Licorice

In America it is also called Orozus, from the Arau Uruq-al-Sus, which means licorice roots.
It is also known as a potholder.
The scientific name is formed by the Greek words glukus: sweet and rhizon: root, that is, sweet root. Glabra refers to the absence of hairiness

CHARACTERISTICS
It is a plant that lives more than two years.
The erect stem sprouts in spring and dries in winter, reaching up to one meter in height.
In the rhizome a root is born that sinks in the ground, and branches into thin radicals that can reach a meter in length, of very sweet flavor.
Around the aerial stem, the leaves are arranged, composed of nine to nineteen leaflets, but always in an odd number, as they are arranged in pairs facing each other and one at the very bitter end contrary to the root.
The flowers develop in a spike, at the end of a peduncle that arises in the axils of the leaves, pale blue or lilac.
The fruit is a legume that contains a maximum of 4 seeds.

LOCATION:

There are about 12 species of regalilz, spread over five continents. Medicinal licorice is a plant typical of the Mediterranean region, whose first references are in ancient Egypt.
It lives in humid zones, next to rivers, lakes or ponds in clayey lands.
It can be cultivated by planting pieces of rhizome, which after 3 years, develops productive roots

ACTIVE PRINCIPLES:
The root is the organ that contains the substances with medicinal properties. Its main component is a saponin, glycyrrhizin, which is accompanied by carbohydrates (responsible for the sweet root abor). We also found a tannin

MEDICINAL PROPERTIES:
It is béquico (acts against cough), reduces bronchial secretions and helps in the healing of mild bronchitis.
In addition to its therapeutic activity on the respiratory system, it also has a great capacity to cure stomach ulcers

HARVEST:
We must wait for the plant to turn 3 years to use its root.
It must be extracted in the fall, when it begins to dry.
Branches are cut, so that the plant can continue to live.
It is cleaned of earth and left to dry in the sun It
can be stored in closed bottles in a cool and dry place, in the dark

USES AND APPLICATIONS:
The most common way is chewing the root, to fight stomach sores
For coughs and bronchitis, you take 3 times a day a cup of liquid obtained from macerating 100 grams of root in a liter of water for a day. It can warm.
Chewing the root can reduce appetite.
If taken too much, it can increase blood pressure.
It is also found as an additive in the English beer called “porter”

Verbena

In ancient Rome, the verbena was raised to the rank of sacred plant. Any pact that was signed was struck with a branch of verbena to confer maximum credibility.

In some places of America it is known as the herb of spells. There was a spell to be loved by the desired muejr (or by the man deado) consisting of reciting some verses with a bouquet of verbena in the hand

CHARACTERISTICS:
It is a perennial plant, it lives more than two years, with a thin, erect stem that does not reach a meter in height. The leaves are arranged facing each other, two by two in each node, more or less lobed. The flowers are lilac and bloom at the beginning of summer and autumn. They are grouped occupying the upper part of the stems, forming a spike, without petioles

LOCATION:
In a Mediterranean plant that thrives in many areas of the American continent in mild climates and not excessively cold. Live in the meadows, in the uncultivated lands, next to the roads

ACTIVE PRINCIPLES:
It has tannins, mucilages and saponin. The major medicinal properties are due to the presence of a glucoside, verbenalin, part of which disappears in the desiccation

MEDICINAL PROPERTIES:
It is currently admitted that it has stimulating properties, is useful in rheumatism and lowers fever

HARVEST:
The leaves and flowering tops are collected at the end of spring or early summer. Following the magic of the verbena, there was a tradition of collecting it ceremonially, so it was chosen on the eve of San Juan, at night to “go verbena” as a group

USES AND APPLICATIONS:
The leaves and flowering tops are used in decoction (20 grams per liter of water). It is useful as a restorative tonic in diseases of the liver and kidneys. Against rheumatic pain, apply with a cloth on the painful area.

Oats

Scientific Name: AVENA SATIVA
It is a cereal that uses all its parts: grains such as semolina and flour, straw for its mineral salts and vitamins. It is very appreciated by farmers, because in addition to being used for human consumption, it has always been used to feed domestic animals.
It is known that oats began to be cultivated on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea centuries before Jesus Christ. It was used for its excellent nutritional qualities. Greeks and Romans expanded their culture, and finally took root in the British Isles. Nowadays, the consumption of “flakes” of oats, a source of vitamins and mineral salts, is increasing.

CHARACTERISTICS
Plant of the family of grasses. It forms a lake stem that culminates in a spike, which contains grain such as wheat, rice or rye.
It does not reach more than one meter in height, developing fine petioles at the end of which the flowers grow, two by two.
There are several varieties of oats, which only differ in the structure of the panicles and in the power of adaptation to different climates, soils and altitude.

LOCATION:
Its origin is unknown but probably derives from the wild species that abound in the Mediterranean coast. It only lives in lands destined to its culture, very humid

ACTIVE PRINCIPLES:
The grain contains a lot of starch and in smaller amount proteins, fats and mineral salts rich in calcium, phosphorus and magnesium and vitamins (A, B, PP and D).
The grain cover contains an alkaloid called trigonelline and a fairly high rate of saponin, the active medicinal principle of the plant.
The stem or straw is rich in mineral salts, the same as the grain and in vitamins A and D

MEDICINAL PROPERTIES:
As food, its use is convenient whenever a supplementary supply is needed (pregnant women, children, the elderly, convalescents). Its medicinal properties are diuretic, antidiarrheal and antalgic.

HARVEST:
In summer, when the grain is already ripe.

USES AND APPLICATIONS:
It began to be cultivated as food for the animals, but with time, the man began to consume it as soon as his nutritional and energetic qualities were appreciated, in addition to the medicinal ones.
Its consumption is indicated as any other food in the form of bread, cakes, cream, soup.
In England, they prepare jelly by cooking the oatmeal starch with water and they take it sprinkled with oatmeal, accompanied by milk or beer.
The c oats of oats marketed in recent years, are a good resource for child nutrition, alone or mixed with milk.
As a diuretic, it is used in the decoction of whole grains, with a crust.
As an antidiarrheal, also in decoction but without bark, since it contains fiber.
A poultice of oatmeal wholemeal with crust mixed with a little vinegar and in hot calm the muscular pains. It is very useful in back pain.