Avens is a plain plant with small yellow flowers.
Where it grows, in light forests or near old wall
you can usually find a lot of them.
But only few people know the avens in our days.
In former times avens was a very important remedial herb and spice. It was cultivated in the most gardens.
The root of the avens smells and tastes like clove. Therefore it what used as a substitute for clove.
You can use the root of the avens against diarrhea and other problems of the digestion.
It also helps against inflammations of the mouth.
Medicinal Uses
- Astringent
- Antibacterial
- Stops bleeding
- Inflammation-inhibitory
- Local anaesthetic
- Sudorific
- strengthening
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- Digestive weakness
- Nausea and vomiting
- Liver weakness
- Fever
- Sore throat
- Menstrual complaints
- Dental pain
- Gingivitises
- Haemorrhoids
- Skin inflammations
- Bad healing wounds
Information
| Other names: | Herb Bennett |
| Used Parts: | Root, (Herb) |
| Substances: | Gein, Bitter essence, Tannic essence, Tannic acid, Flavone, Eugenol, Essential oil |
| Time to collect: | Autumn or Spring |
Methods
The main use of the avens is based on its adstringent abilities.
So it helps against diarrhea, digestive problems and inflammations of the mouth.
Avens as a tea
You can use the root of the avens as a tea. The avens tea is prepared as an infusion or as a decoction. The tea is not very tasty but it can help a lot.You can drink the tea against a lot of digestive problems.
With its adstringent effect it helps against diarrhea. And because it stimulates the digestive organs it also helps against constipation.
You can also drink the tea against nausea and vomiting.
If you suffer from gingivitis or a soar throat you can use avens tea
to gargle or to rinse the mouth.
Avens vine
In former times people liked avens vine a lot.
To prepare avens vine you can macerate the root of avens in vine. Let it stay in the vine for one week up to four weeks before you filter it.
The avens vine strengthens the digestive system like the tea.
It is also good for getting strong and healthy again after a long disease.
Avens tincture
Because the taste of the avens tea is not so good, you could use the avens as a tincture instead.The uses of the avens tincture are the same as of the tea or the vine. It stimulates digestion, stopss diarrhea and stops inflammations of the mouth and the throat.
View:
Essential oil
If you can get the essential oil of the avens, you could use it to smooth toothaches. It works similar to the essential oil of clove.The oil is also good against gingivitis.
Chewing the root
In former times people chewed the root against bad muth smell.This also helps against gingivitis.
Avens in the kitchen
When the clove was very expensiv in former times, the root of the avens was used as a substitute for the clove as a spice.
The young sprouts of the avens plant can be eaten in salads and as vegetables.
Plant description
The avens is at home in middle Europe.
It grows in forrests, at the edge of forrests, at hedges and near walls.
The root is said to be a short rhizom like a finger. But dependent on the soil and age of the avens there could be thin roots without rhizom. The root smells and tastes like clove.
Near the ground there are growing leaves that stay there even in winter. In springtime there grows a stalk with lots of branches out of these leaves. The whole plant becomes between 30 cm and more than one meter in size.
The leaves of the stalk are like a saw and feathered.
The flowers are rather small, mostly less than a centimeter, and they have five yellow petals that are not connected.
The fruits are like burdocks.