Noxious Weeds or Healing Herbs?

I've been studying medicinal herbs for an herb garden presentation at Glendower Historic Mansion.  With the help of our local Master Gardeners program we have planted an herb garden of medicinal herbs popular in home herb gardens during the American Civil War. The plantings include well known plants like Lavender and Foxgloves as well as lessor known ones such as borage and soapwort.  It's an interesting study and we are very pleased with the garden, but along the way I've found some amazing information about plants that I consider noxious weeds!

Poison Hemlock, related to parsley, carrot and fennel.



Over the last three years I've been plagued by two weeds, namely poison hemlock and common burdock.

The poison hemlock is toxic to humans and animals. A drink made from the juice of poison hemlock was used to execute Socrates.

Last year when I spotted the plant I cut it down to the ground before it could flower and set seeds. This year it came back ten fold. The plant has been so prevalent on my property that I broke my organic only rule and hit it with Round Up herbicide.

A Modern Herbal gives it these medicinal properties: As a medicine, Conium (made from the dried leaves) is sedative and antispasmodic, and in sufficient doses acts as a paralyser to the centres of motion. In its action it is, therefore, directly antagonistic to that of Strychnine, and hence it has been recommended as an antidote to Strychnine poisoning, and in other poisons of the same class, and in tetanus, hydrophobia, etc. (In mediaeval days, Hemlock mixed with betony and fennel seed was considered a cure for the bite of a mad dog.)

On account of its peculiar sedative action on the motor centres, Hemlock juice (Succus conii) is prescribed as a remedy in cases of undue nervous motor excitability, such as teething in children, epilepsy from dentition. cramp, in the early stages of paralysis agitans, in spasms of the larynx and gullet, in acute mania, etc. As an inhalation it is said to relieve cough in bronchitis, whooping-cough, asthma, etc. The drug has to be administered with care, as narcotic poisoning may result from internal use, and overdoses produce paralysis.
                                                                                                                                                                  

Dry woods taken over by burdock.

The other noxious weed that's taking over everything, but mostly wooded areas, is the common burdock.  Burdock gets really tall, with huge leaves, has  pretty purple thistle like flowers that turn into very sticky large burrs. Over the years it has turned up here and there on the farm, but this year it is taking over a couple of the wood lots.  The picture above for example is a loafing area for the cows - or I should say was a loafing area. The ground is normally leaf covered and the tree canopy keeps out all but the hardest rains so its a high dry spot for the cows to rest, sleep, keep cool, etc.
On one of my travels through the fields checking fences after a storm I was amazed to find this patch of woods taken over by burdock!  These plants look big now but soon they will be over six feet tall!  I am seriously considering spraying them with Round up as well.

Botanical.com the web site for A Modern Herbal tells us the following about Burdock:

Culpepper gives the following uses for the Burdock: (the famous herbalist)

'The Burdock leaves are cooling and moderately drying, whereby good for old ulcers and sores.... The leaves applied to the places troubled with the shrinking in the sinews or arteries give much ease: a juice of the leaves or rather the roots themselves given to drink with old wine, doth wonderfully help the biting of any serpents- the root beaten with a little salt and laid on the place suddenly easeth the pain thereof, and helpeth those that are bit by a mad dog:... the seed being drunk in wine 40 days together doth wonderfully help the sciatica: the leaves bruised with the white of an egg and applied to any place burnt with fire, taketh out the fire, gives sudden ease and heals it up afterwards.... The root may be preserved with sugar for consumption, stone and the lax. The seed is much commended to break the stone, and is often used with other seeds and things for that purpose.'

It was regarded as a valuable remedy for stone in the Middle Ages, and called Bardona. As a rule, the recipes for stone contained some seeds or 'fruits' of a 'stony' character, as gromel seed, ivy berries, and nearly always saxifrage, i.e. 'stone-breaker.' Even date-stones had to be pounded and taken; the idea being that what is naturally 'stony' would cure it; that 'like cures like' (Henslow).

OK fine. But I'm still going to kill them as noxious weeds!