08/24/2025
So i have been reading a historical medical book describing life in Europe during the Black Death. Being an herbalist, I always deep dive and nerd out on this topic...here are three herbs used to assist during this dreadful plague that the book describes. Ironwort (Sideritis syriaca) also known as Greek Mountain Tea...or insert the name of the mountains you hail from. Its still listed in todays herbal monographs to treat issues such as aging, low iron, flu, fevers, insomnia, digestive complaints such as constipation...etc. Its easy to find in your fav Greek grocers. It tastes light and mixes well with chamomile and honey. The second plant was Butterbur (Petasites hybridus). Its *little used except in homeopathy where its called Tussilago petasites) which i find fascinating as the first time I saw it, it reminded me of Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara...which is greek and latin and means, cough dispeller...ok ok...a latin teacher would correct that and say..."I cough you like poplar"...but for us common folks, the laymans translation should do the trick. *little used in North America perhaps, still found in Jolly olde England and TCM texts). Speaking of TCM, i find it fascinating that the last plant mentioned in this book used to combat the Plague and give relief was Wormwood. (Artemisia absinthium and the Asian species is A. annua, or Sweet Annie) It is mentioned for use in 13c-15 century TCM (Chinese manuscripts) for plagues that they were dealing with...and you think modern life is tricky...imagine a plague and a horde of Mongols looking to swallow up everythang that moves...i guess we need to thank those Mamluks for stopping them...but ya gotta admit, their music, horseback archery skills and Yurts (Girs) are next level awesome and need to be reclaimed worldwide!!!) . During the 2020 pandemic, i noticed that several labs and researchers following TCM were recommending it since it has been found to be a stronger herbal antipyretic (reduce fever) agent than the more well known herb Peruvian Bark (Quinine Bark/ Cinchona officinalis...deep dive this herb, especially where and when it was "discovered" and how the Peruvians worked with this great medicine that is translated from Quechua as Holy Bark). Hopefully this inspires some to give them a try. Double check any contraindications and possible side effects, yadda yadda. BTW-wormwood is exceedingly bitter, so i would use as a tincture or capsule over teas.
Wormwood, Absinthe, Absinthium What makes Wormwood a plant as striking as it is attractive is not its inflorescences, but its leaves, some of which have a silvery sheen. Artemisia absinthium grows perennially and can reach a height of 1.5 meters. The shoots can become woody in the lower part. In…
