Herbal Medicine for Preppers: Linden, Tilia, Basswood or Lime Tree

0:00Hey y'all, welcome to this week's show. Got a really interesting herb for you this week. It's actually a tree. And as you know, most herbalists don't really study the medicinal value of trees anymore, which is just weird. I mean, trees are plants just like any other plant. Native Americans use trees, German herbalists use trees, Greek herbalists use trees, but for some reason, if modern day America and really throughout the herbal world, people just think of herbs as little green plants. And nothing could be farther from the truth, because usually tree medicine is very potent, very strong. And they're easy to identify. It's a lot easier to identify what 10 or 20 trees have medicinal use than it is hundreds of little green things. I mean, I don't think I've ever been anywhere. I couldn't find oak tree. Yeah, I mean, seriously, just about anywhere. I can find an oak tree, just about anywhere.

1:03I can find a pine. And you don't really have to worry so much about contamination in such with trees, because the roots are deeper. We're not really worried about is that tree on the edge of a highway or a golf course or something. And you know, pine will stop bleeding and disinfect the wound better than just about anything. Oak would just do the same. Oaks more stringent. It's really good to powder the bark and put it in a bleeding wound. It's fantastic. In fact, both of them are. You can use a pine pitch, the dried sap essentially of the pine tree, but the oak use oak bark from the limbs. There's so many. And I've just got so many of them. I mean, tool popper and dogwood have clientine type properties, good for fevers and viruses. And willows have fever reducing and pain reducing properties. So do poplars, real poplars, not tool poplars, so two different species poplars as opposed to what was that one? Wind of floor or something?

2:05Can't remember if I have to talk my head. Wintergreen herb is hard to find. Birch twigs are not. And you can substitute birch shrinks for wintergreen any day. But today we're going to talk about a really interesting plant that goes by many different names. I guess the most proper name is Tilia. Yeah, that's the Latin name, T-I-L-I-A. You may know it as basswood in America, or if you're from Europe, you may know it as lime. Now, it's not lime, it's in the fruit, the citrus. Another popular name for it is linden. So you can call this some Tilia basswood lime or linden. We're talking about the same tree. But interestingly, this tree has somewhat different properties depending on where it grows. There's several varieties. Let me see how many. 13? Yeah, 13. There's something that only grown Asia, like Japanese lime. You know, there's American basswood, Carolina basswood. It's a very different plants. Here, we tend to think,

3:11well, in the Carolina's basswood, all of these are great for carving, by the way. Basswood or lime or linden or Tilia, whatever you would call it. One of the very best woods to carve and work with, very sought after for that. But here in the Appalachians, it would be known as the B tree. And that's because it comes out with the blossoms of the linden or lime blossoms, whatever you want to call them. And the bees just go crazy over it. You can find an entire swarm of bees, minus the queen, I guess, just covering a linden tree. And the way you find them in the mountains, they do have unique smell. So if you, you know, you're downwind, you can sniff the blossoms. But you listen, especially in the spring, early summer. You're listening for the humming of bees. And you just follow it, right to it. And nine times out of ten, it's going to be about basswood. Occasionally, it will be a large holly tree because holly trees also produce a lot of flowers that the bees really love and flies as well. You'll find a lot of flies on a holly tree. Also a really good

4:18word for carving. No one near is soft, no one near is easy. But I carve a lot of stuff out of holly. It's a ivory white wood. It's not the showiest wood, but it's strong and flexible. So for one, one is, I've got a client who particularly likes spoons and actually, like barbecue forks and such, carved out of holly. It's smooth, it's as strong, almost as metal, it's flexible, it's really good. It can be very hard to find one that grows straight and isn't real naughty. But when I do, he's like, okay, can you, and I came up with a special design for him just by chance. He said, I want a long spoon to stir, stir my iced tea about six to seven inches long. And I came up with this very narrow thin handle with a measured teaspoon of the end. And on the other end, the hand gets a little wider and it's perfectly balanced right by the

5:19bowl of the spoon. You just put it on the edge of your finger. And it sits right there. He went crazy over. It's got this sort of like swooped shape to the handle. He loved it. And people are always asking about it. And so he, I mean, he's ordered, I don't even know how many more from me since that time. That was just like a one off. And he's like, I love this. Can you make me three more? Can you make me five more? Can you make me a forks to match? Can you make me carve me a butter knife to match? I did that. Yeah. So anyway, both I'm very useful, very useful trees. Let's get into the medicinal use. Okay. So as I said, this is not lime. So this is not the fruit. This is the linden or whatever you want to call it, basil wood in America usually. So, but in Europe, it's usually called lime or linden and St. Hilagard von Bingen riding about 1080, 1100, said a person who yells in his heart should take the interior branches of linden root and reduce it to a powder. He should eat this powder often with bread and his heart will be

