Top 50 Medicinal

Medicinal plants to create an Apothecary-style to help our pollinators

List Curated by Thomas McBride From research data collected and collated at the National Botanic Garden of Wales

NB: Butterflies and Moths are not studied at the NBGW so any data on nectar plants beneficial for them is taken from Butterfly Conservation Introduction At the National Botanic Garden of Wales, we feel it is important to recognise the rich history of botany and science we have in Wales and around the UK. One such way to display this is through a living museum of plants once used, and some still used, to treat various ailments and maintain good health. These can be grown together to create a or apothecaries garden; such as the one we have here. Apothecaries were medicine specialists before the event of modern medicine. The apothecaries garden is split into sections depending on the usage of the plants. If you would also like to create one, you can use this model to help you. Almost all the selected plants are found in our Apothecaries Garden and many are also culinary herbs or ornamentals found elsewhere in the garden. Most of

the plants used are native to or naturalised in Western . Garden Apothecaries The The Apothecaries Garden Muscular-Skeletal Digestive

Ear, Nose & Throat Nervous

Glandular Circulatory Urinary

Welsh Natives Cutaneous (Skin) (Used by local Apothecaries) The Circulatory System The Respiratory System The Circulatory system comprises The Respiratory system comprises the Lungs, the Heart, blood and blood vessels; Trachea (Windpipe) and connects directly to arteries, veins and capillaries. Plants the nose, mouth and also circulatory system. Plants used to treat respiratory used to treat this bodily system were problems were usually taken primarily for heart conditions or as a vapour over boiling water associated with blood letting. Few and breathed in; in order for are used in modern medicine but their oils to travel directly into the active ingredient in foxglove, the windpipe. Herbs to treat ear, nose and throat conditions Digitalin, is still used in heart millefolium Primula vulgaris were classed separately. medicine today Digitalis purpurea Pulsatilla vulgaris for its potent Laurus nobilis Salvia sclarea Lavandula angustifolia affects. Thymus vulgaris Melissa Verbascum nigrum

Valeriana officinalis Viola tricolor

Respiratory Plants Plants Respiratory included: Circulatory Plants Circulatory Plants included: The Nervous System The Cutaneous System The nervous system comprises of the brain, The cutaneous system is made up of epidermis spinal cord and nerves (neurons). Plants used (visible skin) and dermis (the skin underlayer). to treat nervous conditions were usually Plant-based treatments used on skin were associated with pain relief and the calming of extremely varied from soothing burns, acne & nerves. They were often taken orally, mixed with rashes to attempting to treat leprosy and some sort of alcohol. Many are still used today measles. Today, plant-based skin treatments are to aid in calmness such as camomile and lavender. as popular as ever but are much more commonly Others are much more potent such as opium used for anti-ageing and maintaining clear, poppy; the plant by which morphine supple skin and treating acne or scars. and other opioids are derived from. Chamaemelum nobile These are powerful nervous-blockers officinalis Hyssopus officinalis Borago officinalis used in pain relief. Lavandula angustifolia Origanum vulgare Chamaemelum nobile Melissa officinalis Hamamelis mollis Pulsatilla vulgaris

Tanacetum parthenium Hypericum perforatum Stachys palustris Nervous Plants Plants Nervous included: Valeriana officinalis Cutaneous Plants included: Tanacetum vulgare The Urinary System The Digestive System The Urinary system is made up of the Kidneys, The Digestive system comprises of the oesophagus, Ureters, Bladder and Urethra; which terminates in stomach, liver, gall bladder, small and large or by the sexual organs in the groin region. intestine and pancreas. It is responsible for the Medicinal plants were regularly used as diuretics digestion of food. Many edible plants were used to increase urine and decrease its concentration to treat digestive issues as they could easily be added which is still an effective way to treat infections when to meals and herbal teas such as mint, or coupled with drinking plenty of water. Herbs for the . A common digestive-aid used today is urinary system were also used to treat bladder pain, but this is not easily grown in the UK. Many are still incontinence and even wounds sustained through taken as dietary supplements for their natural ability childbirth and other problems relating to calm bowel spasms or laxative effects. officinalis to the reproductive system. Artemisia absinthium Hyssopus officinalis Oenothera biennis A popular example of a diuretic herb is Eupatorium cannabinum Chaenomeles speciosa Inula helenium Origanum vulgare the dandelion. Due Origanum vulgare Eupatorium cannabinum Malva sylvestris Rosmarinus officinalis to their weed-status Filipendula ulmaria Rosa gallica Melissa officinalis Sambucus nigra and ability to spread Foeniculum vulgare quickly however, Sanguisorba officinalis Mentha spicata Tagetes patula they haven’t been Urinary Plants included: Digestive Digestive Plants included: Hamamelis mollis Mentha suaveolens Tanacetum vulgare included in the list. Thymus vulgaris The Muscular-Skeletal System The Otorhinolaryngic System The muscular system, made up of muscles, A complicated collective way to refer to ears, nose tendons, joints and ligaments, allows for and throat, this system was probably the most widely movement, and is directly connected to the treated with medicinal plants through history. skeletal system, which is our bones. Plants Relieving flu and cold symptoms has always been in this category were used to relieve back Some of the plants used for reliving important. pain and other muscular problems, were symptoms have mucolytic properties such used to aid in calcium uptake for keeping as mint, and also pineapple; bones strong and may also have be used to which we cannot grow outside in the UK quicken recovery after physical trauma such unfortunately! Others have anti-inflammatory properties which as broken bones or pulled ligaments. Muscular-Skeletal Plants included: naturally relieve irritation. Some even have antibacterial Alchemilla mollis Lavandula angustifolia Althaea officinalis properties which can help Artemisia absinthium Origanum vulgare Chamaemelum nobile with bacterial infections.

