Heartsease

This pretty, low-growing annual plant is generally considered a weed, although the cultivated varieties produce a wide range of colours in our gardens. The wild variety, called wild pansy, love-lies-bleeding and herb trinitatis in different parts of the British Isles, is the one you want for medicinal purposes.

Cultivation

Pansies perform best in cooler weather, and are therefore usually planted in spring or autumn, to give themselves a chance to settle in before hot weather arrives. They like rich, well-drained soil high in organic matter, and full sun or partial shade – in very hot sun they cease to produce flowers, so if you are growing them medicinally, aim to have some shade in the day. Pansies will flower even more profusely and longer if spent flower heads are removed. The wild variety can be purchased from mail order catalogues either as seed or plug plants.

Parts used

The dried flowering plants are used entire, with or without roots as you please. They are best harvested when in full flower and dried as swiftly as possible in airy shade.

Uses

A tea prepared from the dried plant – use about 1 to 2 tablespoons in a litre of cold water, boil and allow to stand, is used to treat water retention, catarrh and for skin eruptions such as pimples and boils. In this latter case, you can reinforce the beneficial effects by using a compress of the same infusion on the affected area. The same tea can be taken twice a day to treat rheumatism, especially if it is feverish.

Heartsease photograph by Rene5 from flickr under a creative commons attribution licence.

 

© blueworldgardener.co.uk