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Bee Balm
The Monarda genus is endemic to North America and contains about twenty species, many of which have a history of medicinal usage.
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Ashwagandha
Ashwagandha root is an adaptogen and a nervine, helping our bodies respond to stress and easing us into a state of rejuvenating relaxation.
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Spiderwort
Native to America, Spiderwort was used by indigenous people for its pain relief on insect bites, as food, and possibly as a tea for laxative properties.
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Tulsi
One of the most ancient and intricate medical systems, Ayurveda, holds tulsi as one of the most powerful and sacred plants. That’s over 3000 years of medicinal use and reverence of this special basil!
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Spanish needles
Not only is Bidens a medicinal powerhouse, but the flowers provide a nectar source for pollinators year-round. B. alba is one of the top sources for honey-bee nectar, behind only citrus and saw palmetto, and is also greatly used by our native bees like sweat bees and leaf-cutter bees.
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Violet
This beloved garden plant not only delights us with the beautiful purple flowers of its namesake, but also offers us sweet, cooling, anti-inflammatory medicine.
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Spearmint
There are hundreds of varieties of cultivars within the mint family, many of which are used for their pleasant taste and medicinal value. One such variety is spearmint; utilized for its stimulant, carminative, antimicrobial and antispasmodic properties, with a long history of use in soothing digestive upset (nausea, gas, bloating).
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Dagga
Native to subtropical Africa, dagga does very well in our Central Florida climate. It has a sister, Leonotis leonurus, that looks very similar and is also heavily planted in Central Florida gardens.
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Scorpion Tail
About 2 feet in height, native to the Central East Coast of Florida, and South Florida, as well as the Caribbean and Central America. In Central Florida Scorpion-Tail is a nice herbaceous garden plant, rarely becoming weedy.
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In Memoriam: Dr. James Duke (1929-2017)
written by Emily Ruff Dr. James A. Duke, a devoted ethnobotanist and champion of the green world, passed away December 10 2017 at the age of 88. He is survived by his wife Peggy, a botanical illustrator with whom he collaborated on many of his books. He is also survived by his two children, many grandchildren, and a countless assortment of herbalists who count Jim among their elders. The list of accolades one could recount about Jim’s life is without end, and many articles have paid tribute to his vast contribution to the botanical academy during his life. He was a prolific author, well known for his 1997 bestseller, The Green…
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