6:23better. In summer, place fresh leaves of linden over your eyes when you go to sleep and cover your whole face with them. This will clarify your eyes and make them clean. It actually had dozens of stringency and maybe some certain, I don't know, phytonutrients, something and any oxen qualities that can help with cataracts. So that's worth a try anyway. Let's see. She says, if you're a vergich to get, I love that word, vergich to get, that is old German, which can mean anything from bad arthritis to paralysis, stoved up as we used to call it in the south. She says, you should take the earth which lies around the root of the linden and put on the fire, pour water over it with its hot and bathe with it in a sauna. Do this for nine days and you'll be cured. I have no idea if how or why that works, but hey, it's worth a shot. If you've got, you know, severe muscle cramping, rheumatoid arthritis, I mean, if you go down the list, you know, things that

7:26would put you in that condition, why not go get some dirt from around the base of a linden tree and try using it in a sauna? Got another mulews? Who knows? I don't. There could be, I mean, certain trees have fungal relationships with the soil. There'd be certain, you know, fungi mushrooms, you know, mycelium, whatever it's gross, specifically in that relationship. I don't know, but it's worth a shot. Now, Father Neb, German in the late 1800s, mentioned lime tree blossoms. It was Tilia, Grandifolia and Parbifolia in his neck of the woods. He said, is, I'm a solely the elderly people of the old school who still gather the ones so well-liked lime tree blossoms. They are quite right and need only remain conservative with regard to their old custom. Lime blossom tea, together with elder blossom tea, are the best known teas for producing perspiration. Concerning perspiration, as it is usually carried on, I have not in particular opinion, which is not at all in

8:30its favor. On the other hand, I willingly use the blossoms for the vapors which produce and supply the place of perspiration. Lime blossom tea has excellent effects on such complaints as old cough, obstructions of the lungs of windpipe, trouble of the abdomen which had their origins and obstructions of flim in the kidneys. Lime tree blossoms, instead of lime tree blossoms, I use the St. John's Ward, with or without the ad-mecture of common yaro for kidney issues if he doesn't have lime tree on hand. His brother, Jay Bertherell, was just writing about, gosh, I don't know, 30 years later, said, the blossom of the lime tree is used with disney for dizziness, migraines, indigestion, chills, nervous complaints. The tea is highly recommended for old people in particular, the infusion contains an eighth to a fourth cup per two pups boiling water. So, use an eighth to a fourth cup of the blossoms dried for two cups boiling water. Hot lime blossom baths are highly

9:36recommended for convulsions and children. Charcoal powder from lime wood is best for internal use. Use those activated charcoal. A cup of lime blossom tea in the evening with a half to a spoonful of honey is very depurative. Strengthen's a heart is good for the nerves and promote sleep, and yes, we'll get a lot more into that in a little bit. In addition, lime tree tea is recommended for nervous complaints in general, also for hysteria, hypocondria, migraines, epilepsy, indigestion, colic coughs, chills, shivering and to avoid strokes. It lowers blood pressure. So, that's what he's talking about there. All right, looking to the English tradition, we'll be going to have a sip of water here. A 1500's derailleur wrote, linden tree, well, he gives it all the names. And this is why it has so many different names. Apparently in Greek, it was philira, philira, Latin is tilia, this is where we use, but in Dutch was linden, where linden balm, it's interesting. Italian was tilia Spanish tilia,

10:43French tilada-talu and in England, linden or lime. So, we'll actually go back to the French spelling a little bit later. You'll find that interesting. So, the bark and leaves of the linden lime tree of temperate heat and have a somewhat, or somewhat drying in a stringent. The leaves of tilia boiled in water with a piece of aluminum and a little honey cure, the sores and children's mouths. Smith's water, he actually says, I'm not sure Smith's water is. Oh, you know what I bet that is. Well, and there is something to this. So, you know how a black Smith will quench hot metal in water. It was believed that that water had some additional quality to it. And what it is is iron. That was an iron rich water. So, Smith's water is more than likely water that has iron in it. So, a little aluminum and honey to cure sores and children's mouths. It would also be purified, you know, by that heat and water in the 1500s England was not very healthy at all. Most people drank beer because the water would make you sick.

