Page 281 - Lost Book Remedies

The Lost Book of Herbal Remedies

on insect bites and other skin irritations. Just rub a lit- Antiseptic and Styptic Properties: Burned
tle on the sore spot for fast pain relief and to reduce cattail leaf ash is an excellent styptic and antiseptic for
inflammation. wounds. To make the ash, build a small fire using cat-
Abscesses and tail leaves. Allow the fire to burn completely, then
Infections: Clean scoop up the ash. Use when cool or store it in a dry
place for future use. Cattail pollen, dusted on exter-
abscesses with an an- nally, is also good for bleeding. It speeds clotting and
tiseptic skin wash helps prevent infection. Once bleeding is no longer an
made by boiling the issue, mix the pollen with raw honey and use it to pre-
leaves. When the ab- vent infection and speed healing.
scess is clean, com-
bine cattail pollen Menstrual and Postpartum Bleeding: Cattail
with a small amount pollen, taken orally, lessens the severity of heavy men-
of raw honey and strual bleeding and postpartum bleeding and pain. 5 to
spread over the 10 grams is the usual dose.
wound. Cover with a Internal Bleeding: Both the pollen and the flower
clean cloth and leave
in place. Wash and are useful for internal bleeding. It helps with bruising,
vomiting blood, bloody stools, bloody urine, and uter-
replace the honey-
pollen two to three times a day as needed. ine bleeding. It doesn’t treat the cause of the bleeding
but helps stop the bleeding.
Well Baby Care: Apply the fuzz from the flowers
into skin folds to prevent chafing and diaper rash in Warning: Its co-
babies. The jelly-like sap found between the lower agulant properties
stems numbs the gums and relieves teething pain when could be problematic
for people with poor
rubbed sparingly onto a baby’s gums.
circulation, as it may
Cancer Prevention: Cattails are currently being slow down the blood
researched as a cancer preventative. Cattail’s anti-in- even more and stim-
flammatory and antioxidant properties may slow the ulate clotting in the
growth and spread of cancer. skin. Pregnant
women should not
use cattail.

Cocoplum,

Chrysobalanus icaco

The cocoplum is also called paradise plum and Icaco.
It grows along beaches in tropical and subtropical ar-
eas. In North America it is found in Southern Florida,
Mexico, and the Caribbean. It is in the Chryso-
balanaceae Family.
Identification: Along the shoreline and in culti-
vated situations, the cocoplum forms a shrub that is 4
to 8 feet (1.2m to 1.8m) tall, but inland the plant forms
a bushy tree that grows to 20 to 30(6m to 9.1m) feet
tall. There are three main types of Cocoplum. “Red Tip”
and “Green Tip” varieties that grow inland, and a
Cocoplum fruits, Ripe and immature. Daniel Di Palma, CC by SA 4.0

280