Added: 09/19/2005 |
Verbena herb powder is the most usual remedy made of verbenaPlant with a strong aroma verbena herb was even used in Roman Empire. But there it wasn`t used for medical purposes - it was used as a love drink - people poured extract of verbena into drinks of their beloved.
On the other hand, medical use of this herb is very wide. It is considered to be a purifying and magic agent (it was even used in a great number of magical ceremonies ancient Egyptians performed). Modern medicine has clearly shown that many effects that verbena herb was claimed to have, are not present. But despite that fact, verbena herb is useful to treat a great number of diseases.
Different kinds of verbena remedies are known: verbena herb extract and verbena herb powder are the most common forms. Verbena herb extract was used as wound healing agent. Well dried verbena leaves were usually pounded into verbena herb powder, and this verbena herb powder was used in cases of skin disease. These days different sorts of ointments and lotions for skin irritation are based on verbena herb powder.
There are many different kinds of verbena, but one of them - lemon verbena herb - is very interesting, because of its wide use as a kitchen herb and garden decorative plant. Lemon verbena herb originates from South America (Chile and Peru) and it was brought to Europe in 17th or even 18th century (but it had instantly become very poplar).
Because of its strong aroma, people started to use it for many different dishes. You can also try some lemon verbena recipes: there are many different ways of using lemon verbena herb in your kitchen, so it won't be very hard to find something. Lemon verbena herb is being specially cultivated for culinary purposes in many countries, but you can easily grow this herb right in your garden.
It is easy to grow this plant yourself. If you decided to have this plant in your garden, then you will need a nursery plant or some cuttings of mature plant (actually lemon verbena herb is more like a small tree than a flowering herb, so it is really hard to grow a mature plant from seeds). Plant these stem cuttings into sandy soil (lemon verbena herb prefers hot, desert climates) in a sheltered warm place of your house. Lemon verbena herb will not withstand frosts (and even slightly cold weather), so it needs a good cover for the winter in cold regions. In some cases (if plants are small and you are able to dig it out carefully) you can bring your lemon verbena inside for the winter (it will probably loose its leaves indoor).
In cooking recipes lemon verbena herb can be used whenever it's wonderful soft lemon-like flavour is needed in dish. You will get great jellies, jams and cookies with lemon verbena. Fresh verbena leaves can be chopped with sugar for example, and the mixture can be added right into the pastry for your cakes. Well dried lemon verbena leaves are also great in kitchen. The most amazing thing about them is that they will retain it's scent aroma for years. Crumb these dried leaves before using them. Using lemon verbena leaves a great tea can also be made.
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