Wise Woman Herbal Ezine ~ March 22, 2012

To read the entire Wise Woman Herbal Ezine visit: http://wisewomanherbalezine.com/wordpress/2012/03/22/march-22-2012/

Greetings from Susun

As I mentioned last week, the rose family, Rosaceae, includes more than roses. Which is not to knock roses. They offer us a bounty: heart-opening beauty, delicious smells, edible fruits/hips, and potent medicine too.
Members of the rose family have compound leaves. That is, their leaves are composed or compounded of several leaflets. And the number of leaflets is always odd: 3, 5, 7, 9 and so on, with opposing pairs up lined up along the leaf stalk (petiole) and one single leaflet at the tip.
Wild strawberries have the least possible number of leaflets: three.

Take a look around and see if there are wild cinquefoils – five or seven leaflets – hugging the ground.

Perhaps you will also find avens smiling up at you – with 9, 11, and more leaflets.

And count the leaves as they emerge on the roses.

Rose leaf buds, newly emerged rose leaves, and rose flower buds contain hormonal precursors. My friend Rina Nissim, author of Natural Healing in Gynecology, and the founder and director of the Wild Rose Clinic in Geneva, Switzerland, taught me to use glycerin as a way to grab those hormonal helpers.

Rose Bud Remedy

Combine two ounces of water with one ounce of glycerin (generally available at the drugstore). Tightly pack a four-ounce jar with rose leaf (or flower) buds and cover completely with the water/glycerin mix. (If necessary, it is fine to add a little more water to cover the buds totally.) Cap, label with date and contents, and let it rest away from heat and direct light, shaking on occasion. Your remedy is ready in six weeks. It is not long lived and needs to be made afresh each year.
Rina uses 1-2 dropperfuls of rose leaf bud glycerin macerate each morning before eating to relieve pituitary and ovarian distresses, and to ease pubertal, menstrual, and menopausal problems.
Next week we’ll explore the astringent powers of the rose family.
Keep on enjoying those green blessings,
Susun
www.susunweed.com

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