Re: holly?

[Guest guest]

Rica wrote:

> Is holly good for anything?? I am abt to cut down a small tree

> almost in a driveway.I may save some for xmas dec....not sure.It's

> very prickly.

> Rica

==============================

Hi Rica,

Here is some info on Holly.

Holly

/Ilex aquifolium/

Common Holly

English Holly

European Holly

Holly

Mountain Holly

Parts used <http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_holly.htm#holly_parts>

Uses <http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_holly.htm#holly_uses>

Habitat and cultivation

<http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_holly.htm#holly_habitat>

Constituents

<http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_holly.htm#holly_constituents>

Herbs gallery - holly.jpg

Holly - an evergreen tree growing up to 70 feet tall, but averaging 6-15

feet in height when cultivated. Holly has glossy, leathery, spiny-edged,

alternate leaves and small white flowers (June-July). Only female trees

produce the berries.

To " deck the halls with boughs of holly, " as the old carol enjoins, is

to observe a custom that early Christians most likely adopted from the

Roman Saturnalia. The observances of this pagan festival, which began

each year on December 17, influenced those of the Christian Yuletide.

According to Roman folk belief, the holly's white flowers would turn

water into ice. Hollies planted near houses would ward off lightning and

witchcraft -a precaution still followed in parts of rural England.

According to medieval legend, the holly first sprang up in Jesus'

footsteps, with spiny leaves to symbolize the crown of thorns and red

berries to recall the blood shed on the cross.

In times past, physicians and herbalists found many uses for holly. An

infusion, or tea, of the leaves was believed to promote sweating and

hence was given for malaria and other intermittent, or recurring, fevers

<http://www.herbs2000.com/kids/fever.htm>. The juice of the berries,

although highly toxic, was a common remedy for jaundice

<http://www.herbs2000.com/disorders/jaundice.htm>. Indians of the

southern United States brewed a strong tea from the leaves of a native

American holly. This tea, known as the " black drink, " may have played a

role in ritual purifications. Yaupon leaves contain caffeine, and

pioneers sometimes used them as a substitute for imported tea.

PARTS USED

Leaves, berries.

USES

Holly is rarely used today. Its leaves are diuretic, fever

<http://www.herbs2000.com/kids/fever.htm>-reducing, and laxative, and

they have been employed to treat fevers, jaundice, and rheumatism. Holly

berries purge the bowels and cause vomiting

<http://www.herbs2000.com/disorders/nausea_vomiting.htm> if taken in

large doses.

An early Anglo-Saxon herbal, the Lacnunga, recommended holly bark boiled

with goat's milk to treat a constricted chest. As importantly, the holly

tree was considered to protect against witchcraft and spells. In the

19th century, some physicians felt that the bark equaled or surpassed

cinchona <http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_cinchona.htm> as a fever

remedy.

HABITAT AND CULTIVATION

Holly grows throughout much of Europe, western and central Asia, and

North Africa. Holly is found in woods and hedges, and thrives in

gravelly soil or loam. Holly is also grown as a garden plant. The leaves

are gathered in spring, the berries in winter.

CONSTITUENTS

Holly contains ilicin (a bitter principle

<http://www.herbs2000.com/miss/bitter_princ.htm>), ilexanthin,

theobromine (only in the leaf), and caffeic acid. Theobromine is a

caffeine type alkaloid <http://www.herbs2000.com/miss/alkaloids.htm>,

used to treat asthma <http://www.herbs2000.com/disorders/asthma.htm>.

--

Peace, love and light,

Don Quai

" Spirit sleeps in the mineral, breathes in the vegetable, dreams in the animal

and wakes in man. "