11:46So, the leaves boiled until they'd be tender and pounded very small with hogs grease. And the powder of finugreek and linseed take away hot smellings. No, not smellings, hot swellings. Obviously, hot swellings and bring imposterions to maturation. In other words, bring a boil to a head being applied there to very hot. The flowers are committed by diverse. Diverse means various people, lots of people. Against pain of the head, proceeding of a cold cause, against dizziness and apoplexy. That spasms can even be seizures actually. And the falling cysts, sickness, which actually is apoplepsy, by the way. And not only the flowers, but the distilled water thereof. Now, something serious apulepsy has been, can't have many causes. And I'm not going to say it's a cure for apulepsy, but Gerard died at help to the 1500s. So, think of it what she will. The leaves of the linseed theofrastis are very sweet and be a fodder for most kind of cattle.

12:47And the fruit be eaten of none. Well, I guess the leaves of the linseed theofrastis are enjoyed by cows, but the fruit is not. So, there we have it. Not sure why that was worth mentioning. All right. So, Miss Greve in the 1930s wrote, in England, the tree would grow 130 feet tall. Yeah, I think they grow pretty big. She describes the petals on the seapulles, the flowers on them. And she says that a linen tea is much used on the continent, especially in France, where stocks of dried lime flowers are kept in households, for making tillu. Okay. That's also known as tea sond. You may have heard of tea sond. We'll get back to that in a bit. The honey from the flowers is regard as the best flavor to most valuable in the world. And it's used exclusively in medicine lickers. Very true to this day. Basswood honey is probably second only, well, I'll say third. I'm going to say they're two that are actually better than basswood honey. The first being sourwood honey, real sourwood honey, which is almost impossible to find. Most of what you've seen

13:48sold as sourwood honey is honey cut with corn syrup to give it that pale color. Not the real stuff. If you've ever had the real stuff, you could not confuse it to. And the other one is gum sweet gum, or two below, they call it denim Mississippi, phenomenal honey. It is like dark as dark molasses. It burns your throat. It's just like, in my opinion, that's the best honey in the world. I mean, I love a clover honey, wildflower honey, honey from time and various other aromatic herbs. Absolutely, but that too below honey, that gum tree honey, oh my word. My great grandfather made that. And it was just a biscuit with butter and some of that honey on it, there's nothing in this world that can compare to that. Nothing, and milk fresh from a cow with a cream floating on top, non-homogenized, non-pasturized, that is that's pure ambrosia right there. I mean, there's

14:49nothing in the world that could be with that. A little bit of country ham and all man or some bacon. All right, so anyway, I'm so drooling right now. The wood is useful for small articles that do not require strength or durability. That's true. It's great to carve with. It's not really strong enough to use for furniture or boards. But she mentions that a lot of the figures in St. Paul's Cathedral and Windsor Castle and Chatsworth were carved from lime wood. That's in England. Very light. Yes, it is great for making charcoal. Yeah, we talked about that. Inner bark, a very useful strong and elastic. It's useful for making cordage and netting. Really good for that. With great survival plant. The sap can be cooked down for syrup. You can do it just like maple syrup. And it's really nice, very sweet. Folly jeet and bicadels, you mentioned.

15:52All right, so let's get into medicinal actions and use lime flowers. Are only used in infusions or made into distilled water as a household remedies for hysteria, indigestion, nervous vomiting, palpitations. Prolonged bass prepared with the infused flowers is also good for hysteria. Now, as we mentioned before, hysteria originally was an inflammation around the lungs. Well, like what we might call pleuracy. But it also would cause, you know, breathlessness, agitation, and feigning. So over time, especially when women wear corsets, the well-bone corsets that would restrict their breathing, they'd get a little worked up and excited and they fainted. And that became associated with what we now call PNMS or pre-menstrual syndrome. So people don't like to use the word hysteria anymore, but there is actually a valid condition known as hysteria and it does have multiple causes. So let's see. In the purines, the flowers, the blossoms

16:57are used to sue the temporary excitement caused by the waters. By the waters. I don't know. The sedums also use, we get spasms. Some doctors use a charcoal for gastric and dyspeptid disturbances and to put on burns and so forth. Yeah, you know, you can use activated charcoal for a lot of things. The flowers use for making tea son. Oh, now this is interesting. We'll get back to this in a minute too. If the flowers use for making tea son are too old, they may produce symptoms or narcotic intox, try that again. I got choked. If the flowers, boy, you sip water. Anyone that happens, you get that little tick when you throw it? Oh boy. All right, so if the flowers use for making tea son, that's the tea that was popular in France are too old. They may produce symptoms of narcotic intoxication.

