Today I noticed there were 3 trees in the park that were blooming. The blossoms smelled wonderful and so I had to find out what they were. It turns out the tree is a basswood, or Linden and the flowers are used in a tea:
*"to induce sweating for feverish colds and infections, reduce nasal congestion, and relieve throat irritation and cough. Linden has sedative effects and has been used to treat nervous palpitations and high blood pressure. It has also been used in lotions for itchy skin."*
I was making catnip tea for my upset tummy anyway, so I thought I would add in the linden. The tea was very fragrant and calming in itself. It was also very light. Not heady and overwhelming, but pleasant and fragrant. I enjoyed it very much and yes, my stomach felt much better after drinking it, though I should add that I had catnip in the same cup, which is a very effective stomach remedy in itself.
So, under the cover of night (not that I was particularly worried anyone would care that I picked flowers off the trees-it was just dark when I was done with work and could go picking), I gathered about a pound of flowers and brought them home to dry and add to my holistic pantry.
Here is what they look like. Notice how there seems to be 2 kinds of leaves? They are in fact from the same tree.
And here they are, all settled into the dryer for the night. I love how pretty they look when they steep. Reminds me of a loose version of blooming tea...I tend to wonder if the relaxing properties are actually medicinal or because of the smell and look of the tea? At any rate, I'm so glad I found it. I had read about linden in books and heard about it, but never knew it was so close to my door. YAY!
*information obtained from http://www.d
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