Calendula officinalis Rosmarinus officinalis Plants included: Echinaceae purpurea Others help relieve swollen Eupatorium cannabinum* Sambucus nigra Hyssopus officinalis glands such as: Filipendula ulmaria Valeriana officinalis Inula helenium Artemisia absinthium

*Eupatorium may be sometimes known as ‘Boneset’ Viburnum opulus Otorhinolaryngic Rosmarinus officinalis & Borago officinalis Map Maps depict the native area of the plant (in green) Guide to using these pages: They also show areas the plant is naturalised (in purple)

Latin Binomial All maps shown Name are derived from ‘Plants of the Common World Online’; English courtesy of Kew Name

Flowering Period Photograph (this is when it is good of the plant for pollinators!) in

Plant Family

Insect groups known to Growing habit favour the and mature size nectar of this of the plant plant

Useful knowledge or warnings about the plant RHS AGM of this (or a related species occasionally) i Key to these Pages Warnings

Additional information on these garden plants

This plant would The be suitable for and/or meadow-style have a Pleasant Plant tissue is highly planting scent toxic if ingested

The plant has edible parts that are Sap may cause irritation Plant is often used in commonly eaten or (Wash hands after touching traditional Herbal Remedies used in cooking or avoid touching)

ii Temperature RHS Hardiness Scale

Some of the plants listed in our Top 200 are not fully H1a - Above 15ºC hardy in all or some parts of the . H1b - Minimum 10ºC Plants without a thermometer symbol are fully hardy in the severest UK Winter; equating to H5 or hardier. H1c - Minimum 5ºC Plants with a coloured thermometer symbol are hardy to varying degrees as follows: H2 - Minimum 1ºC

H3 - Minimum -5ºC

H4 - Minimum -10ºC

H5 - Minimum -15ºC Almost Hardy Half-Hardy Not Frost Hardy Not Hardy (H4) (H3) (H2) (H1) iii Pollinators Our data on pollinators has been collected from studies spanning over a decade. Pollinator symbols appear when plants are proven to be good nectar (a) (b) plants for certain insects. It should be noted that all bee and data is ours but lepidoptera data is taken from Butterfly Conservation.

Our data spans a wide range of different insect species. For simplicity, these species have been condensed into six easy icons to represent them: (c) (d) a) Honeybees c) Bumblebees e) Moths b) d) Butterflies f) Solitary Bees (Includes Moths)

(e) (f) iv N. America & Achillea millefolium Eurasia Common Yarrow

‘Red Velvet’ Midsummer - Early Autumn ‘Lansdorferglut’

Asteraceae Daisy Family

2ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Nayuki Im 1 Alcea rosea Anatolia Common Hollyhock

None Summer .

