Red Spiderling

     There are some plants you see so often that they go unnoticed, unexamined, and neglected. The herb I'm sharing with you today is one of those. Boerhaavia diffusa, more commonly called either Red Spiderling or Tar Vine, loves to grow around sidewalks and in common waste areas. As a result, I tend to walk on it a lot, and not pay much attention to it at all. However, I was on a weed walk with Green Deane and he pointed this little plant out. His walks are mainly about edibles, but occasionally he'll throw in some medicinal information. When he talked about the Red Spiderling he mentioned that it was a commonly used Auyrvedic herb, but he was unsure of it's uses. This stuck in my mind and I started noticing the little vine more and more, until one day I decided to look it up.

Boerhaavia diffusa sprawling across a sidewalk

Boerhaavia diffusa flowers are really, very small

Medicinal Uses:

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)- Known as Huang Xi Xin. Used to move blood, break up stasis, regulate menses, and strengthen the bones and tendons.

Ayurveda- Known as Punarava. This herb is considered bitter, cooling, and astringent. It balances the three doshas within the body. The whole herb is used to improve digestion, for anemia, and asthma. The leaves are used for dyspepsia and other abdominal pains, some tumors, and enlarged spleen. The roots are used as a diuretic, expectorant, vermifuge (expels parasitic worms), and to improve both kidney and liver function.

Liver- Boerhaavia is used to cleanse and revitalize the liver. Helps fight liver disorders such as jaundice, hepatitis, iron deficiency, anorexia, and sluggish liver. Since it helps to improve the overall health of the liver, this herb also helps improve the quality of blood.

Urinary Tract Infections- Due to it's diuretic and antimicrobial actions, Boerhaavia is great to use as part of the treatment for chronic and recurrent UTIs. It can even be used during pregnancy, under strict observation of a doctor and/or midwife.

Weight Loss- As a diuretic, Boerhaavia stimulates the removal of excess fluids and waste products from the body. It is also a mild laxative. These two actions together help shed excess weight without loosing excessive amounts of potassium and other electrolytes.

Diabetes- Several studies have been done involving Boerhaavia leaf extract. Consistently, the extract has shown to decrease blood glucose levels considerably, which in turn increases plasma insulin levels.

Kidney Health- Not only is Boerhaavia a diuretic, but it also helps prevent the formation of stones in the kidneys. Add in the fact that it's an excellent kidney tonic, and you have one of the best herbs for kidney health.

Arthritis- A paste made from grinding the fresh herb can help calm down the inflammation of joints afflicted with arthritis.

Gout and High Uric Acid Levels- One of the ways that Boerhaavia helps improve the health of the kidneys is by increasing the secretion of uric acid. This helps with gout and other conditions associated with high levels of uric acid.

Impotence- The seeds of Boerhaavia help to stimulate and rejuvenate the male reproductive system. Not only does it increase libido, but it also improves the quantity and quality of semen.

Summary of actions- Diuretic, antioxidant, antipyretic, antimicrobial, antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory, expectorant, stomachic, analgesic, heart tonic, kidney tonic, used in the treatment of jaundice, given to improve digestion, used in the case of an enlarged spleen, and useful for relieving abdominal pains.

Cautions and Contraindications- May increase blood pressure and affect the function of the heart. Anyone with ethanol allergies should avoid this herb. Use extreme caution during pregnancy.

     I only included a basic introduction to this amazing herb. I hope you have learned a new appreciation for this little vine that loves to be under your feet. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below.

Refrences:

Boheraavia Diffusa: Always Ayurveda: http://www.alwaysayurveda.com/boerhaavia-diffusa/

Boheraavia Diffusa: Herbpathy: https://herbpathy.com/Uses-and-Benefits-of-Boerhavia-Diffusa-Cid1552

Punarnava Facts and Health Benefits: Health Benefits Times: https://www.healthbenefitstimes.com/punarnava/

Tar Vine, Red Spiderling: Eat the Weeds: http://www.eattheweeds.com/boerhavia-diffusa-catchy-edible-2/

Traditional Indian Herbs Punarnava and Its Medicinal Importance: Journal of Pharmacognosy and Photochemistry: http://www.phytojournal.com/vol1Issue1/Issue_may_2012/5.pdf 

Wild Herb Pesto

     As many of you may know, I am very much an advocate for wildcrafting and using herbs as both food and medicine. One of my favorite ways to incorporate wild greens into my diet is with pesto. Pesto is such a great sauce/spread. I use it on sandwiches, in pasta dishes, and even mix it with hummus or sour cream to make a tasty dip for vegetables and chips. Even better, pesto is so easy to make. All you absolutely need are greens and olive oil. You can leave out the cheese if you are vegan, or the nuts if you have an allergy. It's great!

