Primrose or Primula
(Note: I've back blipped a tiny spider on a tulip for yesterday).
This cheerful Spring bloom pops up almost everywhere in shades of white, yellow, pink and purple. It's leaves and medicinal uses are similar to the cowslip.
I studied the history of medicine as a topic for O' level history and it ignited my interest in flowers and trees, although not sufficiently for me to actually try these old remedies myself!
According to A Modern Herbal by Mrs M Grieve, "in the early days of medicine, the Primrose was considered an important remedy in muscular rheumatism, paralysis and gout. Pliny speaks of it as almost a panacea for these complaints".
Primrose petal tea is reputedly calming; unsurprising given that in modern herbal medicine the root is used as a sedative.
Culpepper too favoured the plant, recommending the leaves as a salve to heal wounds.
I often wonder if some of the old remedies will be revived.
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