Malvaceae Mallow Family

6ft Biennial

Photograph from Flickr by Bernard Spragg 2 Alchemilla mollis Europe Garden Lady’s Mantle

-Species- Early Summer - Early Autumn

Rosaceae Rose Family

2ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) J Mark Dodds 3 Althaea officinalis Afro-Eurasia Marsh Mallow

None Midsummer - Early Autumn

Malvaceae Mallow Family

6ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr by Gertjan van Noord Marshlands 4 Artemisia absinthium Afro-Eurasia Wormwood

Related Species: Summer . A. caucasica

Asteraceae Daisy Family

3ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Ettore Balocchi 5 Bistorta officinalis Eurasia Common Bistort

‘Superba’ Midsummer - Mid Autumn

Polygonaceae Knotweed Family

3ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Armin S Kowalski 6 Borago officinalis Mediterranean Common Borage

None Late Spring - Midsummer

Boraginaceae Borage Family

2ft Annual

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Peter Stenzel 7 Buxus sempervirens Afro-Eurasia Common Box

‘Elegantissima’ Spring . ‘Latifolia maculata’

Buxaceae Box Family

Medium Shrub

Photograph from Wikipedia (CC) Sten Porse 8 Calendula officinalis Iberia Common Marigold

‘Fiesta Gitana’ Early Summer - Early Autumn

Asteraceae Daisy Family

2ft Annual

Photograph © Thomas McBride 9 Chaenomeles speciosa Chinese Quince

China

‘Geisha Girl’ Spring . ‘Moerloosei’

Rosaceae Rose Family

Medium Shrub

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Stanze Bla 10 Chamaemelum nobile Mediterranean & The British Isles Common Camomile

None Summer .

Asteraceae Daisy Family

1ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Melanie Shaw 11 Cotinus coggygria Eurasia Smoke Bush

‘Ancot’ ‘Young Lady’ Summer . ‘Royal Purple’

Anacardiaceae Cashew Family

Large Shrub

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Maja Dumat 12 Digitalis purpurea Europe Common Foxglove

‘The Shirley’ Summer . ‘Dalmatian series’

Plantaginaceae Plantain Family

5ft Biennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Joachim Blattboldt 13 Echinacea purpurea N. America Purple Coneflower

‘Elbrook’ Midsummer - Mid Autumn ‘Ruby Giant’

Asteraceae Daisy Family

3ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Álvaro Reguly 14 Eupatorium cannabinum Eurasia Hemp-Agrimony

Related species: Eupatorium maculatum Late Summer ‘Orchard Dene’ - Early Autumn ‘Purple Bush’ Asteraceae Daisy Family

5ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Peter O’Connor 15 Filipendula ulmaria Eurasia Meadowsweet

Related species: Filipendula rubra Midsummer ‘Venusta’ - Early Autumn

Rosaceae Rose Family

3ft Perennial

Photograph by Thomas McBride 16 Foeniculum vulgare Afro-Eurasia Common Fennel

‘Florence Fino’ Summer . ‘Florence Orion’

Apiaceae Carrot Family

5ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Katy Wrathall 17 Hamamelis mollis Chinese Witch-hazel

China

‘Jermyns Gold’ Mid Winter - Early Spring ‘Wisley Supreme’

Hamamelidaceae Witch-hazel Family

Large Shrub

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Wendy Cutler 18 Hypericum perforatum Afro-Eurasia Perforate St John’s Wort

None Summer .

Hypericaceae St Johns Wort Family

2ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Andreas Rockstein 19 Hyssopus officinalis Afro-Eurasia Herb Hyssop

None Midsummer - Early Autumn

Lamiaceae Mint Family

Small Subshrub

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Lotus Johnson 20 Inula helenium Eurasia Elecampane

None Summer .

Asteraceae Daisy Family

5ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) John Munt 21 Laurus nobilis Mediterranean Bay Tree, Laurel

‘Aurea’ Spring . f. angustifolia

Lauraceae Laurel Family

Large Shrub

* Not to be confused with a shrub, often referred to as Photograph from Flickr (CC) Jeremy Cherfas a laurel, which is actually a poisonous species of cherry. Its flowers are also white but without yellow pollen and occur22 on spikes. Lavandula angustifolia Mediterranean English Lavender

‘Folgate’ ‘Hidcote’ Summer . ‘Miss Katherine’

Lamiaceae Mint Family

Small Shrub

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Peter Taylor 23 Malva sylvestris Afro-Eurasia Common Mallow

None Midsummer - Early Autumn

Malvaceae Mallow Family

4ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Steve Chilton 24 Melissa officinalis Eurasia Lemon Balm

None Summer .