     Just be very careful when harvesting your wild greens. A few good rules to remember is to harvest only 100 feet (or more) from roadways to avoid contamination from road run-off. Make sure to harvest only in areas that are not treated with herbicides and/or pesticides. Also be careful to not harvest from waste areas (many of these plants have a tendency to take in the harmful chemicals and minerals from these areas). Make sure that you thoroughly wash these plants before using them to avoid bacterial contamination, this is also important if you are harvesting plants that grow shorter than a dog's leg. I also follow the Native American harvesting tradition of only harvesting ¼ of the plants you encounter. You leave ¼ for the animals to eat, ¼ for the next wildcrafter/forager who comes along, and ¼ to grow and continue the population. And the most important rule of all, be 100% sure of what you are harvesting. If you are 99.99% sure, do not harvest. There are a great number of look-alikes that can be toxic, so please please be sure of your plant before consuming it.

Wild Herb Pesto

2 cups Herb (or herbs) of your choice

2 cloves garlic

¼ cup pine nuts (or cashews)

2/3 cups extra virgin olive oil

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Combine herbs, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor and pulse until roughly chopped. Add in 1/3 cup of the olive oil and process until smooth. Stir in remaining olive oil, cheese, and seasonings. Enjoy!

*For more of a traditional pesto flavor, use 1 cup of basil and 1 cup of wild herbs. I also like to use tulsi (holy basil) occasionally for an added health boost.

*Feel free to play with the amount of olive oil you use for different textures and flavor.

10 Herbs to experiment with:

• Stinging Nettle Urtica dioica is notorious for it's sting. If you encounter it in it's raw form you'll know exactly why. However, once cooked or dried, nettles loose their sting and can be quite tasty, not to mention nutritious. Nutritionally, it's a great source of vitamins A, C, and D as well as iron, calcium, and magnesium. Medicinally, nettles are used to treat hay fever and similar allergies throughout the world. Because of the sting, this is one green you definitely want to blanch or dry before using in recipes.

• Spanish Needle Bidens Alba is one of the most under-appreciated plants in North America. It's also one of the most prolific. Everywhere you look, especially here in Central Florida, you can find it. The young leaves and flowers are edible, but the whole plant is used medicinally. If you are using the leaves for pesto, you really want to blanch them first. Nutritionally, bidens leaves are very similar to spinach and packed with lots of vitamins and minerals. Medicinally, they are very useful for upper respiratory conditions. For more information on how bidens is used medicinally, you can find a previous post of mine here.

• Purslane Portulaca oleracea is the most nutritionally jam packed green on earth. It contains more omega 3 fatty acids than any other plant known. It's also full of vitamins A, B, C, and E, beta carotene, magnesium, calcium, folate, lithium, iron, and protein. It's also a powerhouse of medicinal benefits. For more information on how purslane is used medicinally, you can find a previous post of mine here. You can use the leaves and stems for the pesto.

• Red Clover Trifolium pratense is in the legume (bean) family and the leaves have a slight bean flavor. The flowers are even more tasty and are supposedly the most tasty of any of the clover flowers (I haven't personally tried all of them yet, but so far it's winning for me). Nutritionally, red clover is full of nutrients including vitamins A, B, and C, zinc, calcium, magnesium, manganese, and potassium. Medicinally, red clover is one of the best herbs for women as it helps to balance the female hormones. It's also a great aid in helping to prevent cancers of all types.

• Peppergrass Lepidium virginicum is quite peppery in taste, almost like a very mild horseradish. The seeds can be used to flavor foods like pepper, the root can be used similarly to horseradish, but the leaves are delicious raw. Nutritionally, the leaves are a good source of vitamins A and C. Medicinally, this plant is great for the kidneys and has been used, traditionally, to treat asthma. This is one of the few plants that actually have no known dangerous look-alikes.

• Chickweed Stellaria media is one of the earliest spring greens that show up in the eastern portion of the United States. Nutritionally, it's full of calcium, magnesium, potassiom, and quite a few other nutrients. Medicinally, this is one of the most amazing little herbs for your lymphatic system. You can use the leaves, flowers, and stems in this recipe.

