New Jersey Tea

Genesee County Herb Society / February 2010, Herb Study

Common names: Redroot (Red Root), New Jersey Tea, Jersey Root, Walpole Tea, Wild Snowball, Mountain-sweet, (Western var. California Lilac)
Latin name: Ceanothus americanus / Family: Rhamnaceae (Buckthorn)

C. americanus is an easily grown native shrub of eastern (as far west as MN) North America. Other more attractive varieties from western N. Am. are not cold hardy in our Mid Michigan hardiness zone and are not the varieties of historical importance.

Cultivation: Zone 4-8 (western varieties are not cold hardy here)
Ht: to 2-3'. Woody shrub with showy clusters of white blooms on new growth during whole summer. Leaves are toothed oval, textured and parallel veined. Roots have a reddish outer skin.
Prefers full sun to light shade, poor soil, not too damp. Not fussy, except can suffer rot from ‘wet feet’. Can be pruned hard in early spring (like a Spirea).
Flowers are attractive to bees, hummingbirds and butterflies.
Roots have nitrogen fixing nodules and a reddish colored epidermis.

Harvest leaves for tisane. Dried leaves have more flavor of "China tea” (Thea sinensis). Frontier offers wild crafted, cut leaves from the U.S. 5 cups per pound, starts at $12.70/lb. Richters sells dried cut root $7 for 50g (1 2/3 oz.), and seeds (pkt: $5 plus shipping).

To Use as a Herbal Tisane (herb tea): 1 t. dry leaves per cup of boiling water (or 1 Tbsp. fresh leaves). Steep 5-15 minutes. Sweetener and milk or cream helps flavor.

History and Folklore: Eastern tribes made a sedative tea from the root, and a skin treatment from an infusion of the whole plant. (Native Harvests by Barrie Kavasch)
Am. Indians used root tea for colds, fevers, snakebite, stomachache, lung ailments, laxative, blood tonic. Root is strongly astringent (8% tannin), expectorant, sedative. (Peterson Field Guides - Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants by Steven Foster and James Duke) Root tea was used for dysentery, asthma, sore throat, bronchitis, whooping cough, spleen inflammation or pain. Richters Herb Catalogue notes Indians used it for skin problems, skin cancer, venereal sores, and says tisane is a good gargle for mouth and sore throats.
Alkaloid in root is mildly ‘hypotensive’ (lowers blood pressure).
1758 - part of a Cherokee syphilis cure that reportedly worked in one week, which used a combination of Mayapple root, Lobelia root, Wild Cherry bark, with the powdered root of Redroot applied topically. (Planting the Future - Saving Our Medicinal Herbs, Edited by Rosemary Gladstar and Pamela Hirsch) English colonial doctors who used only Lobelia and were disappointed.
Note: Walpole Tea? Robert Walpole was the first Prime Minister of Britain. There are also a couple of New England towns and a bay named Walpole, so it could be a geographic reference. Geographical locations named after the PM.)
Civil War doctors used a Ceanothus decoction for "ague cake" or malarial 'splenitis'. (Henrietta Kress)
The dye is reported to produce a rich cinnamon brown shade. (No mordant mentioned, and I assume that means the root, since the tisane is a very pale shade of golden.)

Here is a photo I took last year at the County Extension's Backyard Herb Garden, right before garden tour weekend. (Just a reminder, if you click on the photo you can see an enlarged version of it.)


Liberty Tea—America’s First “Buy American” Campaign

The Boston Tea Party of December 16, 1773 was a grassroots, direct action protest against import taxes on imported Chinese tea, which were imposed by the British crown on the American colonies.
After dumping 343 barrels of imported Chinese tea into Boston Harbor, American colonists boycotted the British Empire’s tea and substituted local native herbs as their beverage of choice. They even went so far as to spread rumors about the unhealthful aspects of Tea.
The colonist’s first choice for "Liberty Tea" was the herbaceous perennial Monarda (then known as Oswego, now as Bee Balm) and northern colonials also preferred Labrador Tea while more southerly colonials preferred New Jersey Tea. (Eat the Weeds by Ben Charles Harris)
Raspberry leaves, various mints, and sarsaparilla are also mentioned in the folklore of the boycott.

Drinking Liberty Tea became a patriotic political statement that encouraged unity in the years of the American Revolutionary War. These native American herbs have a similar astringent flavor and healthful properties to Tea, but without the caffeine.

