Broom Celtic Sacred Shrub - Stories and medicinal Uses

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 237-365

Cytisus scoparius, the common broom or Scotch broom, syn. Sarothamnus scoparius, is a perennial leguminous shrub native to western and central Europe

Also known as Scotch Broom or Irish Broom. It can be substituted for furze (gorse) at the Spring Equinox. The Irish called it the "Physician's power" because of its diuretic shoots. Sweep your outside ritual areas with it to purify and protect. Burning the blooms and shoots calms the wind. 

Good for Reforestation
 

Be cautious if you plant Broom however, it will quickly multiply.

Broom is a member of the “Leguminosae” family, which includes beans, peas, clover, vetch, locust, lupine, acacia and alfalfa.  Broom plants convert nitrogen from air that is used for growth, making them hardy and able to invade and flourish in harsh areas.

The broom is such a versatile plant that it has many uses.  It is commonly planted on the sides of steep banks were its roots serve to hold the earth together.  On some parts of the coast it is one of the first plants to grow on sand dunes, together with the stems of mat grasses and other sand-binding plants.  
 
 Broom will flourish within reach of sea spray, and like gorse, is a good sheltering plant for seaside growth.  Inland it is grown extensively as shelter for game, and is one of the more important species of shrubs used to protect them and other small animals from the wind and weather. 

Other Uses

The bark of the Broom yields excellent fiber, which is finer than but not so strong as the Spanish Broom.  The bark is easily separated from the stem by simply macerating them in water.  This has been done since ancient times, and from its fibers paper and cloth was manufactured.  The fibres were also used to make quill-pens as used by old scribes. 

 The bark contains a considerable amount of tannin, which can be used for tanning leather.  The leaves and young tip’s of the Broom produce a green dye that was once used to colour clothes and garments.  
 

Celtic folklore and mythology 

The Reed or Broom has always been associated with music, for since time began pipes and flutes were made from reeds.

Trees are living things, filled with the essence and energy and of the Elementals and Mother Earth with an aura of power which is visible to those who are in total balance and harmony. The lore which surrounds a particular tree or wood often reflects the power the old ones sensed and drew from their presence.

To the Celts and many other peoples of the old world, certain trees held special significance; many woods  provided a powerful spiritual presence. The specific trees varied between different cultures and geographic locations, but those believed to be "sacred" shared certain traits.

 Unusual size, beauty, the wide range of materials they provided, unique physical characteristics, or simply the power of the tree's spirit could grant it a central place in the folklore and mythology of a culture. Even our modern culture finds that certain trees capture our imagination. 

The Reed or Broom was revered by the ancient Druids, and is one of the sacred trees of Wicca/Witchcraft.  According to the Celtic Tree calendar, the Reed dates from the 28^th October to the 24^th November, which includes the Celtic New Year of 31^st October (better known today as Samhain or Halloween). 

 In folklore, Reeds or Brooms symbolize purification, protection and fertility; they also represent established power, for wands, rods and scepters made from their wood were often carried as symbols of authority.    

In mythology we see a connection to reeds through the panpipes of the Greek god Pan (Roman god Faunus).  In legend Pan had a contest with Apollo to determine who could play the most skillful and sweetest music, Pan on his reed pipes or Apollo on his lyre.  Pan was judged to be the winner, which Apollo considered an insult.  In rage Apollo turned Pan into half a man and half a goat.  In art, Pan is often depicted with the legs, horns and beard of goat. 

To the Greeks Pan was a god of the woodlands, pastures, herds and fertility.  Hills, caves, oaks, reeds and tortoises are all sacred to him.  In another legend Pan fought with the gods of Olympus during their battle against the Titans, as the battle raged he fashioned a giant seashell into a trumpet and raised such a noise with it, the Titans thought they were being attacked by a sea monster and fled in terror.  The word “panic” is said to have come from this myth.  

In folklore the Pied Piper of Hamelin played a magickal tune on a pipe made from reeds, and rid the town of a plague of rats.  As the story goes, in 1284 the Pied Piper was hired to rid the town of Hamelin of a plague of rats.  He walked through the streets playing a magickal tune on his pipe, and on hearing the music all the rats followed him.   

The piper led the rats all the way to the banks of the river Weser, where all the rats fell in and were drowned.  Although the town council had agreed to pay the piper, they changed their minds once the task was done and refused to pay him. 

