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Texas Medicinals is an Earth-centered herbal business, founded by herbalist Ginger Webb, of Austin, Texas. Texas Medicinals serves as a natural outgrowth of Ginger's herbal teachings and consultation practice. Ginger specializes in herbal medicines made with freshly harvested plants, either from organic herb farmers or harvested during her own wild wanderings. She is passionate about herbs and collecting, learning and sharing her knowledge for native wild plants, weeds and wildflowers. Wherever she goes, Ginger can be found in the woods or among the weeds, reveling in what the plant world reveals to her. Texas Medicinals products are brought to you personally by Ginger, in respectful stewardship to the plants and to the Earth.

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TX WILD PLANT HIGHLIGHT: Blue Vervain (Verbena spp.)

Verbena, "Vervain," or "Blue Vervain," is one of our wildflower medicines of Texas springtime. We have at least three species of medicinal usefulness (see hyperlinks below for photos): Verbena halei and V. hastata, which are tall (2-3 feet) with small blue or purple flowers on the tall spikes, and V. bipinnatifida, a species we see often in cultivation (they seem to be every at the Wildflower Center, for example), with small but showy pink, magenta, or purple flowers in a circle at the terminus of the stems.

I have used both V. halei and V. bipinnatifida with success for nerve-soothing (nervine) and sedative properties. As a tea, verbena is bitter, and is best tempered with other, tastier herbs. Because of this bitterness, I generally use the herb either as a tincture or a glycerite. At the onset of a cold, when your body aches and you have trouble sleeping, verbena is lovely for soothing the nerves and promoting general relaxation, often allowing you to sleep if you need to.

I give verbena glycerite to my daughter, sometimes alone, as a "simple", or in combination with valerian and chamomile, when she is wound-up and its 11 PM and mama and papa need their beauty rest. Works like a charm.

Check out these photos on line and see if you can't find some verbena growing nearby!

Remember, never gather by the side of the road, and only gather if you are certain you have the correct plant (!!) and the plant is found in abundance.

http://www.swsbm.com/Images/New12-97/Verbena_bipinnatifida-2.jpg
http://www.swsbm.com/Images/New2-2001/Verbena_halei.jpg
http://www.swsbm.com/Images/T-Z/Verbena_hastata.jpg

In the spirit of the plants,
Ginger Webb