NOTE: Our tea bags to sample at the meeting were of a Liberty Tea blend that was harvested late last summer from shrubs at the Extension herb garden. I blended a pinch of Monarda blossoms into each tea bag before sealing, which improved the flavor of the tea considerably!

MHA Conference - Educational Displays

The herb and garden vendor rooms are crowded with shoppers, but I like to check out the display tables in the education room. My friend Lois has done a great job organizing the project, and for the past few years she has encouraged a better participation with fine results.
Herb groups from all over the state bring in educational displays - focused on a single topic, the herb of the year, or whatever their local group is doing to promote the use and enjoyment of herbs.
A nice time can be spent reading the displays and learning from other groups.
I took a few photos to share.

plant a ginger today!

In the garden:
Commercial culinary ginger is Zingiber officinalis.

Requires little care. Keep moderately moist. 50% + humidity.
Ginger should receive full sun-to part shade. Humus-rich soil. ph 6.5 well drained soil.
Divide rhizomes in early spring; plant horizontally 1 inch deep.
Harvest: Rhizomes in late autumn, cutting off leafstalks and removing fibrous roots. Keep a rhizome to start the next year's plants.

I planted one in summer, 2000 from Meijer's produce department. It grew!
The stems and leaves were so thin they were surprising to me.
The leaves developed yellow spots but it didn't seem to hinder the plant. the stress of mind and hail shredded the leaves as well. Seems to need more protection from extreme weather.
In February, the stems and leaves turned yellow, one by one, and started to drop off (in the same way that voodoo lily scapes do, at the base). By Feb 25th the whole plant was dormant.

2001: The replanted rhizome did well, the leaves were healthier and not spotted at all this year. It produced a nice replacement rhizome as well as it's own smaller one. Behaved the same, but I guess it yellowed in mid-winter, maybe December. I left it out to dry and pretty well forgot it until March.

2002: Spring: still looks viable. Planted the best part in a 8" plastic pot, kept it outside in summer and indoors in winter. This one looks healthier than last year- the leaf fronds are thicker and taller. Started dying back again in January, and I quit watering, though I left it in the S window. Gradually died off, I unpotted it Jan. 30, 2003 and took a few pictures of the roots- healthy, the tubers are much rounder and shinier than the store-bought tubers. I am keeping one half, broken away as I unpotted it, to use, and one will be repotted right away.
The repotted root took a long time to resprout, with the cool spring, it may have been waiting for warmth?

Sept. 2003: The gingerroot in the refrigerator rotted/molded. I didn't use it!!!
The replanted root looks just great, best yet. No spots, no yellowing, no shredded leaves. But the root BURST its pot! Needs to be repotted.
I repotted it into a much larger clay pot, but cut half of the storage root off to use.

Time to start another ginger. Bought a big one in April in Meijers' produce department, and put it under the light, bare. May 2006: Cut it in three - one to use now, and two to plant in the big flat bowl-shaped pot. The nubby tips are turning green and the outermost tips are very green and starting to sprout.

(See ginger folder in 'Recipes' file...)
Buy fresh gingerroot at Meijers- costs about $2/lb. A very large root is about 1/2 lb, or 2 cups prepared fresh pieces. December 2000: I used the second recipe for candied gingerroot, the third looks good too.

The Best Use: peel and slice into vodka, store in refrigerator. Slices are useful indefinitely, the vodka picks up the ginger flavor.

OR- Candied Ginger

CANDIED GINGER
1 c Ginger Root -peeled and thinly sliced
1 c Water
1/2 c Maple Syrup

In a small saucepan stir together the ginger,water and maple syrup. Place over medium heat and simmer untill liquid is completely evaporated about 25 to 30 minutes. Watch carefully during the last 10 minutes of cooking to prevent syrup from burning. Seperate pieces and place on a lightely greased cooking cooling rack .Dry in a 200 degree oven untill all syrup is absorbed and pieces snap when broken,about 2 hours.
From Rodale Stocking up III cookbook.