 

In retaliation the piper walked the streets again, only this time he played a different tune on his pipe.  On hearing the music all the children in the town follow him as he led them out of town and into the foothills of the mountains.  As they approached a door in the side of the mountain opened and the piper and all the children vanished never to be seen again.  After their disappearance the spirits of the piper and children forever haunted the town of Hamelin.  From this story the magickal qualities of the reed and music can be discerned. 

Throughout history the Broom has featured as a heraldic device, and was adopted at a very early period as the badge of Brittany.  Geoffrey the 5th count of Anjou thrust it into his helmet at the moment of going into battle so that his troops might see and follow him.  As he plucked it from a steep bank which its roots had knitted together, he is reputed to have said:  “This golden plant rooted firmly amid rock, yet upholding what is ready to fall, shall be my cognizance.  I will maintain it on the field, in the tourney and in the court of justice”

 

The broom is depicted on the Great Seal of Richard I, this being its first official heraldic appearance in England. 

 

Another origin is claimed for the heraldic use of the broom in Brittany, in that a prince of Anjou assassinated his brother and seized his kingdom.  Overcome by remorse he made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in expiation of his crime.  Every night on the journey he scourged himself with a brush of “genets” or “genista”, and adopted the plant as his badge in perpetual memory of his repentance.  

St. Louis of France continued the heraldic use of the broom as a symbol of chivalry and honour, and on the occasion of his marriage in the year 1234 he founded a special order called the “Colle de Genet”.  The collar of the order was decorated alternately of the fleur-de-lis of France and a broom-flower.  

 His bodyguard of a hundred nobles also wore on their coats a broom-flower emblem with the motto “Exaltat humiles” (“He exalteth the lowly”).  The order was held in high esteem, and to be bestowed with it was regarded as a great honour.  King Richard II was honoured with it, and a broom plant with open empty pods can be seen ornamentally decorating his tomb in Westminster Abbey.   

In 1368 Charles V of France bestowed the insignia of the broom pod on his favourite chamberlain, and in 1389 Charles VI gave the same decoration to his kinsmen.  

In Scotland the broom is the badge of the Forbes clan, and according to Scottish lore:  “it was the bonny broom which the Scottish clan of Forbes wore in their bonnets when they wished to arouse the heroism of their chieftains”.  In the Gaelic dialect of the highlands they called the broom “bealadh” in token of its beauty:  “This humble shrub was not less distinguished than the Rose herself during the civil wars of the fourteenth century”. 

Apart from its use in heraldry, the Broom has been associated with several popular traditions.  In some parts it used to be considered a sign of plenty and fertility, for it bore many flowers and flourished quickly.   

Magical Uses 

The flowering tops were used for house decoration at the Whitsuntide festival, but it was considered unlucky to use them for menial purposes when in full bloom 

Ritual wands made from Broom are used in purification and protection spells, and if working outdoors (the best place to perform magic) sweeping the ground with a brush of Broom (if it grows nearby) will clear the area of unwanted influences. 

 To raise the winds, throw some Broom into the air while invoking the spirits of the Air, and to calm the winds burn some Broom and bury the ashes. 

Of old, Broom was hung up in the house to keep all evil influences out, and an infusion of Broom sprinkled throughout the house was used to exorcise poltergeist activity.  

 An infusion of Broom was also drunk to increase psychic powers and awareness through its intoxication properties, but this is no longer recommended as the plant can also be poisonous. 

The Broom is known by many folk names:  Banal, Basam, Besom, Bisom, Bizzon, Breeam, Broom Tops, Brum, Genista, Green Broom, Irish Broom, Link, Scotch Broom and Hog Weed.  Its gender is Masculine.  Its planet association is with Mars.  Its element association is Air.  

 Its deity associations are with:  Pan, Hermes, Apollo and Dionysus/Bacchus.  It is used to attract the powers needed for:  Purification, Protection, Fertility, Wind, Divination and all spells associated the element Air. 

 

Medicinal Uses

The Broom is also the only native medicinal plant used as an official drug.  The Latinized name “Scoparius” is derived from the Latin “scopa”, meaning “besom” (hence the common folk name broom), and “Cytisus“ is said to be a corruption of the name of the Greek island Cythnus, where the Broom once grew in abundance.  

The properties of Broom as a healing herb was well known to the ancients, and such early writers as Virgil (70-19 BC) and Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) speak of the “Genista” species of Broom.  It was also mentioned in some of the earliest printed Herbals, such like:  the Passau (1485), the Hortus Sanitatis (1491) and the Grete Herball (1516). 

 John Gerard in his Herbal of 1597 tells us:  “The decoction of the twigs and tops of broom doth cleanse and open the liver, milt and kidnies”. 