18:04Very important, actually. Very important point that out. We'll talk about a little bit more. A little bit. Let's stick with medicinal uses right now. So, bass wood in South Carolina was researched by, oh, I cannot remember the name of the author, the one who wrote resources of the Southern Fields and Forest with a portrait. I think his last name was portrait. Anyway, he said I find them quite useful and as useful as the imported tillule from France for quieting anti-spasmotic teas, which I have repeatedly seen prescribed in France, is particularly grateful and soothing to lying in women. That would be PMS again. A quieting nervous excitement and pleasant to the taste. I would particularly recommend a larger use of these flowers in the Southern states. It can be used wherever tea is required. I agree. I don't think I've ever met anyone in the South that makes bass wood blossom or wind and blossom tea.

19:05People used to all the time and of course when resources of the Southern Fields and Forest was written, there was a blockade. The North would not let tea into the South. And so they were looking for tea plants and yeah, that would be a real good one. Not stimulating but relaxing. So, 1898 Kings Medical Spensatory. Kings American dispensatory, there we go, under actions medicinal uses and dosages says, European species is common domestic remedy in Europe for the relief of many nervous and cat-cattural or congested disorders. The leaves, flowers and buds are employed and their properties may be regarded as stimulant, linted, tonic and nerve-ine. To me, I think it was more as relaxing but they think stimulant and tonic and nerve-ine, so combination of the two really. The infusion is generally preferred and may be given to a lay irritation, restlessness and to promote rest and sleep. So, I don't think if that is a stimulant

20:05myself, I think the proper valve get into Latin terms. Anyway, promoting rest and sleep will go sedative. The hot infusion is employed to check diarrhea and from various forms of cold and catarole conditions, whether either hot or cold, it may be used for restlessness, nervous headaches, painful and difficult digestion and mild hysteria. The effect upon the nervous system can also be obtained from a bath, the prepared for flowers and a strong teacher may be from the flowers. I think that would be very effective. So, you'll give him 1960s decided to explore bassoon. He did not have a lot of success. He said the use of dry flowers of linden or bassoon for tea making is widespread. The French and joy and number of herbal tea sands that are made from linden blossoms. It's more of their favorites. Mediciely is reported to be calm and restorative, being given as a home remedy for nervousness, hysteria,

21:07insomnia and cramps. And that is true. All that's true. But the thing is, he didn't get a sedative effect from it. And it's because he used fresh blossoms. We may remember that one of the authors said that it had to be aged. So, plants for future sed, medicinal use of American basswood, a tea made from the inner bark is applied to birds. It sews and softens the skin. It is taken internally in the treatment of one complaint's dysentery heartburn and weak stomach. The bark is diuretic and infusion has been taken to promote urination, the tox of the bark, is mixed with cornmeal and has been used as a pole to stir to draw out boils. A tea made from the fresher dried flowers is anti-spasmotic diaphoretic and sedative. It is used in the treatment of hypertension, hardening the arteries, digestive complaints, associated with anxiety, feverish colds, respiratory cataram, migraine, etc. Lime flowers are said to develop narcotic properties as they age. And so, they should only be harvested when freshly opened. And infusion of the leaves has been used

22:09as an eyewash, a poultice of the leaves has been used to treat mitburns and scalds, broken bones in swollen areas, a tear tincture made from the leaves, flowers and buds, has traditionally been used for nervous headaches, restlessness and pain for digestion. Use with caution, sea notes about toxicity. A decochia of the roots and barks has been used in the treatment of internal hemorrhage. A decochia of the root has been used as a vermouth for use to rid the body of worms. Carolina Basswood used the same way, white bass wood, used the same way, yeah, also used for heartburn during pregnancy. So, I have no, so you say it and say for anything else, also good for weak stomach and bells. Rodel Erb book from the 60s said, well early 70s says, linden flowers and leaves are an old household rimmy for nervousness, colds, headaches and indigestion. A hot infusion is used to check diarrhea, also uses a hot bath to promote sleep. Linden flower wine uses stimulant for appetite and to aid digestion. It's the only mention I

