Thomas Bartram - Bartrams Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine

Thomas Bartram

Robinson
LONDON

Title Page: The Herball, by John Gerard (1633)

CORDIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS are tendered to owners of copyright. While some of this book is from personal experience, in a work of such scope considerable research has been necessary. The author has done his best to avoid using copyright material without first asking permission. If, however, any short excerpts of this nature have been printed without formal consent, he begs the indulgence of all concerned.

Constable & Robinson Ltd.

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First published in the UK by Grace Publishers 1995.

First published in paperback in the UK by Robinson Publishing Ltd 1998.

Author photograph: Richard A. Pink

All rights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similiar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

A copy of the British Library Cataloguing in Publication data is available from the British Library

ISBN 13: 978-1-85487-586-0

ISBN 1-85487-586-8

eISBN : 978-1-47211-111-1

Printed and bound in the EC

Cover design: Slatter~Anderson; Front cover photographs: RSA Photography Ltd., A-Z Botanical Collection Ltd.

THIS ENCYCLOPEDIA is dedicated to Mr Fred Fletcher-Hyde, whose life work as a herbal consultant was complementary to the National Institute of Medical Herbalists and the British Herbal Medicine Association, which two public bodies ensured the survival of herbal medicine during the critical stages of the Medicines Bill leading to the Medicines Act, 1968. Mr Hyde is President Emeritus of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists and of the British Herbal Medicine Association.

FOR over half a century I have known Mr Thomas Bartram and welcomed his unflinching advocacy of natural and herbal medicine as a Council Member and Fellow of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists. It is an honour to be invited to write a foreword for his magnum opus.

One of the compensations of increasing years is a growing maturity of judgement and a balanced objectivity. This is evident in the present work. The author is able to draw from experience in relation to established medicine and from many decades as a practitioner of herbal medicine. During his busy life Mr Bartram has read voraciously in all cognate aspects of phytotherapy. This is demonstrated in the pages of the widely acclaimed magazine Grace which he founded in 1960. For thirty years his gentle and kindly advice of natural and safe medication, in association with a high Christian ethic, has aided the restoration of health and hope of its readers. Recapture the thrill of living is the authors watchword.

This volume contains the distilled wisdom of a life spent in the cause of natural medicine: the quintessence of a herbal practitioners experience; a book of reference and information to help the restoration and maintenance of health for all its readers. I wish it every success. Ex herbis remedia.

F.Fletcher-Hyde B.Sc. FNIMH
1st January 1995

IS IT NOT AMAZING, after 200 years denigration and ridicule, that herbalism is stronger than ever?

At a time of unprecedented demand for natural medicines there would appear to be a need for a comprehensive A to Z compendium of diseases and their treatment. Today, clinical effects of natural medicines are convincingly demonstrated. These were the remedies used by Pythagorus, Galen and Hippocrates. Their use today has been built upon the experience of centuries. Their data has often been confirmed at the cost of human lives a point often overlooked by research workers. Their use extensively around the world, especially in the undeveloped countries, exceeds that of conventional medicine.

With each passing year, science proves the efficacy of the age-old craft at the back of this system of medication which today wins the confidence of peoples of the world. More consulting herbalists work in co-operation with registered medical practitioners as scientific investigation confirms empirical observation.

Herbal (phytotherapeutic) medicine is used to assist the body in its own instinctive attempts at self-healing. Non-suppressive medicines strengthen immune reserves and help overcome disease, viz: to reduce inflammation (Elderflowers), to sustain the immune system (Echinacea).

Plant medicines bring to the body a force which stimulates the energy-production system. They also de-toxify. Alteratives, diuretics, diaphoretics and antibacterials combat infection, cleanse the blood, stimulate the kidneys, empty the bowel and eliminate wastes. Each herb contains a group of valuable constituents and vital mineral material in its natural context. A plant synthesises its own chemicals to protect itself against disease, which also proves to be effective in humans. It bridges the gap between the inorganic and the organic the non-living and the living.

As never before, pharmaceutical laboratories are feverishly screening plants from all over the world. Success is reported by the use of a Periwinkle for leukaemia, and Wild Yam for its steroid effects. Agnus Castus increases production of progesterone and is helpful for pre-menstrual tension, infertility and hormone imbalance.

Mistletoe has been shown to produce an anti-tumour effect, as also has Wild Violet. Plants that have been used in orthodox medicine for many years include the Foxglove (digoxin), Poppy (morphine), Peruvian Bark (quinine). The medical profession took 300 years to accept quinine.

Readers may be surprised to see herbal medicines for some of the highly contagious and infectious diseases that have troubled the human race since the beginning of time. Plant medicines have always been used for cholera, diphtheria and venereal disease, though maybe not as effectively as todays orthodox medicine.

300 million people in the world are infected with STD each year. It is estimated that only 20 per cent receive the sophisticated pharmacy of the West. The remaining 80 per cent rely on native medicine.

No apology is made for inclusion of plant medicines for these and similar desperate conditions. True, they may not prove a cure, yet a wealth of medical literature testifies to their beneficient action. Sometimes they reduce severity of symptoms and may be used as supportive aids to official treatment. The anecdotal experiences of accredited physicians merit attention. Such treatments must be carried out by or in liaison with hospital specialists, oncologists, etc. A work on herbal medicine would not be complete without reference to these classic diseases of history.

If the public is to receive the best of treatment it needs the best of both worlds. Length and quality of life are more likely to be improved by a multi-disciplinary team including the herbalist.

In this book, where silicosis, pneumoconiosis, emphysema and other incurable conditions are linked with herbal medicines, no cure is implied.

Herbalism is a science in its own right. It has a rationale and modus operandi quite different from orthodox medicine. Given the opportunity, it is able to provide appropriate medication for a vast range of diseases. It offers healing properties that favourably influence chemical change, combat stress, build up resistance to infection and promote vitality.