The Broom is also mentioned in the first London Pharmacopoeia of 1618, from which Nicholas Culpepper (1616-1654) made an unauthorized translation published in 1649 was called “A Physicall Directory”.  Later in his celebrated Herbal “The English Physician” (1652), Culpepper considered a decoction of Broom to be good not only for dropsy, but also for black jaundice, ague, gout, sciatica and various pains of the hips and joints. 

The flowers of broom were used for making an unguent to cure the gout.  Henry VIII used to drink a water infusion made from the flowers of Broom, and being purgative he believed it acted as a guard against his overindulgences. 

 A decoction of Broom is recommended in herbal medicine for bladder and kidney afflictions, as well as for chronic dropsy.  Bruised seeds after being infused in rectified spirit was allowed to stand for two weeks and strained, then taken daily in a glass of peppermint water to cure liver complaints and ague.  The seeds were also used as a substitute for coffee. 

Broom juice in large doses can disturb the stomach and bowels, and is therefore more often used as an auxiliary to other diuretics, rather than used alone.  Called (Infusum Scoparii) it is made by infusing the dried tops of Broom in boiling water for fifteen minutes and then straining.  It was introduced into the British Pharmacopoeia of 1898 and replaced the decoctions of broom in the preceding issues.

Description

The flowers of the Broom are fragrant and about ¾ inch long, ranging in color from light yellow to orange with crimson wings.  The shape of the flower is irregular with a top banner petal, two side wing petals, and two keel petals on the bottom likened to a butterfly.   

The flowers are in bloom from April to July and occur on plants as young as 2 years old, growing more abundantly on plants of 4 years old or more.  Bees are attracted to the flowers, not in search of honey but more because they contain an abundance of pollen.  

The flowers are followed by flat oblong seedpods about 1½ - 2 inches long, these are hairy on the edges but smooth on the sides.  The pods are dark green or nearly black when mature and each contains several seeds.  The seeds are oval about ⅛ inch long, dark greenish-brown and have a shiny surface.   

The pods begin to dry out as the seeds inside mature and warp in different directions, eventually they are forced open and the seeds burst out with a sharp report landing some 4 to 12 feet away.  The continuous popping of the bursting seed-vessels can readily be heard on a hot sunny day.   

 

The seeds have a hard shell and can remain viable in the soil for more than 50 years before they germinate.  This long-term viability enables the Reed to re-populate areas even after they have been cleared and even when no plants are visible on the site.  

Medicinal Trees -Cascara (Rahmnus purshiana) bark used as effective laxative purgative and anti-cancer effects

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 186-365

Cascara. Rhamnus purshiana. Cascara. A small tree or shrub with greyish-black bark that grows to 10 metres tall. 

Medicinal Uses



In the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia, this small tree is called cascara buckthorn. Since 1877, its bark has been dried, baled, and shipped to dealers who grind it into a fine powder for medicinal use as an effective laxative or purgative.

Cascara is known in both the native plant as well as the medical trade. In the late 1800’s it was discovered that the bark from the Cascara tree could be used as a mild cathartic, helping the symptoms of habitual constipation. Also knonwn as Chittam, or Cascara Buckthorn.

Studies have shown that the extract from cascara bark also contains a substance called emodin, which may have anti-cancer effects.

The fruit can also be eaten cooked or raw, but has a laxative effect.

Due to its bitter taste, cascara can be used to stop nail-biting by applying it to the fingernails

Preparation

The bark is collected in the spring or early summer, when it easily peels from the tree. Once stripped from the tree, the bark must be aged for at least 1 year before use, because fresh cut, dried bark causes vomiting and violent diarrhea. This drying is generally done in the shade to preserve its characteristic yellow color. This process can be quickened by simply baking the bark at a low temperature for several hours. In her book, Major Medicinal Plants, Dr. Julia Morton suggests using a dosage of 10–30 grains, dissolved in water, or 0.6–2 cc for fluid extract.The ethnobotanist and herbalist Dr. James A. Duke suggests an effective dosage of approximately 1 to 3 grams dried bark, or 1–2.5 grams powdered bark


Native Americans Used the Tree
 
Skagit people produced a green dye from the bark. Coastal people also knew it as a tonic and as a laxative.

Cascara was harvested throughout its range for use as a laxative. Bitter cascara extract has been used in liquors and a debittered extract as a flavouring for drinks and ice cream. Honey from cascara flowers is also reported to have a mild laxative effect.

