Hawthorn (Crataegus), also known as Mayflower, Maytree, Maybush, Mayblossom, Haw, Halves, Hagthorn, Ladies’ meat, Bread and Cheese tree, Quickset, and Whitethorn, is a shrubby tree of the family Rosaceae. It is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in Asia, North America, and Europe. In Europe, Hawthorn is one of the oldest medicinal plants [...]

Although often called root, Ginger is not a root but the underground stem or rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale. It has a firm, striated texture and its flesh can be yellow, white, or red, depending upon the variety. It is covered with a brownish skin which is thin when the plant was harvested young, and thick when the plant was harvested mature. In Asian countries, Ginger has been used as a medicine and culinary spice since ancient times. As a medicine it was used to treat conditions like stomach upsets, diarrhea, nausea, arthritis, and heart conditions. Today, Ginger is most widely used to treat nausea and vomiting in pregnancy and motion sickness, but also as a digestive aid, to relieve colds, headaches and painful menstrual periods.

Garlic (Allium sativum) is a perennial plant of the lily family, closely related to onions, leeks, chives, and shallots. Its edible bulb or „head“ grows underground and is made up of sections called cloves which have a strong distinctive flavor. Throughout all of recorded history, garlic has been used for medicinal and culinary purposes. The ancient Egyptians worshipped garlic, in Rome and Greece garlic was used to treat a wide variety of conditons, from bladder infections and dog bites to leprosy and asthma. Athletes used carlic to stimulate performance, and in the Middle Ages, garlic was believed to combat the plague. The most famous garlic folklore is that it can ward off vampires. In America and Great Britain, garlic was frowned upon for a long time and only recently its culinary and medicinal values have been recognized.

Devil’s Claw (Harpagophytum procumbens), also known as Grapple plant and Wood spider, is native to South Africa. Its name comes from the characteristic large, hooked and claw-like fruit. In Africa, the root of Devil’s Claw has been used for thousands of years for rheumatoid arthritis, skin conditions, stomach and kidney diseases, fever, as well as to stimulate digestion. In the early 1900’s, European colonists brought Devil’s Claw to Europe where it was mainly used to treat arthritis.