is like ginger.
Found wild and cultivated in China, S.E. Asia, Indonesia and Iran.
Medicinally once used as ginger, a hot tea promoting cleansing perspiration.
Back to index Garlic (Allium sativum) 30-50 cm (12-18 ins).
Round umbel of small white flowers. Stem simple smooth and round surrounded
at the bottom by tubular leaf sheaths, bulb is composed of multiple
cloves.
Widely cultivated. Every clove planted will produce a whole bulb.
Culinary use for a wide range of dishes.
Medicinal use to stimulate digestion, said to be especially beneficial
to the blood.
Back to index Gentian see Alpine Gentian
Back to index Ginger (Zingiber officinale) 100-130 cm (36-48 ins).
White flowers with purple streaks growing in spikes. Long oval leaves
from simple leafy stem with leaf sheath round base. Knotty root, fibrous
and buff-coloured.
Medicinal use of aromatic root as tea or syrup provides soothing remedy
for coughs, tea provides refreshing gargle.
Culinary use in a variety of cooking particularly eastern.
Back to index Ginseng (Panax schin-seng).
Small plant coming almost exclusively from eastern Asia where it is cultivated.
(Pa. quinquefolius is grown in U.S.A. and is similar). The aromatic
root may grow to a length of 70 cm (24 ins).
Medicinal use of the ground root is held to be useful for the easing
of many ailments,
it also acts as a stimulant on the central nervous system.
Back to index Golden Rod see Solidago
Back to index Golden Seal (Hydrastis canadensis) 30 m (12 ins).
Solitary flower at top of erect stem with two five-lobed leaves. Thick
knotty, yellow root.
Found in rich woods and meadows.
Medicinal use of ground root to clear catarrhal conditions. Apply tea
with toothbrush for sore gums. Do not eat fresh plant.
Back to index Great Celandine see Celandine
Back to index Green Hellebore (Helleborus viridis). Up to 30 cm (12 ins).
Branched stem with large white flowers each with own leaf. Found mainly in
alpine forests but also in some gardens.
Has been used medicinally for stimulation of the heart. Beware: contact with
bruised herb may cause dermatitis.
Back to index Ground Ivy (Nepeta hedracea).
Creeping plant with bluish-purple, two-lipped flowers. Finely haired
stem with root nodes along entire length.
Leaves and flowers have been used to relieve diarrhoea, colds and bronchitis,
but in large quantities can be poisonous.
Back to index Groundsel (Senecio vulgaris) 30-70 cm (12-24 ins).
Golden-yellow flowers with brown centres, coarsely toothed leaves at
base, erect grooved brown-streaked stem.
Found in wet areas, in marshes, along stream-banks and generally in waste places.
The whole plant has been used for liver complaints but never without medical
supervision. Used by the Indians for abortion. Known to be poisonous to livestock.
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