• Dollarweed Hydrocotyle bonariensis (also known as pennywort) tastes like carrot tops, or a bit like celery. It's a common weed in Florida that drives most lawn-owners crazy. Not only does it like lawns, but it also really loves to get it's feet wet, which means that you'll find it at the edges of rivers, streams, and lakes. You can also find it marshy areas. You can eat it raw, but you can also pickle/ferment it to make a “kraut” similar to sauerkraut. Dollarweed is often confused for Gotu Kola, which is a close cousin and has similar medicinal and nutritional benefits. Nutritionally, dollarweed is a decent source of minerals as well as B vitamins. Medicinally they are great for lowering blood pressure. Use only the leaves for this recipe.

• Nasturtium Tropaeolum spp.may not be native to Florida, and may not be found in the wild, but my mother got me addicted to growing these tasty treats as a young girl. She used the excuse that for every flower I picked, two more would bloom, but I think it had more to do with the fact that we both loved to eat them in our salads. The whole plant is edible, and nasturtium flowers are one of the most recognizable, edible flowers on the market in America. The whole plant tastes peppery and you can use the flowers and leaves fairly interchangeably, but you can also pickle the seeds to add a little pop to your salads. There is only one warning associated with eating this plant, and it's a common one. Nasturtiums contain oxalic acid which can cause health issues when consumed in abundance. For that to happen, you'd need to eat several pounds of the leaves in one sitting, but the warning is there none-the-less. Nutritionally, nasturtium leaves and flowers are packed full of vitamin C and iron. Medicinally, nasturtium leaves are antibiotic, and this property is strongest just before the plant blooms. I use both the flowers and leaves for this recipe.

• Watercress Nasturtium officinale has been eaten by humans for our entire history, and one of the oldest to be cultivated. You can still find it in quite a few grocery stores today. Nutritionally, it is loaded with vitamins A and C, and contains significant amounts of iron, calcium, and folic acid. Medicinally it is loaded down with benefits as well. The vikings considered it THE food to eat in the spring because it helped to flush the body of all the built up chemicals that come from existing solely on meat throughout the harsh winters. Just avoid this tasty green during pregnancy.

• Wood Sorrel Oxalis spp. can be found everywhere in the world, except at the North and South poles. There are around 850 different species and they are all edible. Oxalis leaves taste a little sour, reminiscent of a very, very mild rhubarb. You can eat every part of this plant, but I do need to caution you about over-eating it. Oxalis contains oxalic acid which can cause health issues when consumed in abundance. For that to happen, you'd need to eat several pounds of the leaves in one sitting, but the warning is there none-the-less. Nutritionally, oxalis is high in vitamin C, iron, and zinc. Medicinally it's great for reducing fever, increasing appetite, and it happens to be a diuretic. For this recipe, I use the leaves, but the tubers are eaten all throughout Eastern Europe and South America.

I hope you enjoy making this pesto and have fun gathering your herbs! If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below!

Resources:

(if you can't tell, I'm a Green Deane fan)

Eat the Weeds : Chickweed Chic : http://www.eattheweeds.com/chickweed-connoisseurs-2/comment-page-1/

Eat the Weeds : Oxalis How to Drown Your Sorrels : http://www.eattheweeds.com/oxalis-how-to-drown-your-sorrels/

Eat the Weeds : Nasturtiums Natures Nose Nabber : http://www.eattheweeds.com/nasturtiums-natures-nose-nabber/

Eat the Weeds : Pennyworts Making Sense : http://www.eattheweeds.com/a-pennywort-for-your-thoughts-2/

Eat the Weeds : Peppergrass Potent Pipsqueak : http://www.eattheweeds.com/peppergrass-potent-pipsqueak/

Eat the Weeds : Purslane Any Portulaca in a Storm : http://www.eattheweeds.com/purslane-omega-3-fatty-weed/

Eat the Weeds : Spanish Needle Pitchfork Weed : http://www.eattheweeds.com/spanish-needles-pitchfork-weed/

Eat the Weeds : Stinging Nettles : http://www.eattheweeds.com/urtica-chamaedryoides-nettle-knowledge-2/

Kansas City Star : Not Just Pretty : http://www.kansascity.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/chow-town/article326554/Not-just-pretty-edible-flowers-pack-nutritional-punch.html

Mom Prepares : Red Clover and Edible Plant that Packs a Punch : http://momprepares.com/red-clover-an-edible-plant-that-packs-a-punch/

Plant Care Today : Backyard Weeds You Can Eat : https://plantcaretoday.com/backyard-weeds-you-can-eat-with-health-benefits.html

