|
Herbs by Common or Folk name 'V
and Y'
Vitex - Chaste Tree
Vitex agnus-castus
 It is shrubby, deciduous, aromatic and gives a beautiful display of lilac flowers in Spring and summer.
As a garden plant it is easy to grow and maintain, requiring little help except for the odd prune and a tidy up at the end of Autumn.
It is the dried fruit or seed that has become popular culture in the health food stores because of it's hormone like constituents that stimulate progesterone production in the body.
I have seen some references to it that call for it's use as a pepper substitute but can only imagine that this has come from mis-reading it's ancient history with the common term 'Monk's Pepper' used to describe the herb.
As a repressor of sexual desire in men it was gratefully accepted in the monasteries of Europe for several centuries.
30
fresh seeds $5.50
Verbascium
Verbascum thapsus
 The use of the leaf as a tea is so quick and easy as a remedy for raspy or 'tight' cough that it is almost as convenient as just making a cuppa.
The leaf can be dried for later use as well.
The seed oil is fantastic for chapped skin during winter. the root a diuretic and the flowers share the same properties as the leaves.
A homeopathic remedy made from the leaves and flowers treats migraine and earache.
50 seeds $3.50
Yam Bean
Pachyrhizus erosus
 The yam bean is a climber with alternate, three-parted leaves and a turnip-like root. The beautiful pale flowers are pealike in shape.
While they are climbers, they are a bit lazy and will just spread all over the ground if not encouraged to climb.
As herbaceous perennials, they do well in frost free areas as we have found that only one or two cold days in winter will knock them back, not to return until next spring.
They seem slow to start from seed but once they begin they continue strongly.
30 seeds $3.50
Yarrow
Achillea millefolium
 This is a beautiful groundcover.
It has a very low growing, spreading habit, sprouting many new plants from it's rhizomes. It has quite a decorative and distinctive leaf with many erect flower toped stems throughout summer and Autumn.
You can pick the young shoots to add to salad, as they have a slight peppery taste.
The flowering tops are digestive and cleansing tonic but over use can make the skin over sensitive to sunlight.
50 seeds $4.50
|