Page 282 - Lost Book Remedies

The Lost Book of Herbal Remedies

“Horizontal” type that grows along the coast and is salt degeneration. It also helps protect the eyes from harm-
tolerant. ful UV rays. Eat the fruits either raw or cooked.

While all three varieties have a similar medicinal use, I
am most familiar with the coastal-horizontal type. It
sends down roots from branches that creep along the
soil or sand. The leaves are alternate and egg-shaped
with a small indentation at the tip. Each is about 1 1/2
inch to 3 inches (3.75 to 7.5 cm) long and has a tough,
leathery texture and glossy appearance. New leaves
can be yellow-green to reddish; mature leaves are light
green in color. Small white flowers appear in clusters
at the end of the stems. The thick-skinned fruit can be
white, yellow, red, or purple. They usually bear crops
in the spring and another in later fall. The fruits are
oval shaped and about 1-inch (2.5 cm) long. The bark
is grey to reddish brown with white flecks.
Edible and Other Use: The cocoplum fruit is of- By © Hans Hillewaert /, CC BY-SA 3.0
ten eaten raw or made into jams and syrups. The seed Heart Health and Weight Loss: Cocoplums
is also edible raw or cooked after the hard shell is re- help treat atherosclerosis and reduce the risk of heart
moved. The seeds can be pressed and used like almond attack and strokes. It prevents fat accumulation and
oil. The leaves are used to make a black dye that is de- may help prevent weight gain.
cay resistant, and are used to treat cloth and fishing
nets. The seeds within the fruit are very oily and can be Healthy Immune System: In addition to its vit-
used as a light or heat source. amin A content, cocoplums also contain high levels of
vitamin C, K, and the building blocks that your body
Medicinal Use. Eye Health: Cocoplums fruits uses to make vitamin D. They are also rich in minerals
are an excellent source of beta-carotene and vitamin A, and antioxidants. Eating cocoplum fruits strengthens
useful for treating night blindness and macular the immune system and helps prevent degenerative
diseases.

Duckweed, Lemna minor Miniscule flowers occasionally appear, in groups of
three, in summer.

Duckweed, also called water lens and bayroot, is a fast- Edible Use: It is eaten in some parts of the world as
growing perennial aquatic plant that floats on or just a vegetable. It is an excellent protein source, and con-
below the surface of still or slow-moving water. It is in tains more protein than soybeans. It is a good food
the Lemnaceae (Duckweed) Family. It is found
throughout the world.

Identification: Duckweed is a small floating plant.
Each plant is actually only one small flat floating mod-
ified stem, which looks like a leaf, and is 1/16 to 1/2
inch (1.25 cm) across, A single root hair protrudes
down from each floating frond. They usually grow in
large fresh water colonies.

The entire plant is less than 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) from the
root tip to the top of the floating frond. While the plant
does produce flowers, reproduction is mostly by asex-
ual budding, which occurs at the base of the frond.

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