B14 Terrace Review — Wednesday, July 24, 1991

The Herbarium

Plant lore and obs

Bee balm, Oswego tea, Indian
plume, Scarlet bergamot, are
some of the many names given to
this precious plant.

Bee balm was first discovered
by the Indians in the area of New
York. This place is now called
"Otsego" after the tribe that lived
there, It is the same place where
Arthor James Fenimore wrote
Tales of the Indians. He also
wrote about the area’s first white
settlers. The name "Otsego" is
often spelled "Oswego".

The Indians sure knew how to
brew bee balm tea for pleasure
and the use of it for medicinal
purposes. The white settlers
quickly caught on and took ad-
vantage of their knowledge by

_ brewing these plants themselves.

This bee balm tea is said to have
been drunk during the time of the
Boston Tea Party by Indians and
settlers alike.

The other day a local native
lady approached me and asked if
I had Oswego Tea in my garden.
She was very excited when I said
that I did. Having several plants
of this kind in my garden, I
promised to share some of the
leaves with her. She also had the
knowledge of other members of
the mint family as lemon balm,
spearmint and peppermint. Could
it be that all the natives on the
North American continent knew
that the existence of mint plants,
and not only in the cast?

Even the religious Shakers
learned fast of the bee balm —
especially for its medicinal prop-
erties — in tea and other culinary
uses. They settled in the late
1700s in the area now called
Oswego.

Bee balm crossed the ocean in
the mid-1700s when John Bar-
tram of Philadelphia introduced
the seeds to England. From Eng-
land it travelled to the European
continent. Now it is there culti-
vated under the names Golden
Melissa or Indian Nettle.

A member of the mint family,
bee balm is grown as an annual,
perennial or biennial. The flowers
are brilliantly scarlet and bloom
clustered at the top of the stem.
The leaves face opposite, are
dark green, ovate, with toothed
margins.

. Medicinal uses

‘You may pinch your nose when
swallowing cough syrup or you.
use a lot of sugar to get medicine
down your throat, but not so with
bee balm tea. It easily goes down
‘by itself.

Bee balm is recommended by
herbalists as an infusion for
coughs, sore throats nausea, fiatu-
lence and menstrual cramps.
These uses have not been con-
firmed by scientists. Logically, if
a remedy has been used for
centuries, long before the white
man settled in North America, it
must have had a healing or sooth-
ing effect on its users.

Modem medicine has found out
that ofl extracted from bee balm
contains thymol. Thymol is an
antiseptic that kills fungi, bacteria

ervations by Gunter Lenhardt

and parasites: No wonder phar-
macologists add thymo! to oint-
ments and powders to combat
fungal infections. Thymol is used
to fight hookworms and other
parasites. However, it has side
effects; it can cause vomiting,
diahrrea and other unpleasant
symptoms when used in excess.

Culinary uses

Bee balm can be used as a culi-
nary herb; surprisingly, its taste is
reminiscent of citrus and a faint
mingling of orange and lemon. |
Mix the fresh flowers in salads
and use the green leaves in most
of your cooking to enhance an
otherwise bland dish. Fresh
chopped leaves can be used in

recipes for pork, sausages and
curries, Many fruits are comple-
mented when bee balm is added
to apples, strawberries, tangerines
and melons. When a recipe asks
for mint, add bee balm to it; you
will like this combination. Use
the leaves as you do with Greek
or Mexican oregano. Bee balm
also has aromatic, ornamental and
cosmetic uses.

Tomatoes like bee balm. It is
said that this plant helps in the
grown of tomatoes.

Early settlers in America
believed in witches and magic
spells, They were mostly prac- .
tised secretly. It made them all
the more alluring, as these prac-
tises were forbidden. In some
form or another, many of these
are still with us today. Oddly
enough, many times they work.

Uf you wish to aunounce

OZ.

weighing 7 lbs 11 oz.

weighing 5 lbs 10 oz.

the birth of YOUR baby, please fill out the form
available in the maternity ward ai Milis Memorial
Hospital. We will pick up your forms. every week,

HALDANE/ROBINSON — Barbara Haldane and Merlin
Robinson are proud to announce the birth of their daughter
Leah Brianna on Saturday, July 6, 1991 weighing 7 Ibs. 8 oz.

MOORE/ROBINSON — Angela Moore and Vincent Robin-
son are proud to announce the birth of their son Vincent Silas
Robinson Jr. on Wednesday, July 10, 1991 weighing 8 Ibs. 5

RYDER — Michael and Candace are proud to announce the
birth of their daughter Tesla Rya Linda Ryder on Saturday,
July 13, 1991 weighing 6 lbs. 124 oz. A sister for Skyler.

SHAFFER — Naomi Shaffer is proud to announce the birth
of her son Michael James Keith on Saturday, July 6, 1991

STARRETT/CAIL ~~ Marylou Starret and Jim Cail are
proud to announce the birth of their son Colin James Cail on
Sunday, July 7, 1991 weighing 8 lbs.

STEVENS — Rinelda and Tony Stevens are proud’ to an-
nounce the birth of their daughter Mariah Simone on Satur-
day, July 13, 1991 weighing 7 lbs. 15 oz.

TORIGLIA — Tammie and Tony Toriglia are proud to an-

nounce the birth of their daughter Megan Alanna Toriglia on -
Tuesday, July 16, 1991 weighing 7 Ibs. 14 oz.

WILSON — April Wilson is proud to announce the birth of
her son Bruce Donovas John Wilson on Friday, July 19

FLOWERS
A LA CARTEo
SKEENA MALL

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WE DELIVER

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