Growing up we used to go hunting for these and gather as much as possible every summer. The leaves, stems, and flowers were dried and then used to make tea to drink when we had a chest cold. After having finished drinking the tea, Mom would take the warm steeped leaves and create a poultice with them for us.
The best part of these plants though used to be what we called the "little cheeses" They were tasty little treats to be enjoyed by who ever happened to get to them first.
We'll be going on a little hunting adventure today to see if we can find more to dry for winter. It's just a little bit of knowledge that I want to pass on to my children before it gets lost like so many, many things do with the passing of time and generations.
Thank you for sharing this valuable information. Do you still dry them and make tea for your family when any of you have chest colds? Do you feel that this tea is as effective as commercial products?
ReplyDeleteI haven't been gathering and drying these for years, but am doing some again this year. As for how it compares with commercial products, I really couldn't tell because growing up we never used commercial and this helped us then.
DeleteLOVE this post! Foraging for medicines and food is one of my fun adventures in life. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! I feel I've really dropped the ball on a lot of the foraging/food growing and preservation for our children. Trying to get back to my roots in this particular area of life. :)
DeleteI have not been paying attention, but I don't remember having seen those plants. I'll have to pay attention in the future.
ReplyDeleteThey seem to like growing around old buildings, in lawns, and along roadsides, paths etc.
DeleteA very interesting post,thankyou for sharing xx
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome!
DeleteHello!
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting my blog, it's always nice to see a new face!
I love this post! I remember so well as a child eating those, "little cheese", parts of the Mallow plant. Somewhere along the way in my childhood, I was told they were delicious, and they were. I have, Mallow growing in my pasture, everywhere, it's very hardy. I plan on drying some and using it this winter. Thank you for the advise about using it for chest colds, so helpful.
I will be returning often to see you!
Blessings,
Barb
We just gathered a lot of the cheeses and flowers to add to our salad.
DeleteThanks for stopping by!