Herbal history edited book published

Hooray! As co-editor of this book on herbal history research I am so pleased it has finally been published. It is not specifically to do with Holt Wood but this is one reason why I have had so little time in the last year! This book is an academic text aimed at encouraging more herbal history research - the original chapter contributors came together in 2010 at a seminar on herbal history. The full reference is:

Susan Francia and Anne Stobart, eds. Critical Approaches to the History of Western Herbal Medicine: From Classical Antiquity to the Early Modern Period. London: Bloomsbury, 2014.

 

Hot off the press!

There are chapters from historians, medical herbalists and others on a wide range of historical aspects of herbal medicine including classical thought, midwifery, Culpeper, Parkinson, Turner. materia medica, archaeology, ethnobotany, and more. Further details at:

www.bloomsbury.com/uk/critical-approaches-to-the-history-of-western-herbal-medicine-9781441184184/

The Herbal History Research Network continues to organise seminars in London and the South-west of England - the next one is all about herbal illustration and identification - details at:

http://events.history.ac.uk/event/show/12436

Overlooking River Torridge, February 2014

I shall continue researching and writing but hope that there will be a bit more time for Holt Wood! The spring weather gives us hope that conditions will be right for some work clearing brambles soon.

New Year News from Holt Wood

Time is flying again, my efforts to keep up to date are just not good enough so this year I have a resolution to do better! At least we have details of our Holt Wood Programme in 2014 arranged. Our first visit to Holt Wood in 2014 coincided with brilliant blue skies between fierce squalls of wind and rain. The River Torridge nearby was within inches of the top of the bank and, by now, is probably washing over the neighbouring meadow. It has been even higher as we can see by the debris which has collected on the deer fence. There is plenty of standing water around so clearing away blockages in water channels and courses becomes important as not many of the trees (perhaps the exception is Alder) like to stand too long in water. A ditch runs all the way downhill along one border of Holt Wood and this needs regular checking to make sure it is feeding down to a stream and into the river.

Standing water at field level in Holt Wood, 2nd January 2014

Saving water!

Of course we do not want to lose all of the water arriving at Holt Wood and it is wonderful to see our newly dug pond filling up steadily. It has been puddled with clay found on site and, once this has firmed up, it should hold water. It is called 'Anne's last pond' because for years I have been digging small 'ponds' or holes in various places in the Wood to try to work out the best location. We finally realised that the best place is near the shed where we can appreciate the ensuing wildlife, ensure that some water is piped in and out, use as an emergency water source, and readily rake out leaves and blanket weed.

Anne's last pond, 2nd January 2014

What is sprouting

It does not feel like winter has truly arrived here, and many plants are still green if not growing - there are leaf buds already sprouting on the elder (Sambucus nigra) trees. It is interesting to see the seed pods that have formed on the Virginian Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana), after flowering these stay on for a full year and then they dehisce or burst open to eject the seeds.

Seed pod of Virginian Witch Hazel at Holt Wood

Herbal Harvest Weekend Course

This course is planned for Saturday 7–Sunday 8 June 2014. Ideal if you want to immerse yourself in a herbal haven in beautiful Devon. You will spend several days learning about growing herbs sustainably, harvesting herbs and preparing herbal products for health and beauty uses. The weekend is based at Holt Wood near Great Torrington in Devon, our project on cultivating and harvesting medicinal trees and shrubs sustainably. Your guide will be Anne Stobart, MNIMH, PhD, an experienced medical herbalist, herbal lecturer, herb grower and researcher.

The cost of this weekend is £120.00. This covers daytime refreshments at Holt Wood, all talks and demonstrations, course materials and handouts. Places are limited and must be booked in advance. For further details, download the course description or email herbaid@herbaid.co.uk.

A Good Find!

