Lamb's Ear (Stachys byzantine) is probably Nature's prettiest bandaid.
Once you've got the dust off of its soft, woolly leaves, they can be placed directly on external wounds. The leaves absorb blood and slow down its flow, allowing it to clot better. If you squeeze a little of the plant juice onto the wound, the wound will heal faster because the juice contains constituents that clot blood in humans. There's also some constituents in the plant that make it astringent and antimicrobial too. Can commercial bandaids do that?
Lamb's Ear has even been used as a field dressing during times of war.
While you're healing, make yourself a quick salad and add some of the young leaves - they're pretty tasty, kind of fruity!
Of course, Lamb's Ears have many other benefits for we poor humans but this is the one I like best, being a gardener and getting lots of little cuts and scratched.
Some of you may have seen that I've been writing a series of posts about herbs and making herbal remedies at home. I want to share what I know of this topic so that, as the world gets crazier, folks will have other avenues of medical care, namely those of themselves and their community. If you look back over this blog, you can see heaps of info on the topic, plus loads and loads of posts on herbs and using Australian bushfoods from a white perspective. If you haven't been around on in the @hivegarden and @naturalmedicine communities for long, you may be interested in looking back. There's w-a-a-a-a-y too much there for me to repost and the Hive system doesn't let you vote on old posts so, if you're happy with what you find, I believe that there is now a tip option...
