Laura Spice and Herb Gardens

We stopped at Laura Spice and Herb Garden and paid the £2.50 entry. Our guide was a young lady who knew her stuff. She said it was easy to remember all the plants and their uses as "everyone grow up learnin' 'em". She made us crush, squeeze, rub, sniff and guess.

All Spice, Aloe, Big Thyme, Black sage and Bois Bande

Aloes, Aloe Vera, Liliaceae
Uses: The gel is used for burns, bruises, shampoo/conditioner, also use as a cleanser and tonic.

Big Thyme, Coleus Amboinicus, Myrtaceae
Uses: A tea for colds, also used for headache and as a seasoning.

Black Sage, Cordia Cuiassavica, Boraginaceae
Uses: A tea from yellow leaves used for purifying the blood easing menstrual pains, and for colds and fever. Stems chewed for cleansing the teeth, yellow leaves used as a remedy for jaundice.

Bois Bande, Roupala Mantana, Proteacea
Uses: The bark soaked in rum used as a stimulant or aphrodisiac. Also used for rheumatism.

Casse, Cassia Fistula, Leguminosea
Uses: The pulp is used in tea as a purgative (laxative).

 

 

     

 

 

Christmas Bush, Cinnamon, Clove and Cochineal

 

 

Christmas Bush, Eupatorium Odoratum, Compositea
Uses: An herbal tea of leaves used for colds.

 

Cinnamon, Cinnamonmum (syn. Zeylanicum), Verum Myrtacea
Uses: This spice is used similarly to its cousin Bois B'Inde (bay leaf). The difference is that the bark is used as the spice and has a better market then Bay leaf. It is used as a tea for chills, trapped wind, added to bath water, etc. It is also used to add flavour to cakes, ice cream, soups etc.

 

Clove, Syzygium Aromaticum, Myrtaceae

Uses: Used in soups as a seasoning, clove oil is used as a sedative for toothache, soak in cotton and insert in cavity.

 

Cochineal, Nopalea Cochenillifera, Cactaceae 
Uses: Mucilage used as a shampoo/conditioner, also as a poultice for boils and abscesses.

 

 

 

 

 

Our first experience of a cocoa tree with its pods sticking out from the trunk

 

 

Cocoa, Thembroma Cocoa, Sterculiaceae 

Uses: Cocoa is Grenada second largest industry. It is used as a tea or beverage, in cakes in sun tan oils/lotions. It is believed that cocoa has a trace of caffeine.

 

 

       

 

Coolie Paw Paw, Garden Balsam, Ginger, Honeysuckle and Lemongrass

 

Coolie Paw Paw, Momordica Charantia, Cucurbitaceae
Uses: Leaf tea used for diabetes, high blood pressure, fevers, colds and menstrual pains. Large green fruits cooked as a vegetable.

 

Ditay Paye, Capraria Biflora, Scrophulariaceae
Uses: Leaves are boiled, strained and used for washing the eyes.

 

Garden Balsam, Justica Pectoralis, Acanthaceae (Zep sepanche, Carpenter grass)
Uses: A tea for colds, fever, hoarseness and chest pains.

 

Ginger, Zingiber Officinale, Zingiberaceae
Uses: A warm tea of rhizome used as a canninative for trapped wind, used as a seasoning, an oil known as gingerol is extracted from the rhizome and used for Rheumatism.

 

Honeysuckle, Leonotis Neptiflolia, Labitea (Lamineceae)
Uses: Leaf tea used for chest colds, hoarseness and fevers.

 

Lemon Grass, Cymbopogon Citratus, Graminea (Poacea)

Uses: A pleasant tasting tea drunk for fevers and menstrual pain.

 

Malome, Chamaesyce Hirta (Euphorbia Hirata), Euphorbiaceae
Uses: Leaf tea drunk for cooling and for treating diarrhoea and venereal disease.

 

 

   

 

 

Nutmeg, Old Maid and Plantain

 

 

Nutmeg, Myritica Fragrans, Myristicaceae 

Uses: This plant was brought to Grenada in 1843 by Hon. Frank Gurney from Banda. The oil is used in ointments for colds such as "Vicks Vapour Rub", in cakes, rum punches, etc. Nutmeg and mace are poisonous if taken in large amounts due to the presence of an aromatic oil called "Myristicin".

 

Old Maid (Peri winkle), Catharanthus Roseus, Apocynaceae
Uses: Leaves from whites flower variety used for diabetes. A drug found in this plant is used to treat childhood Leukaemia.

Paw Paw, Carica Papaya, Caricaceae
Uses: Eaten as a fruit when ripe, green fruit steeped in water and drunk for diabetes and high blood pressure. Pulp from ripe fruit mixed with sugar used for boils as a poultice, green fruit cooked with meat as a tenderiser.

Petite Baune, Ocimum Grastissimum, Lambiaceae (Libiatea)
Uses: A herbal tea used for colds, also used as a seasoning.

Plantain, Plantago Major, Plantaginceae
Uses: Leaves boiled, extract strained and used for washing eyes and for ear ache.

Each plant was well labeled

Poor Man Pork, Basil, Labiatae, Ocimum Basilicum

Uses: Tenderising meat and addition to stews, broths and soups.

Santa Maria, Lippia Alba, Verbenaceae
Uses: A tea from leaves used for colds and fevers, juice extracted mixed with coconut oil for head colds in babies.

Seamoss, Chondros Cripus, Rhodophceae
Uses: Seamoss is categorised as one of the lower plants. It is a pulp algea. Seamoss contains: protein, vitamins and traces of mineral such as iron, calcium, phosphorus, etc. Used in Grenada as a aphrodisiac.

Someone soundo after the aphrodisiac

Shado Benie, Erynguim Foetidum, Umbelelliferae 
Uses: A leaf tea drunk for fever. Leaves also used as a seasoning.

Sour Sop, Annoma Muricata, Annonocea 
Uses: Ripe fruit is eaten raw, used for making ice-cream from the pulp. A leaf tea is drunk for insomnia (sleeplessness), young fruit is steeped in water, strained and drunk for diabetes and high blood pressure.

Spanish Needle, Bidens Pilosa, Compositae
Uses: Leaf tea is used for colds and fevers.

Tonka Bean, Dipteryx Ordorata, Sapotaceae 
Uses: Used throughout the world as a spice to add flavour to many different products; such as cakes, pastries, and to add flavour to vanilla. However, Tonka bean can be poisonous if used in large amounts because it is the source of the drug Warfarin aka rat poison.

Wallcresses, Paperomia Pellucida, Piperacea
Uses: A pleasant tasting tea for cooling and asthma.

Wild Coffee, Senna Accidentalis, Leguminosae
Uses: Seed roasted and steeped in water. The strained beverage used for urinary obstruction.

Zeba Pique, Nueroaleana Lobata, Compositiae (Asteraceae)
Uses: From 1/2 to 1 leaf boiled or soaked in rum used in treating typhoid and other fevers, also used to get rid of ticks from animals.

ALL IN ALL A FASCINATING LOOK AT THE HEALING POWER OF NATURE