The Roadside Pharmacy

If there was one good thing to come out of COVID lockdown it was our sudden desire to reconnect with nature. The simple joy of a slower pace and our government mandated daily exercise outside lifted our otherwise dampened spirits. And it was our reconnection with nature that saw an explosion of interest in not only what nature showed us but also in what nature could provide us.

Blogs, Facebook pages and books on foraging sprung up quicker than a patch of roadside nettles and in tandem, it seems, we had also begun to rediscover the ways of a bygone age, which in the Middle Ages would probably have seen us burnt at the stake.

So, with my witches' cloak buttoned and my scientific hat firmly on, let me take you on a brief journey through your roadside verge.

 

Stinging Nettles, Urtica Dioica

These come with a painful sting yet pack a powerful medicinal punch.

Reviewing the research on this ubiquitous plant you could be forgiven for thinking these have a superpower. Documented by Hippocrates and the Ancient Egyptians as joint pain relief, its anti-inflammatory properties can be used to relieve osteoarthritis.

A study reports that in radomised control trials, osteoarthritis patients were given 50g of stewed nettles with 50g of the anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac and it was shown to be as effective as 200mg of diclofenac. Now this trial only had 37 patients and was only conducted over a 2-week period but if this and other reported studies are reliable then this could help us reduce our intake of NASID’s. The only issue we have is that Big Pharma want you to rely on their drugs, they can’t make money out of a roadside weed.

Yarrow. Achillea millefolium.

A much overlooked yet prolific roadside plant, yarrow, amongst other things, has anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic and astringent properties.  In Greek mythology Homer describes Achilles has using yarrow to dress his wounds in the battle of Troy.  It is therefore perhaps best known stemming blood flow when used as a wound dressing so if you inconveniently have a nose bleed whilst out, roll up a leaf and plug up the nostril or layer on an open cut.

 

Hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna.

Hawthorn was first recommended in the 1st century by Dioscórides (a Greek physician and pharmacologist), making this humble hedgerow species the oldest known European medicinal plant. In numerous clinical trials results showed that Hawthorn extract was able to prevent heart failure by strengthening the heart, reduce tissue damage following a heart attack, and found to reduce the effect of chronic heart disease; symptoms of laboured breath, fatigue and reduce heart rate and blood pressure. Most trials use the dried flower tops of Hawthorn, however in Chinese medicine the berry is used as a digestive aid, often being made into jams, sweets, jellies and even wine.

 

Ribwort plantain, Plantago lanceolata.

 

As a field ecologist I will often be found body deep amongst foliage in a remote field. I have lost count of the times I have been attacked by stinging nettles or thorny bushes only to realise my first aid kit is back in the car along with my wilting sandwiches parked half a mile away. Plantain is always my saviour! Crushed and rubbed on my stings or chewed up and applied as a poultice to my splinters, this little miracle plant draws them out.

 

Elder, Sambucus Nigra

In the early days of COVID I read a scientific journal entitled,

“Medicinal plants to strengthen immunity during a pandemic” Amongst several other plants cited, this sentence ‘Elderberry is the most effective means of preventing or combating coronavirus infections at an early stage’ sent me running to the hedgerow around my garden where they grow only to find not a single berry, so I stocked up on elderberry liquid supplements but had there been any on the trees I would have picked them and made my own syrup. It is a versatile plant, as well as its berries being documented as an immunity booster for all those nasty winter ailments, its leaves can be made into an ointment to ease bruises, sprains and chilblains and elderflowers can be seeped into a tea to reduce symptoms of fever. You can also make wine and chocolate with the berries, so what’s not to love?

 

There are so many more plants like these around our hedgerows and even in your back garden and all these plants are prolific in the UK, but sadly are largely considered a nuisance, regularly subjected to the hedge cutter or weed killer, but hedgerows and roadside verges are an incredibly important feature as a food source and habitat for myriad wildlife species , and its benefit as a source of food and medicine for humans just adds to the reason why we need to learn to learn to love and protect them.

If I have inspired you to take a delve deeper into this fascinating subject, look out for my posts on how to use these plants. If you want to add to your learning, please see my recommended reading list post and my digital newspaper.  And if, like me, you want to know the science stuff, see my Science reference list post.