Unlikely Garden Aphrodisiacs - 1

You’d be surprised which of your average garden plants have been used throughout history for erotic purposes. But be warned, many of the plants that were once considered aphrodisiac are now known to be toxic – attempting to make home sex-potions could turn out to be fatal!

• You’d be surprised which of your average garden plants have been used throughout history for erotic purposes. But be warned, many of the plants that were once considered aphrodisiac are now known to be toxic – attempting to make home sex-potions could turn out to be fatal!
• Amaranthus Also known as Love Lies Bleeding, this herb is under the dominion of Satun (apparently) and quiets the unruly passions of Venus. Although used to inhibit promiscuity it was also used to treat venereal rashes that were the result of too much passion.
• Orache Also known as mountain spinach, this herb ‘relaxes men and fortifies expulsive faculty ‘ and has been used to treat both impotence and premature ejaculation, in either decoction or ointment form.
• Avens Known as Gum Herb, it is an astringent to remove wrinkles and bring a pink glow to the skin. Particularly popular as a treatment to ‘enliven’ the bust!
• Balm Loved by Avicenna, this herb ‘drives away sleep and troublesome cares‘. This plant also played a major role in Galenic medicine to overcome an imbalance of melancholy or Black Bile.
• French Beans This herb was believed to ‘incite to venery!‘ and was used for everything from impotence and fertility to breast enlargement.
• Beets The dried powder was used as a snuff to treat bad breath. Not exactly an aphrodisiac but likely to get you closer to the lover of your choice than garlic breath would.
• Brown Bugle Also known as Middle Comfrey, it was widely used in love potions, as an ointment to treat herpes, and to comfort hangovers. It is a mild narcotic.
• Catnip ‘Takes away barrenness. ‘Used as a calming tea and makes the breath sweet. Anyone who has seen its effects on cats cannot doubt the effectiveness of some vegetable drugs.
• Cowslip Used in making wrinkle-creams.
• Crowfoot The petals were strewn over a bride's mattress to ease the pain of defloration. Believed to be a powerful drug in the treatment of impotence, it had a reputation of being able to ‘raise the dead!’ It's poisonous, too.

Aphrodisiac 1 photograph by Jeniphur99, used under a creative commons attribution licence

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