Bitter is Better

     I am a huge fan of foraging, wildcrafting, and ethnobotany. As a result, I have been on many “wild weed walks.” Some of these have been strictly about food, some about medicinal properties. There is one plant that I have encountered a few times, on both kinds of walks, but until this summer I never had the pleasure of having it grow in my own back yard. Bitter Melon Momordica charantia is strikingly attractive, but terribly stinky (smells like old gym shoes). This vine has attractive green leaves, yellow flowers, and fruit that starts off green, but as it matures it turns a bright orange. When it’s finally ripe, it splits open in three parts, showing off the red arils (a fleshy coating around a seed). In Florida, it is considered a class II invasive, which means it is spreading in the wild but hasn’t done any significant habitat damage. It is, however, a major problem for citrus growers. Which means it’s great for those of us who like to harvest wild plants for food and/or herbal uses!

    Bitter melon, also called bitter gourd or wild balsam apple, is commonly used in the traditional dishes of many cultures, but it is only edible when it is green. It is toxic when ingested raw and has been attributed to several accidental pet deaths, dogs are particularly susceptible. The young leaves are also edible when cooked and drained. Bitter melon is packed full of wonderful nutrients, if you can get past the bitterness.

    A side note on the bitter flavor profile. In the USA, our diets are full of things that are not very good for us. This is causing most health professionals to see a major increase in digestive upset and disorders. One of the things we are lacking in our diets that could help with these issues is the bitter taste profile. Americans only really have one bitter flavor that they consume, and that’s coffee. Those of us that drink beer have another bitter flavor to add, but we even breed the “bitter” out of our greens now, mildly flavored greens are way more popular. The bitter flavor activates our bile production in our digestive tract. Bile helps us to digest fats and absorb more nutrients. If you consume something bitter at the beginning of (or even before) the meal, your digestion will improve greatly. Bitter flavors also helps with addictions, especially for those of us who are addicted to sugar because it helps to curb our cravings for sweets. If we would just add in a little bitter to our diets, we’d be much healthier as a nation.

    So, after that rant let’s get back to this wonderful plant. Bitter melon might be used as an edible, but it is best known for its medicinal properties. In recent years, I have seen a number of advertisements for various nutritional supplements that include bitter melon. These adds are targeting diabetics and people who want to lose weight and look young. Well, they’re not all wrong. Bitter melon is high in a number of vitamins and minerals, but it is particularly high in those that are considered antioxidants. Recently, there has also been lots of scientific research done on this plant. Most scientific studies have shown that the fruit has lots of promise in treating diabetes. Some doctors even recommend that diabetic patients eat the green fruit, or drink the juice of the same, on a daily basis. However, alcohol extracts (tinctures or bitters), while still working wonders on digestion, do not have an effect on diabetes. This is probably due to the alcohol part of the extract, as alcohol can have a detrimental effect on insulin levels.

    Traditional uses of this amazing plant abound. It detoxifies the blood and colon. It has been used, in other countries, to combat HIV/AIDS as well as certain types of cancers (including leukemia). Some cultures even believe that it can cure leprosy. The Amazonian natives use the leaf tea internally for diabetes and as a carminative (relieves flatulence), and topically for wound care, sores, and infections. It is also used, both internally and externally, to get rid of worms and parasites. In the traditional medicines of both Asia and Africa, it is used for digestive complaints, as a laxative, to enhance metabolism, and to increase both blood circulation and immunity. It is used in Ayurveda (the traditional Indian medical system) to help control fever, purify the blood, and reduce jaundice. Ayurveda also lists the gourd as beneficial to the liver, skin, and to help with “windy complaints.” Asians, Panamanians, and Columbians also use bitter melon to treat malaria. The list of benefits from this plant can go on, and on. It really is amazingly useful.

    I know that I already covered the fact that this plant can be toxic. However I wanted to stress caution with this plant as the nature of its toxicity is tied to its medicinal uses. Bitter melon toxicity causes “violent loss of fluids from both ends.” Pregnant women should avoid using this plant as it can cause spontaneous abortions. Also exercise caution with this plant if you are hypoglycemic because it can lower your insulin level to a dangerous level.

Resources:

Eat the Weeds: http://www.eattheweeds.com/bitter-gourd-balsam-pear-pharmacy-on-a-fence/

Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council: http://www.fleppc.org/

International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences: http://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijnfs.20150401.21.pdf

Prodifact: http://www.prodifact.com/1momordica-charantia.html

Wild South Florida: http://www.wildsouthflorida.com/bitter.melon-balsam.apple.html#.V3wob_krLIU