Rosemary is for more than cooking.
Rosemary is for more than cooking. It is a potent medicinal herb. I remember some rosemary I saw in a community garden. I know we have community gardens here in Ottawa. In Vancouver it seems that they are more common. This particular garden was smack dab in the middle of downtown. Imagine a large community garden. Flourishing right at the corner of Bank and Laurier! There were many rosemary plants making a home in this garden.
It was pouring down rain at the time I took this picture.
Here in Ottawa (zone5a) a rosemary would never survive the winter. There are lots of plants that we can grow here with ease. Many more that we can baby to ensure their survival. As rosemary is native to the Mediterranean (zone 9) it is, in other words, not likely to make it. I suppose I should check back to see if these rosemary plants survive the full Vancouver (zone 8) winter. I still remember seeing a rosemary in North Carolina. It was as large as a car.
Memory and Cognition
Remembering rosemary makes for a useful mnemonic. Rosemary has a centuries old association with memory and cognition. Thomas More wrote that he let rosemary run rampant in his garden “because it is the herb sacred to remembrance.” Then in Hamlet the doomed Ophelia tells us the same – “there’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance.” Each time I learn something new about this plant’s medicinal uses I feel like people are not remembering rosemary. I love it as a cooking herb myself – this marinade is officially for pork tenderloin. One of my favorites and rosemary is part of the yum. But rosemary is so much more. Rosemary is for more than cooking.
Name Change
The Latin name of rosemary has changed. DNA examination has revealed that rosemary is a member of the sage genus (Salvia). So – not just your Uncle getting crazy results from 23 and me. 2 words make up botanical names. The first word is the genus or larger plant group that the plant belongs to. The second name refers to the specific species. Species names are often descriptive of some aspect of the plant. The first letter of a botanical name is always capitalized. A botanical name is written in italics. These names are botanical currency.
Rosmarinus officinalis is the old botanical name. Officinalis translates to “of the officina” which was the room in a monastery/apothecary where medicines were kept. After botanists decide to change the name of a plant it can take years for the change to filter out into common usage. DNA research on rosemary took place in 2017 but it was really only recently that the new name became more favoured. It helps to keep track because when dealing with older references the old Latin name will still be in use. I’m still calling black cohosh Cimicifuga racemosa although I know it now goes by Actaea racemosa.
Ancient Uses
Egyptians used rosemary in funeral rituals. To repel bad dreams – place the herb under the pillow. To keep witches away, plant rosemary around the house. The plant was burned, along with juniper, to reduce the risk of infection in sick rooms. Rosemary is one of the herbs traditionally included in thieves vinegar to combat plague. Students used to pin sprigs of the herb to their hats to help them with their exams. In Elizabethan times to carry or wear rosemary was a sign of faithfulness.
Whole plant holism
My herbalism does not believe in a reductive approach to herbs. An herb’s healing is not one thing. I can’t pull apart a chocolate cake to get to the single ingredient that makes it taste so good. The healing ability of an herb can’t be reduced to a single constituent. When I know about all of an herb’s constituents it increases my knowledge, making me a more effective herbalist.
Constituents
Far from a complete overview. Any single plants contains thousands of constituents. Rosemary contains rosmarinic acid. This is the antioxidant/anti-inflammatory aspect. Rosmarinic acid is not very soluble in water. Firstly, to focus on those qualities I would want to use a tincture and not a tea. Secondly, when adding herbs to a formula, I might look for other herbs that also contain rosmarinic acid. To use rosemary for pain relief, however, I would focus on the 1, 8-cineole in rosemary. I might want to use it as a tub tea. Unlike rosmarinic acid – 1, 8-cineole is very soluble in water. Oh wait. Some folks (not everyone) with asthma respond poorly to 1, 8-cineole. Does my client suffer from asthma? This is the beauty of herbalism. Simple and yet complex.
Harvesting
Nothing beats fresh rosemary and we have all seen old, tired, dried out rosemary in a sad spice bottle. For any medicinal herb – we want the best. Here in Ottawa we can treat it like an annual. I admit I have bought myself a plant and butchered it to make tincture. The seeds can be hard to germinate and cuttings are a much easier way to grow the plant. Remember these plants come from the Mediterranean. In other words, they like full sun and can handle the heat. To capture the volatile oils of the plant we want to harvest it while it is in flower. The flower calyces contain much of the aromatic compounds. These flowers appear early spring to early summer. Harvest early in the flowering period the top 25-30% of the plant. A 40% alcohol 1:5 tincture would be effective.
Liniment
For sore muscles we often forget how good a liniment can be. We don’t always have time to soak in the tub. I like to make my liniments with vodka although you can use rubbing alcohol. Very easy. Grab a jar and about as much fresh rosemary as will fill the jar two thirds full. Rough chop the rosemary and add it to the jar. Fill with vodka. Let sit for a month. Strain. Use whenever Crossfit has gotten the best of you.
If you do use rubbing alcohol instead of vodka make sure you label the bottle well – not for internal use. You might even want to potentize your liniment with a few drops of rosemary essential oil. I have seen some references calling for the use of rosemary essential oil on the skin undiluted. Why this is a foolish idea could be it’s very own blog post. Let me say only – do not use essential oils undiluted.
I haven’t covered all of the medicinal qualities rosemary has. Just remember, rosemary is for more than cooking!