With the flu season upon us – time to get prepared for those inevitable and irritable coughs!
Magical Grindelia flowers growing over the rock cliffs off of Vancouver Island.
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. (see the benefits of raw honey below).
A herbal friend of mine, Elisha Barker (studied at Wild Seed School of Herbal Studies – http://www.wildseedschool.com), who makes amazing medicine suggested the recipe above and to heat and cool the honey/flower mixture over a couple of days to extract all the medicine out of the flowers – alternating heating and cooling every 4 hours. I have a pretty busy life, so I roughly heated the honey when I was home and let it cool when I was away or sleeping.
Benefits of Raw Local Honey:
Not only is local raw honey full of phytonutrients such as vitamins and minerals (see below), antioxidants, and enzymes (4) but also has cough suppressing abilities (5)! In fact “A study at Penn State College of Medicine in 2007 found that a small dose of buckwheat honey was more effective than an over-the-counter cough treatment for children.” (4 & 5).
Making Raw Honey a perfect combination with Grindelia!
Here is a little snippet from the Livestrong article on the benefits of Raw Honey:
“Antioxidants and Phytonutrients:
Honey is also rich in powerful antioxidants and cancer-fighting phytonutrients, which can be found in the propolis, or “honey glue” that the bees use to sterilize the beehive. Raw honey contains some of these compounds while pasteurized honey does not.
Digestive Aid:
In its natural, raw state, honey contains many enzymes that can help some people digest food more easily so it may also help treat ulcers and diarrhea.
Vitamins and Minerals:
The nutrient content of raw honey varies, but a 1-ounce serving contains very small amounts of folate as well as vitamins B2, C, B6, B5 and B3. Minerals including calcium, copper, iodine, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, potassium, selenium, sodium and zinc can also be found in raw honey in small amounts.
Topical Salve:
Honey can be used as medicine. It has anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, and antiseptic properties. For this reason it can be applied topically to treat burns, as researchers at the University of Auckland in New Zealand describe in a 2008 study”.
Photos: Grindelia with the addition of honey.
After letting it heat and cool over a couple of days, pour off the honey into a jar and label. I find this easiest when the honey is a bit warm.
You can also press the flowers to get all of the honey out BUT if you are going to do this I would separate the honey you just poured off with the honey you pressed. Pressing the flowers might increase the water in the honey and result in your honey not being shelf stable for very long.
Alternatively you can keep your mark (the flowers with residual honey covering them) and add the flower/honey combo to tea. It makes a beautiful cup of tea with some lovely sunshine flowers floating about!
Photos: Separating the Grindelia flowers from the honey, and storing them both in jars
Beautiful Grindelia honey – just in time for flu season!
References:
(1) Hoffman, D. 2003. Medical Herbalism: The science and practice of Herbal Medicine. Healing Arts Press: Vermont
(2) Hutchens, A. 1991. Indian Herbalogy of North America. Shambala: Boston & London.
(3) Grindelia integrifolia (Gumweed). (2006). http://www.beachwatchers.wsu.edu/ezidweb/shoreplants/Grindelia.htm
(4) O’Connell, D. (2013). Benefits of Raw Honey. http://www.livestrong.com/article/266247-benefits-of-local-raw-honey/
(5) Honey proves a better option for childhood cough than OTCs. (2007). http://news.psu.edu/story/192001/2007/12/03/honey-proves-better-option-childhood-cough-otcs