This week I was surprised to find several small stands of Goldenrod (Solidago virgaurea) at Holt Wood. I usually head for patches of yellow as they are likely to be  Ragworts - the Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea) can spread quickly, and when dried it is toxic to cattle and sheep. This is not such a problem for us but not good for hay in the neighbouring grass meadow so I try to stop the plants reaching seedbearing stage to reduce spread. As I grasped this particular plant to pull it out of the ground I suddenly realised that it just did not have the right leaves for Ragwort which are pinnatifid, or deeply cut in lobes. The leaves of the Goldenrod are entire and untoothed. Goldenrod is the only native to the UK of the Solidago species, although the introduced species of Canadian Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis) and Early Goldenrod (S. gigantea) are listed in Francis Rose, The Wild Flower Key (2006 edition). Perhaps the dryness of the summer has encouraged the Goldenrod this year. The plant (flowers and leaves) is aromatic, stimulant, carminative according to Maud Grieve, A Modern Herbal  (1976 edition) but present day use is more likely to be as an astringent and diuretic. There is a detailed US Solidago spp.

Solidago virgaurea 5 September 2013

Goldenrod flowers

article at

http://www.methowvalleyherbs.com/2012/10/goldenrod-torch-of-healing.html

Goldenrod has many potential uses from wound healing to kidney supprt, and makes a tasty tea. When we have expanded our population of Goldenrod then we can harvest to dry and have an ongoing supply.

Exeter Green Fair

What a great day out! Lots of stalls promoting sustainable living and wonderful foods. There were a few rain showers but we were saved by our neat self-erecting (almost) gazebo. Our stand for the Medicinal Forest Garden Trust carried information about Tree Aid, local herbal practitioners offering drop ins, and projects involved in medicinal tree and shrub growing including Holt Wood. Our Plant Identification Quiz  drew quite a few people in to try their luck - several  people correctly identified at least 10 medicinal plants and won a bottle of organic Lavender Essential Oil. Thanks to Helen, Kay and others for all their help - it was great to chat with visitors about sustainable herbal medicine and the Distilled Witch Hazel (first in Devon and available at www.herbaid.org.uk) provoked a lot of interest and discussion about air miles in getting supplies of herbs and cosmetics. Congratulations to raffle winners who won a bottle of Bickleigh-grown wine, a herbal first aid kit and other goodies.

 

Exeter Green Fair, September 2013

Visitors to Holt Wood

Holt Wood view, August 2013

Visitors to Holt Wood

Visitors are benefiting from the picnic tables which were donated last year which provide a good focus for a group.  We welcomed a group of people from Morchard Bishop Garden Club who came to visit in June. Altogether they spent several hours with us which included hearing about the background to the project and then taking a walkabout. The end of the visit was an opportunity for interesting discussion about how to develop markets for UK-grown herbal produce (thanks to Colin for the photo!). Visitors took away a sample of Distilled Witch Hazel. We have more dates planned in 2014 for visitors.

Holt Wood visitors, June 2013

Green Fair in Exeter

Look out for the Green Fair by the Cathedral in Exeter on Saturday 7th September 2013, from 10 am to 4 pm. We will be there on a stall for the Medicinal Forest Garden Trust. This is a new organisation dedicated to education and research to encourage sustainable harvesting and use of medicinal trees and shrubs. There will be information about a range of related projects and a raffle to raise funds with free samples of Herbal Insect Repellent.

Prickly Ash Bark (Zanthoxylum americanum)

Also called the 'toothache tree' as the bark and other parts such as the berries can be chewed (mind the thorns) to provide an analgesic remedy for toothache. The berries turn black as they ripen. We have planted Prickly Ash in one of the wide rides at Holt Wood and it is growing well, a bit like an over-sized gooseberry bush in habit. The whole plant contains coumarins and alkaloids, and the leaves are rich in essential oils (we find it is very aromatic) some of which are antispasmodic. Prickly Ash is known for its stimulating effects on peripheral circulation, sometimes given for leg cramps, but could have other applications.

Prickly Ash berries, August 2013