Candied Ginger
HERB COMPANION, Oct/Nov 1997
1/2 pound fresh ginger
water to cover
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
Crystallizing ginger is a lengthy process, but having these choice sweets on hand is reward enough.
1. Peel 1/2 pound fresh ginger and slice 1/4 inch thick. Bring to a boil in water to cover. Simmer, covered for 2+1/2 hours. Drain, simmer in fresh water for another hour, or until tender. Drain.
2. Bring to a boil 1+1/2 cups sugar, 1+1/2 cups water, and 2 tablespoons light corn syrup; cook for 2 minutes. Add the ginger. Remove from the heat and let stand until cool, or overnight.
3. Again bring the syrup to a boil. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1 to 3 hours, or until the ginger is translucent. If the syrup thickens too quickly, thin with a little hot water.
4. Remove the pan from the heat and set the ginger pieces on a wire rack to dry for a few hours. Roll them in granulated sugar and store in a glass jar.
(May get moldy.)

Third recipe: Instructions:
Day 1: Scrape and cut into 1/4 inch slices enough non-fibrous young Ginger root to make 1 quart. Put the slices into a large non-aluminum pat and cover generously with water. Bring slowly to the boil, simmer, covered until tender (20 min). Add 1 cup sugar and stir until the mixture boils.
Remove from heat. Cover and let stand overnight at room temperature.
Day 2: Recook, simmering gently for about 15 min (after coming to the boil). Add 1 seeded sliced lemon and 1 cup light corn syrup. Uncover and simmer 15 minutes longer, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat and let stand covered overnight.
Day 3: Bring the mixture to the boil again and add 1 cup sugar and simmer for 30 min STIRRING CONSTANTLY (burns easily). Add 1 cup sugar, bring back to the boil and remove from heat.
Cover and let stand overnight again.
Day 4: In the fourth cooking, bring the mixture to a boil once more. When the syrup drops heavily from the side of a spoon, and the ginger is translucent, pour the mixture into sterile jars and seal. This yields about 5 cups.
If you want Candied ginger...drain the ginger after the last cooking. Reserve the syrup for flavoring sauces and allow the slices to dry on a sheet or better still a rack, overnight. When well dried, roll in granulated sugar and store in tightly covered glass jars.
You can then boil the reserved liquid until it is reduced to a syrup with a consistency somewhere between maple syrup and honey. This will intensify its flavor. This syrup can be used for pancakes, waffles, or ice cream, and is an extra bonus for making your own candied ginger.

Ginger Compress
1/2 c Fresh Ginger Rhizome
2 c Water
[From Herbal Medicine for Dummies]
1. Grate the Ginger into a small saucepan.
2. Add the water and simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Let steep for 15 minutes.
4. Soak a washcloth in the strong tea and apply to painful or stiff muscles until the compress cools. Do this 3 to 4 times and then repeat the process 2 to 3 times a day.
Vary it: For inflamed muscles and strong pain, try alternating the ginger compress with a cold or even icy compress with 1 minute of the cold to 4 minutes of the hot.
Notes: Try this ginger compress for back strains, sprains, bruises, and other injuries. You gain the most benefit with this herbal treatment by using it several times a day for a few days.

Ginger Info
(Zingiber officinale) The feeling of nausea is a symptom
that can accompany a wide range of organic or metabolic
disorders and emotional trauma. Ginger is used for all
types of nausea, including morning sickness and motion
sickness. It has a warming effect and is supportive to the
digestion while stimulating circulation.
Ginger has a protective effect on the stomach and liver
as well, and is the best spice to use for people with liver
and digestive problems. It is taken as a powder in capsules
for alleviating nausea (2 capsules 3 times daily), as a tea
by simmering dried or fresh ginger slices, or as a tincture
(2 droppersful 2 to 3 times daily).
==================================
GINGER (herb of the Moon) -- used to make sure
your spells are effective. Ginger is eaten before spells
to make them successful, or simply added to herbal
mixtures, also used for love spells.
=========================
From: Herbs for the Home, McVicar
This is good for indigestion, flatulence, nausea, and
poor circulation. Chewing a piece of any ginger is an
effective deterrent to travel sickness. Ginger tea
is good for flus and colds.
========================
LLewllyn's 1999 Magical Almanac
Ginger, know in ancient China and India, tones,
uplifts and warms the system, stimulates digestion
and circulation, calms upset stomach, and relieves
nausea, aches and pains. Ginger can be eaten in
candied slices, honey-based syrups, encapsulated
or drunk as a tea.
===============================
Ginger Tea helps appetite loss, motion sickness,
up-set stomach, relieves gas, loosens phlegm, and
soothes earaches. To 1 teaspoon of ginger add 1 cup
boiling water. Steep 5 minutes. (By Diane Kennedy
Snyder of Diane's Herbal Shop )
============================
Ginger: masculine, Mars, Fire. Magical attributes:
Power, success, love. History/Uses: Back to Egypt
in the time of Cheops, people were making gingerbread;
4400 years ago, the Chinese were importing this
herb for the same reason, and to act as an aid to
indigestion or colds (tea form).
Carry the root of ginger in your purse to ensure
prosperity, or make it into a fine drink for summer
days.

