ARNICA (Arnica montana)

(Leopard's Bane, Mountain Tobacco, Mountain Daisy)

Cultivation - Well drained, humus rich, acid soil
in Sun
Propagation - Seed sown in Autumn. Division in
Spring

Harvest - The flowers are picked when fully open

Dimensions - 10-60cm high. Up to 15cm wide

USES

Medicinal

Internal - Short term treatment of heart failure and
coronary artery disease. This is only to be
administered by qualified practitioners

External - Used in liniments and creams.
Dislocation, sprains, bruises, chilblains,
varigose ulcers and throat gargles

**May cause contact dermatitis when used externally
and could cause collapse if used internally

Magical - None found

FOLKLORE AND HISTORY

This herb is rarely used today, except in the form
of Homeopathic drops. If considering growing this
herb at home, be aware that it can be a tough one to
grow. It is an alpine plant so it needs altitude and
preferably snow. It may grow elsewher but it is
likely to be stunted and may not flower. One of
Arnica's names is Mountain Tobacco, but as far as I
can see, there appears to be no reference or recipe
in relation to smoking it and as it is a plant that
can be toxic, I would not recommend it.

Sources:

The Complete New Herbal by Richard Mabey (ISBN
0140126821) Published
by Penguin

The Royal Horticultural Society New Encyclopedia of
Herbs and Their
Uses by Deni Bown (ISBN 0751333867) Published by DK

Disclaimer: This is for reference guide only.
Herbs can be used
effectively for mild ailments but medical advice
should be consulted
first to rule out major illnesses.

Welcome to the Barefoot Herbalist!

I originally started this blog on Wordpress, but never really felt as happy with their format as I do with Blogger. Actually, this blog goes back further than that. My passion for herbs started years ago when I first read the book 'The Clan of the Cave Bear' by Jean M. Auel. It is a wonderful story that revolves around a prehistoric orphan. Central to her life is her love of herbal medicine. Ever since then I have had a passion for herbal lore and healing.

This blog started about 7 years ago when I planted out my new herb garden. Except it wasn't a blog back then. It was an old school folder filled with handwritten sheets. I used it to collaborate my herb collection with my book collection. It was a central place to go to find information on my garden.

Years after that I started to publish the herbs sheets to the Australian Pagans group on Yahoo after an interest in herbs was noted through the discussions. Very occasionally I still post there. Then I created my own forum which was to be used as a garden diary (mainly for myself). This forum developed into my first blog The Barefoot Gardener. Some of it even ended up in my second blog The Barefoot Cookbook. Earlier this year I rewrote one herb sheet and sent it off to Living Now magazine, where it was published along with another article on Suburban Sustainability in their sister magazine, Dare to Dream.

So here now, is the original herb sheets, in a new format. Enjoy!