Veronica

The name of male Veronica was given by comparison with the abrótano. It is also called European tea because infusions are prepared with the dry twigs.
In other times it was considered a plant with many virtues, to the point that in 1690 Johan Franke, an enthusiast of phytotherapy, consecrated a book of 300 pages entitled Veronica Theezans

CHARACTERISTICS:
It is a lively boil, of creeping all that meanders through the surface of the soil emitting many vertical branches, so that when they dry one, there are always others. Thus, a Veronica plant can live for many years. The vertical branches do not reach more than 30 centimetres. The leaves emerge in pairs, arranged around the stem, on the ground, and on the vertical branches. the flowers are grouped covering practically an entire branch, they are bluish in colour, and they originate a triangular fruit covered with hair, as well as the whole plant. Its taste is astringent. It is also known as European veronica and tea

LOCATION:
Live in Europe, up to 1000 meters high, in the forests and in thickets of siliceous soils

ACTIVE PRINCIPLES:
They are found in leaves and flowers: tannins, resins and a bitter beginning

MEDICINAL PROPERTIES:
Many qualities have been attributed to him. With the Veronica prepared appetizers, expectorants, stomach and vulverarios (healing wounds)

HARVEST:
At the beginning of summer, when the plant is already in bloom (it blooms in May), it is time to cut out the twigs with flowers and leaves. The sun is allowed to dry and stored in cool, dry places.

USES AND APPLICATIONS:
It is used in infusion, from the dried plant (flowers and leaves with the remains of the twigs where they are inserted). Just a handful for a cup. Once cold, or lukewarm, it can be used to heal wounds and wash out eczema.
For internal use, as an appetizer and digestive, the same infusion is used but sweetened with honey or sugar

Carrot

It is the root of a plant that bears the same name, although in some countries it is known as PASTINACA
It is said that rabbits owe their good vision to the carrots they eat. The carrot stimulates the production of vitamin A, necessary for a correct vision. The effects of their carotenoids, favour visual acuity and night vision

CHARACTERISTICS
Biennial herbaceous plant of more than half a meter in height. The stem, erect, culminates with an inflorescence den umbel: tiny florets whose arrangement resembles an umbrella and whose spines emerge from a common point. The leaves, scarce and divided, give off a characteristic smell. the root grows without ramifications: only some absorbent hairs appear around. During the second year grows in gross acquiring conical configuration, coloured ccalabaza, of between 10 and up to 30 centimetres in length

LOCATION:
There is a wild variety that appears spontaneously in the uncultivated fields, next to the roads, or in abandoned fields. the variety used for cooking is exclusively a crop plant.

ACTIVE PRINCIPLES
The leaves contain alkaloids, but the importance of the carrot is due to the fleshy root, rich in many nutrients, among which vitamins B, C and in greater quantity, which is called provitamin A, a substance that stimulates the production of vitamin A. It also has carotin, a compound that gives it its characteristic orange color

MEDICINAL PROPERTIES

It is diuretic, antidiarrheal, replenishes the lack of vitamins and stimulates the appetite

HARVEST:
We have to wait until the second year, at the end of summer, when the root reaches its maximum development. In temperate climates crops are obtained throughout the year

USES AND APPLICATIONS:
The broth resulting from boiling carrots and rice is the remedy that our grandmothers used against diarrhoea, and it is still a very good method to contain them. Root or fruit infusions (mature umbels) are practical as diuretics. to take advantage of vitamins, and as a stimulant of appetite, it must be eaten raw, in the salad, seasoned with oil and salt (or lemon), sliced or grated.

Ginseng

Ginseng is a Chinese word that means “man-root” by the shape of a human figure that adopts the root or by the reputation of this plant as a remedy against impotence.
According to an ancient Chinese pharmacopoeia, the Pen-Taso, it is possible to reach one hundred years of age with the help of ginseng. In the oldest chronicles it is referred to as “the herb of eternal life” and according to the records of the Chinese government, Li-Chung-Yun, born in 1677, lived 200 years thanks to the daily drinking of ginseng tea

CHARACTERISTICS:
It is a herbaceous plant characterized by curious roots: of exceptional measures, reaching up to one meter in length, turnip-shaped, they are developed together in pairs by the thickest part, acquiring curious shapes, the most known being the two legs of a man. The stem does not exceed 80 centimetres in height, with leaves omitted of 5 serrated lobes, similar to that of the rose, although of greater dimensions. The small flowers are grouped in a bouquet at the end of the stem

LOCATION:
It is an exotic plant that is bred in China, Korea, Japan and Nepal

ACTIVE PRINCIPLES:
The root pharmacologically active organ of the plant contains steroids and other active ingredients on muscle activity. It has a bitter, very unpleasant principle reminiscent of camphor

MEDICINAL PROPERTIES:
It is used as a cardiac tonic, stimulant against fatigue, as an aphrodisiac, etc.

HARVEST:
It is only raised in Asia, so its cultivation and harvest in Europe or America are not viable at the moment. In the places of origin, the root is plucked at any time of the year, as active principles accumulate day after day and the plant can live for ten years

USES AND APPLICATIONS:
Of Chinese origin, it is a plant known for thousands of years and is considered a panacea, that is, a miraculous plant that heals all evils. To our countries, it comes in the form of powder or liquid extracts, in pharmaceutical containers, since its indiscriminate use could be dangerous. The pharmaceutical industry has introduced it as an aphrodisiac and years ago it was considered the “elixir of youth”. Root extracts are also used by the liquor industry that makes aperitif babies. Currently used as a stimulant tonic and prevent stress.