Lamiaceae Mint Family

2ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Gertjan van Noord 25 Mentha spicata Eurasia Spear Mint

None Early Summer - Early Autumn

Lamiaceae Mint Family

3ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Radu Chibzii 26 Europe & Mentha suaveolens N. Africa Apple Mint

None Midsummer - Early Autumn

Lamiaceae Mint Family

3ft Perennial

Photograph from Wikipedia (CC) Aroche 27 Nicandra physalodes S. America Shoo-fly Plant

None Late Spring - Mid Autumn

Solanaceae Potato Family

4ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Maja Dumat 28 Oenothera biennis N. America Common Evening-Primrose

None Midsummer - Early Autumn

Onagraceae Willowherb Family

5ft Biennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Andreas Rockstein 29 Origanum vulgare Afro-Eurasia Plant

‘Aureum’ Midsummer - Early Autumn

Lamiaceae Mint Family

2ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Gustav Og 30 Papaver somniferum Mediterranean Opium Poppy

None Summer .

Papaveraceae Poppy Family

* 3ft Annual

* Dry edible (‘poppy seeds’), all other parts of the plant are poisonous Photograph from Flickr (CC) Aaron Stidwell 31 Primula vulgaris Europe Common Primrose

‘Taigetos’ Late Winter - Mid Spring Ssp. sibthorpii

Primulaceae Primrose Family

1ft Perennial

Photograph © Thomas McBride 32 Pulsatilla vulgaris Europe Common Pasqueflower

- Species - Spring .

Ranunculaceae Buttercup Family

Alpine Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Rainer Stropek 33 Rosa gallica Eurasia Rosa-mundi, French Rose

var. officinalis Summer . ‘Versicolor’

Rosaceae Rose Family

Small Shrub

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Tim Waters 34 Rosmarinus officinalis Mediterranean Rosemary Plant

‘Sissinghurst Blue’ Late Spring - Midsummer ‘Miss Jessop’

Lamiaceae Mint Family

Small Shrub

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Amanda Slater 35 Salvia sclarea Mediterranean Clary Sage

None Late Spring - Midsummer

Lamiaceae Mint Family

3ft Biennial

Photograph from Wikipedia (CC) Buendia22 36 Sambucus nigra Eurasia Common Elder

f. laciniata Late Spring - Midsummer ‘Thundercloud’

Adoxaceae Moschatel Family

Small Tree

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Andreas Rockstein 37 N. America & Sanguisorba officinalis Eurasia Great Burnet

‘Tanna’ Summer .

Rosaceae Rose Family

5ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Natural England 38 Stachys byzantina Middle East Lamb’s Ear

None Summer .

Lamiaceae Mint Family

2ft Perennial

Photograph from Wikipedia (CC) Muse Seeker 39 Stachys palustris Eurasia Marsh Woundwort

None Summer .

Lamiaceae Mint Family

3ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) ekenitr 40 Symphytum officinale Eurasia Common Comfrey

None Late Spring - Midsummer

Boraginaceae Borage Family

5ft Perennial

This plant will spread so allow it plenty of room and do not plant Photograph from Flickr (CC) Gail Hampshire in a herbaceous border. Leaves rot down to produce41 rich compost Tagetes patula N. America French Marigold

‘Safari series’ Late Spring - Early Autumn ‘Honeycomb’

Asteraceae Daisy Family

1ft Annual

NB: Will not survive a frost, only half-hardy Photograph from Flickr (CC) Taco Witte 42 Middle East Common Feverfew

Potentially ‘Aureum’ Summer .

Asteraceae Daisy Family

2ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Cheryl Binstock 43 Tanacetum vulgare Eurasia Common Tansy

None Midsummer - Early Autumn

Asteraceae Daisy Family

2ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Andreas Rockstein 44 Thymus vulgaris Europe Common

‘Silver Queen’ Summer .

Lamiaceae Mint Family

1ft Trailing Subshrub

Photograph from Flickr (CC) John Winder 45 Valeriana officinalis Eurasia Garden

None Summer .

Caprifoliaceae Honeysuckle Family

4ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Gail Hampshire 46 Verbascum nigrum Eurasia Black Mullein

‘Cotswold series’ Early Summer - Early Autumn ‘Tropic Sun’

Scrophulariaceae Figwort Family

4ft Biennial

Photograph © Thomas McBride 47 Veronicastrum virginicum N. America Culver’s

‘Album’ Midsummer - Early Autumn ‘Lavendelturm’

Plantaginaceae Plantain Family

6ft Perennial

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Anna Aoss 48 Viburnum opulus Eurasia Guelder-rose

‘Compactum’ ‘Rosea’ Late Spring - Midsummer ‘Xanthocarpum’

Adoxaceae Moschatel Family

Large Shrub

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Fred F 49 Viola tricolor Eurasia Heartsease

‘Jackanapes’ Late Spring - Early Autumn ‘Blue Moonlight’

Violaceae Violet Family

1ft Biennial (or Perennial)

Photograph from Flickr (CC) Ettore Balocchi 50