Picao Preto

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Picao Preto, a small annual herb with prickly leaves and yellow flowers, is considered a weed in many places. But in the Islands, it has a long history of producing herbal curatives, and virtually all parts of the plant are used. The people of Exuma grind the sun-dried leaves with olive oil to make poultices for sores and lacerations. Leaves are balled up and applied to toothaches, or plastered to the head to soothe a headache.

Pound-Cake Bush (Parthenium Hysterophorus) Diabetis

174-365
Used to combat "weakness" and is also used for coughs and as a wash for skin sores. The flowers are sometimes "parched" and sprinkled on skin sores. It is also made into a tea for diabetes.

Sarsaparilla

173-365

Brought from the New World to Spain in 1563, sarsaparilla was heralded as a cure for syphilis. In Belize, the herb has traditionally been used to treat a variety of skin problems.

Sarsaparilla is anti- inflammatory and cleansing, and can bring relief to skin problems such as eczema, psoriasis and general itchiness, and help treat rheumatism, rheumatoid, arthritis and gout. Sarsaparilla also has a progesterogenic action, making it beneficial in pre-menstrual problems, and menopausal conditions such as debility and depression. In Mexico the root is still frequently consumed for its reputed tonic and aphrodisiac properties. Native Amazonian peoples take sarsaparilla to improve virility and to treat menopausal problems..