Briar Patch Medicine

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Herbalists use every part of the rose plant. Some European herbalists recommend chopping up and infusing the entire bush, including the roots, stems, leaves, and flowers. For centuries, herbalists in Europe and the Middle East have used a mixture of rose water and honey as a purgative.

When German U-boats cut Britain off from its citrus-producing colonies in the 1940s, the British government tapped England’s rose hedges for vitamin C. The fiery red, round fruits, or hips, of wild roses are one of the richest natural sources of this vital nutrient, so much so that tangy rose hip tea is lauded by many as a strong defense against the common cold. Fresh rose hips also are a source of vitamin A, and their fuzzy seeds contain vitamin E. Some Native American tribes consider rose hips an excellent breath freshener. But be aware that raw hips contain tiny fibers in the rinds that can pass intact into the rectum, where they will irritate delicate tissues, so you may wish to avoid eating them.

Rose petals make a delicate, fragrant wine, and the leaves, flowers, and fruits are infused for tea. Jellies and syrups are made from the flowers, fruits, and leaves.

Unlike domesticated roses, wild rosebushes are extremely hardy and disease-resistant. Also unlike their servile cousins, wild roses perish very quickly in a vase. Wild roses have more thorns than domesticated roses, and the thorns are finer; nurseries specializing in native plants may carry wild rose plants. To fill your house with the heady aroma of wild roses, plant them under your windows. Then, when summer sunshine coaxes their scent into the air, your open windows will draw it inside.

Rubus, the affordable herb

Several Native American cultures, including the Cherokee, value blackberry leaf tea as a treatment for joint pain.

The genus Rubus includes most of the “brambles”—the thorn-bearing, berry-producing vines or canes ideal for fence duty. Blackberries, raspberries, thimbleberries, salmonberries, and dewberries are all Rubus species, as are the hybrids boysenberries and loganberries. Able to thrive on most any untended patches of land, Rubus enjoys a place of honor in nearly every culture and is known for its affordability. Bramble, or blackberry, jam is traditionally served with oatmeal scones in Scotland. Medicinally, blackberry juice, wine, and cordials are prized for treating diarrhea and stomach disorders in China, Haiti, Brazil, North America, and northern Europe. Because these preparations are mild and pleasant-tasting, they are particularly effective for children. Some Rubus leaves, such as blackberry and raspberry, make fine teas, used alone or blended with other ingredients.

Several Native American cultures, including the Cherokee, value blackberry leaf tea as a treatment for joint pain. Two species, Himalayan (R. procerus), which came to North America by way of England, and Evergreen (R. laciniatus), more commonly called cut-leaved bramble, cut-leaf black-berry, or parsley-leaved bramble, are now the most common blackberries in North America. They bear green leaves year-round. The tribes of the Pacific Northwest, however, believe that the scarlet winter leaves of the native species R. ursinus (whose common cultivar is ‘Loganberry’) make a more flavorful beverage.

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