Introduction
Traditionally a herbal is a book meant for those with prior knowledge and understanding of the contents of the book. The usefulness of a herbal is directly proportional with the herbalist’s experience and ability to use the herbs listed within. Many plants can be used to cure the same condition, and no amount of text could explain which cases need which treatments. This book is meant to shed light on the complexity and variety of herbal medicine, a stepping stone for those who aspire to learn the craft into becoming experts themselves, or a window of insight and understanding for those who only want to know the legitimacy of the path rather than travelling it themselves. The plants which are listed in this book will be common and familiar to all people around the Core. Many of them are popular for their culinary purposes, but there are many ways to benefit from these flora.
Most commonly the medicinal properties of plants are harvested and used in decoctions, tinctures, poultices, powders, and ointments.
Decoctions are made by crushing and boiling the plant material in water until it dissolves. This can then be used to extract oils or to produce a liquid extract that can be taken orally or applied topically.
Tinctures are made using mostly the same procedure which are used for decoctions. Instead of water, alcohol is used for the extraction to make a tincture. Cold wine or distilled spirit are the most common beverages.
Poultices are made by boiling the plants, wrapping them in a cloth, and placing the resulting parcel over the skin to treat an inflamed or aching part of the body, primarily wounds such as cuts.
Powdering involves drying the plant material and then crushing it to yield a powder that can be compressed into tablets.
Ointments and unguents are thick, greasy preparations made out of four parts oil and one part water. An ointment can be blended with an extract or be used on its own to moisturize dry skin. The base of an ointment can be made out of beeswax, almond oil, coconut oil, sesame oil, olive oil, wool fat, and sometimes tallow.
All these methods can be used together to make more complex medicines. Two of the most important tools for mixing are (1) infusion, the process of suspending the material in a solvent over time, and (2) percolation, the process of filtering a liquid through a porous material such as cloth. Herbs can be extracted and mixed differently in nearly endless combinations and not all results are beneficial or useful. Some plants are only good for completely different methods, such as incense burning or smelling salts. This herbal will only briefly mention the most common uses of the herbs listed within.