Bergomat - The Native American Herb

The bergamot herb plant is native to America but is now very popular worldwide due to a number of uses in food, scent and alternative medicine. It is also know as Oswego Tea or Bee Balm.

Bergamot is related to the aromatic mint family and it well know for the leave to give citrus or lemon flavour and smell. It can grow to over 1 metre high with a variety of flowers that bloom with colours ranging from a light pink to dark scarlet. Both the leaves and flowers have many uses.

With a savoury and fruity flavour mingled with a fine aroma it proves to be very effective as a stimulant aiding and improving digestion. Bergamot has proven a good remedy in the curing of skin infections.

Internal use of bergamot is used to relieve symptoms of colds, chest or throat problems and also for digestive complaints. Native American Indians made a type of herb tea from bergamot leaves for these particular ailments. The bergamot herb you may be interested to know is not the source used to flavour Earl Grey tea. This comes from the bergamot orange, a different plant that is a Mediterranean citrus fruit.

The bergamot leaves are used externally and found extensively in commercially produced fruit drinks. The very pretty petals are often used for food decorations, namely salads. Both the bergamot leaves and petals are put into baths and is said to revitalise the body.

Aromatherapy and use of essential oil is another side to the Bergamot. Essential oils are used in aromatherapy to relieve anxiety or nervous tension. It also aids the urinary and respiratory systems.

Skin problems, especially those that are linked to stress, typically eczema, psoriasis and acne benefit from bergamot treatment. It is also effective for varicose veins, wounds and seborrhoea.

The properties of bergamot are beneficial to many ailments and compounds and potions have the following properties:

• anti-depressant
• antiseptic
• carminative
• deodorant
• digestive
• expectorant
• insecticide
• sedative
• tonic

The natural source of the antiseptic Thymol mentioned above is the main active ingredient in modern commercial mouthwash formulas.

Finally, the bergamot herb plant can be grown successfully throughout Europe and Asia. It is great as an ornamental plant and grows best in full sun and will enjoy any soil that moist and well drained.

Agrimony

Agrimony is a herb that is not well know to many but has many uses.

It is perennial plant and grows up to 80cm tall. With its narrow pointed, deeply serrated leaves it is a very distinctive herb. The slender spikes of yellow flowers blossom in summer then are transformed into seed capsules. Both the flowers and foliage have a apricot fragrance, It grows naturally in most part of Europe and north Americas.

Agrimony in by-gone times was said to cause a deep sleep. When placed beneath a mans head this sleep would last until it was removed. It is a medicine that is steeped in tradition and as astringent and antibacterial qualities. With this is was commonly used for battle wounds alongside the treatment of bladder infections. There are also a number of other ailments that it can treat.

The flowers are used nowadays to treat sore throats, acne and diarrhoea. In France a tea is commonly made from the flowers and leaves and combined with ordinary tea it make an enchanting aromatic drink.

As well as food and medicine agrimony can be used as a source of a yellow dye. The whole plant including the root is used for this. A great range of yellows from very pale to a deep dark yellow can be made by harvesting the herb throughout the growing season.The later it is harvested the darker the yellow becomes.

If you want to cultivate and grow agrimony. You need to find a sunny or semi-shaded spot. It can put up with mini droughts and doesn't mind alkaline soil. For the seeds to germinate some cold weather is needed so planting in the autumn is a good strategy. To dry the herbs leave in a well ventilated area and store in air tight containers. Agrimony seeds can be harvested in late summer or early autumn and best stored in freezer.

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