a hen and her chicks

Grown on rooftops in Germanic and Scandinavian countries to avert lightning, ostensibly because it was sacred to the god Thor, Sempervivums are now being used as "green roof" plants.

Mine are planted in corners and niches where I want a little lagniappe of interest. This photo shows them in a chicken shaped wire egg basket with a broken crockery chicken stuck in the top where the mother plant died last year after blooming and sending out her chicks.

This link is to is another website concerning these easy favorites and other succulents. Here is a "copy and paste" snippet:

CRASSULACEAE IN ANCIENT ROME:
Crassulaceae were indeed cultivated in antiquity, but only a few. This family usually grows in regions with consistent higher temperatures and no frost in winter. Nevertheless there are some genera which are native in the area of ancient rome and greece.
THE reference for plants in ancient rome is 'Naturalis Historiae' by Pliny the Elder (C. Plinii Secundi).
In his books he describes hundreds of plants in use during his time, mostly medicinal and agricultural plants. The crassulaceae described by Pliny had mostly medicinal uses, but also mythological.

The Sempervivum was planted on roofs of houses to protect the house against lightning. The plants of this genus were considered sacred to Jupiter in Roman and to Thor in Teutonic mythology.
Jupiter and Thor were associated with thunderbolts - it is said their beard can be seen in the flowers, hence the Romans also called it 'Jupiter's Beard' (Jovis Barbam). It was also cultivated in pots and beds in roman gardens.

This habit is not as far fetched as one might think - todays science has an explanation:
Due the acute (pointed) leaves, the equalisation of the electrical charge between the house and the air is eased, therefore the chance of a spark discharge is lowered. Sure this effect might be tiny, but in case of a lightning bolt it can be essential if it discharges or not.

Sempervivums are known as rosette-leaf succulents. It's latin name splits up into Semper - always and vivum - living. We commonly know the Sempervivum as houseleek, 'Hen and Chicks' or Jupiter's Beard.
All plants of this genus are more or less cold-hardy. They are native to central and southern Europe, the islands of the Mediterranean and northern Africa. Furthermore they grow in regions at sea-level, but also in alpine regions.

The myth of the protective feature for house was adopted in medieval times and was documented in Charlemagne's (Karl der Große) "capitulare de villis":
§70: [...] Et ille hortulanus habeat super domum suam Iovis barbam. [...]
"And there the gardener ought to have the 'Iovis barbam' over his own house."

Sempervivum as medicine:
The roman-greek scholar Dioscorides (Dioskurides) (~40-~90AD) mentioned the sempervivum in his work 'De materia medica' and recommended crushed leaves with wine to get rid of intestinal parasites. Mashed leaved were also used to treat burns and scalds. Cut leaves were used against warts, calluses, corns and insect stings - the juice was used to treat shingles and earache.

'Naturalis Historiae' by Pliny the Elder is by far the best reference for uses of the Sempervivum. In countless passages he mentions the Sempervivum against articular gout, diarrhea, worms, stomach pain and more. The usage was either internal (juice), rubbing on the area of pain or simply applying parts of the plant on the body.

Pliny uses several names for one species, but comparisons with other ancient authors lead to a certainty for attributing to modern species names.

Sempervivum
Pliny sci-name common name
aeizoon Sempervivum aizoon (Bolle) Christ. Hauswurz; houseleek
aizoum Sempervivum tectorum L.
sedum Sempervivum L. Eigentliche Hauswurz; houseleek

Other common names: Houseleek, Jupiter's Eye, Jupiter's Beard, Thor's Beard, Bullock's Eye, Sengreen, Ayron, Ayegreen, Donnersbart

[preliminary version]
© 2003 Captain
last modified: 11-JUN-2003