History

Spanish priests in California named the tree Cascara sagrada, meaning "sacred bark." This name has two possible origins. The first is from the medicinal properties of the bark and the second from its resemblance to wood used for the ark of the covenant. Rhamnus is the ancient Greek name for the genus.

Forestation
 
It is also planted as an ornamental, to provide food and habitat for wildlife, or to prevent soil erosion.

The Cascara tree can grow in both sun or shade. It prefers moist, well drained sites. This native tree grows from northern British Columbia south into California and east into Idaho and Montana.

Medicinal Trees -Calabash Tree good treatment for menstrual cramps

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 181-365

 
If you want an eye-grabbing, evergreen ornamental plant for your landscape, the calabash tree (Crescentia cujete), known in Hawai'i as the la'amia, is your "lock" of the season

With its continually emerging flowers and subsequent fruit, the gourds that hang like Christmas ornaments, la'amia creates a focal point in the garden or as a riveting specimen near a deck or patio.

Rediscovering  Traditional Medicine


Before modern medicine developed laboratory drugs, our ancestors, the world over used herbs and weeds for health. Using a combination of medicinal plants and prayers, shamans and healers treated both the physical and spiritual ailments of their communities.

Today the knowledge is all but lost; however, scientific communities from the western world have shown a new interest in the medicinal properties of tropical plants. For example, the National Cancer Institute started the Belize Ethnobotany Project, which has sent of 2,000 species back to the NCI to be studied for cancer fighting properties.

Calabash Tree
 
Calabash Tree can grow up to twenty five feet in height. The tree produces green coloured spherical fruits about twelve inches to sixteen inches in diameter. It has a woody shell and a pulpy inside. When dry it turns brownish and can be hollowed out to make receptacles, cups, bowls and ladles. Its pulp is believed to contain medicinal properties.


Native to subtropical and tropical regions of the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and northern South America, la'amia probably have been cultivated for more than 600 years.
 
Relatively fast-growing, la'amia have a short, straight trunk with an open crown of contorted, horizontal or rising branches. They will grow at sea level, up to an altitude of about 2,300 feet. The four- to six-inch-long elliptical leaves are bright green and create a moderate shade cover.


Medicinal Uses

There are abundant traditional and historical medicinal applications of the fruit juice. 
In Haiti and St. Lucia, it is used to treat inflammation, trauma and diarrhea. It's a purgative in Costa Rica. In Venezuela, it is used to treat tumors and hematomas.

It is said that the fruit of the Calabash Tree when roasted is a good treatment for menstrual cramps or to induced childbirth and that the leaf can be used in tea to treat colds, diarrhea, dysentery and headaches. 
 
In Suriname's traditional medicine, the fruit pulp is used for respiratory problems such as asthma. 

Medical Researchers have found out that the seed has been effective as an abortive and the fruit pulp can be used to force menses, birth and afterbirth. Scientists also recommend that it is best not to use this plant while pregnant.

Other Uses
 
 The shells are often used as bowls, musical instruments or carved by artisans into interesting artifacts.


Carib Indians of Dominica would carve intricate designs into the woody gourds during the fruit's softer green phase. When dry, the la'amia gourds were permanently etched with these ornate motifs.

The Taino also turned the gourds into two rhythm instruments — maracas and the guiro. Maracas were fashioned from small oval gourds with pebbles or hard seeds such as rosary peas inside. In Hawai'i, the body of the modern 'uli'uli is customized from the la'amia gourd. Seeds of the introduced yellow or red flowered canna lily, ali'ipoe, are used to produce the rattling sound.
 


History
 
The calabash was one of the first cultivated plants in the world, grown not for food, but as containers.
The calabash or bottle gourds are a type of vegetable that grows on a tree or vine introduced to the Bahamas by its first settlers.

These people originally of Asiatic descent, known as "Lucayans" in the Bahamas, spooned out the soft flesh from the inside of this vegetable, which left behind the hard rind. This rind became their water bottles during hunting and canoeing trips and bowls for food. Amerindians, Africans and Asians have used bottle gourds not only for food and utilitarian purposes, but also as medicine bottles, drums, flutes, stringed instruments and pipes.

Precisely because of its wide diversity globally and being local to the Bahamas, the name Calabash now represents the diversity in our Eco Adventures such as biking, snorkeling, diving, kayaking, birding and hiking.

Good for Reforestation and Parks Design

La'amia have a deep root system and are resistant to drought. No pests or major diseases are of major concern, but Chinese rose beetles and a leaf-webbing caterpillar occasionally will be bothersome.