23:13found in linden flower wine. So, that's interesting. I need to explore that. Peterson Field Guide says, American Indians use inner bark tea for lung ailments, heartburn, weak stomach, bark pulp to strop, boils, leaves flower tea, leaf flower or bud tea, or tincture traditionally used for nervous headaches, restlessness, painful digestion. Frequent consumption of flower tea may cause heart damage. Now, that's the only warning I found in this. It's such a common tea in Europe. I would doubt that. But, you know, who knows? So, like I said, a lot of the information on this herbs are puzzling. It seems Michael Mordid has studied this. Not the fat filmmaker, the deceased herbalist did a study on it. He found that it really depended on the variety and where it grows. He found that the European variety had

24:14more of a sedative effect and so did the Mexican variety. In fact, the Mexican variety, he said, was almost as strong as cannabis. I don't know. Now, it could be, was he using old flowers? He said it basically knocked him out on a flight home from Mexico. And he was a heavy, heavy drug user, very, very heavy drug user, cocaine and all kinds of stuff. So, I mean, if he says that the flower tea from Mexico is that strong, maybe it is. I don't have any idea. As I said, you'll give and it's found like no effect whatsoever. Was it a matter of the flowers were aged? Perhaps there's a fermentation process that goes on. As the flowers, you know, kind of age and dry, I don't know. The herbal Susan weed said that linden blossoms have a stronger relaxing and anti-inflammatory effect on people of Anglo-Saxon heritage. Now, does that make a difference? I don't know. I can tell you, my friend in Austria, who co-wrote the herbs and weeds of Father Johann Kunzel with me. She uses

25:21it as a relaxing tea. She considers it merely a pleasant tea. Michael Moore, obviously, of English heritage, did that knock him down because he has a genetic predisposition to being somewhat intoxicated by linden blossoms? I have no idea. Was it the variety in the place? Was it the way they were aged and stored? Again, no idea. The tree is so beneficial for so many reasons. From practical use is to medicinal, which is also practical. I mean, for like, you know, making cordage or carving stuff to medicinal, or as it's nectar for bees, definitely worth getting a couple of these grown in your yard. Any piece of property you have, you should have a basil little linden, whatever on it. And then I guess you're just going to have to experiment. I do have some Anglo-Saxon heritage. Most things don't affect me very much, so. I don't know if that's

26:22a genetic thing or it's just my constitution, but, you know, even when my back was injured and I was taken, you know, strong pain medication, my dose for a normal person was like nothing to me. I mean, the dose would have to be tripled just to dull the pain at all. And of course, that was dangerous, and that's why I couldn't take pain myths. I have no idea. People are different. They react to things in very different ways. You know, but again, I just have a strong constitution. For me, a couple of drinks says no effect whatsoever. Another person that may knock them out. I don't know. It just seemed odd that it affected Michael Moore so strongly, because he was such a heavy drug user. You would think if, I mean, we're talking cocaine and heroin and fedamins like crazy, I mean, he loved, you know, hardcore, hard drugs and had a lot of access to it, destroyed his

27:23kidneys, burned about, probably on methamphetamine. You know, you know, how that goes. I would just seem so strange to me that he was so affected by it, whereas you'll give him to probably fairly similar heritage, similar build, didn't have any effect at all. And I don't know if it's because it was a different from, you know, one was in growing in America and the other way in Mexico was in a matter of the way the flowers were aged or was it just simply a matter of the genetics of the man? I'm no idea. But definitely worth looking into and certainly a good treat enough. All right, y'all have a great week. And I'll try that to be so horse next week. I wasn't to that little coughing fit, and now I can't seem to shake it. Anyway, how would talk to you next? The information this podcast is not intended to diagnose your treatine disease or condition. Nothing I say or right has been evaluated or approved by the FDA. I'm not a doctor.

28:26The US government does not recognize the practice of herbal medicine and there is no governing body regulating herbalists. Therefore, I'm really just a guy who says herbs. I'm not offering any advice. I don't even claim that anything I write or say is accurate or true. I can tell you what herbs have been traditionally used for. I can tell you my own experience and if I believe in herbs help me. I cannot nor would I tell you to say, if you use an herb, anyone recommends you are treating yourself. You take full responsibility for your health. Humans are individuals and no two are identical. What works for me may not work for you. You may have an allergy, a sensitivity, an underlying condition. Then no one else even shares and you don't even know about it. Be careful with your health. By continuing to list my podcast, to read my blog, you agree to be responsible for yourself, to your own research, make your own choices and not to blame me for anything ever.