NATURAL HEALTH THE HERBALIST'S NOTEBOOK

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Harvesting: Both leaves and root are used medicinally, with the root being a bit more potent and mucilaginous than the leaves. Leaves are gathered from the healthy plant any time during its growing season, although the best time for a leaf harvest is during flowering. Bundle the leaves in very small hatches, and hang upsidedown out of the sun in a spot where there is good air circulation. Check the bundles daily to make sure that the leaves are not blackening or moldy.

Comfrey root can be dug in early spring, just as shoots emerge from the soil, or in the fall after frosts have cut back leafy material. The roots should be dug, cleaned, and cut into thin slices. If roots are old and rough, the outer bark can be peeled off before drying. Store leave and root when dried in airtight container out of the sun.

Dosages: A tea, or infusion, of comfrey leaves can be made by using 1-2 teaspoon of the dried leaves to 1 cup of boiling water. Pour water over leaves, let steep 5 to 10 minutes, and then drink three or four time daily. A decoction of the root is made by using 1 teaspoon of dried root in 1 cup of water, and simmering for 5 to 6 minutes. The strained decoction can also be drunk three or four times daily.

To use comfrey externally, it may be made into a strong tea and used as a wash or it can be dried and used in an ointment or salve. If used fresh, the bruised, fresh leaf is applied directly to the skin, and the cleansed, crushed root can be applied to a minor wound if desired. In minor burns, applying fresh comfrey leaf or rool to the area can be helpful.

Caution: A compound isolated in comfrey was used in laboratory tests. When large doses of the compound were given to rats. tumors developed. While no problems have been reported in humans using the whole leaf or root, caution should be used, and the plant taken internally for only moderate periods of time.

Editor's Note: Corrine Martin, a graduate of the Institute of Traditional Herbal

Medicine in Santa Fe, NM, is a certified clinical herbalist who has studied plants for over a decade, achieving the rank of master herbalist. She is the author of Earthmagic: Finding and Using Medicinal Herbs (The Countryman Press, P.O. Box175, Woodstock, VT 05091; 800/245-4151. $17.45 postpaid) from which h this is excerpted.

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