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COMFREY
Symphytum officinale
Comfrey enjoys
growing in moist fields, meadows and gardens, in full or part sun, and
thrives in temperate conditions. It can grow 4 or more feet high when given
high amounts of nutrients.
As early as the first century, A.D., Comfrey’s curative powers were extolled
by Dioscorides, a famous ancient Roman medical officer, who used it to treat
bruises and bone fractures. To this day, it has a reputation for healing
broken and fractured bones, bruises and sores, thus its common name “Knit
Bone”. It contains many beneficial substances in its leaves, including:
calcium, potassium, phosphorus, and vitamins A, C and B12.
To use Comfrey, harvest the leaves in the summer, and the roots in the fall.
To consume Comfrey, the leaves can be chopped and added to your salad, or
eaten like spinach. The stems can be cooked like asparagus.
For cosmetic purposes, make a tea of the leaves and add to baths and lotions
to soften the skin. You can make an excellent oil to use externally on skin
conditions such as eczema and other skin irritations. Pack clean, dry,
chopped leaves into a glass jar, pour in warm oil such as olive oil, apply a
screw-top lid, label and leave to sit undisturbed in a dark place for
exactly two years. Strain into another jar, then use as needed. You can also
make a poultice by putting the fresh leaves between two pieces of clean
cloth, dip in very warm water and squeeze out, then apply to burns, rough
skin, cuts, aching joints, sprains, sores, and to reduce swelling around
fractures.
To make an effective fertilizer for your other Herbs and garden vegetables
(especially tomatoes and potatoes – high potash content), pick the stems,
dry for 48 hours, then lay on the ground below the plants you want to
fertilize. Or you can make a “tea” by soaking about 2 pounds of leaves into
2 ½ gallons of water, stirring daily, strain and use the liquid to water
plants when no bubbles appear when stirred.
Comfrey should be taken internally (as a tea) only in moderation, as one of
its components, pyrrolizidine alkaloids, can cause liver distress when taken
in higher than therapeutic doses.
(some information obtained from "The Complete Book of Herbs“, by Leslie
Bremness, and from “The Complete Guide to Natural Healing”, section 9, card
# 22)
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