Solanum Dulcamara /Bittersweet Nightshade/
[Excerpt from P.V Fournier's Dictionary of Medicinal and Poisonous Plants of France.]
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Common names : Wild licorice, climbing nightshade, Judas vine, wild vine, fever grass, foulbrood, dead dog vine.
Nothing is more graceful than the small, yellow-hearted purple star flowers of Bittersweet, that small vine native to the edges of streams and running or standing waters, light damp woods, dunes, old walls and even hollow trees, especially willows.
It is a climbing plant, more often drooping than climbing, with woody stems and herbaceous branches, which hardly reaches more than 1 to 2 meters. Its leaves are quite varied in shape on the same plant (...), [the flowers are] arranged in clusters and bloom all summer [to then] give way to small scarlet, hanging berries, which are sought by birds in winter.
History :
The history of botany shows us that it is not certain that Bittersweet appears in ancient texts (continual confusion with Strychnos Hypnotikos and Black Nightshade), perhaps in Dioscorides however.
[You have to wait] the 16th century and the Germans to be sure that we are talking about this particular plant.
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Dioscorides declared the plant a laxative and added that the berries dispelled all stains from the face and skin.
Mathiole asserts that the women of Tuscany also use Bittersweet as a cosmetic and that it is used in a vinous decoction against dropsy.
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Toxicity :
It would seem that the younger the plant, the less Solanine it contains (which is also valid for Black Nightshade.)
Solanine poisoning causes nausea, vomiting, anxiety, tingling in various organs (?!?), increased secretions, agitation, cramps, convulsive movements of the hands, lips, eyelids, insomnia, vertigo, progressive paralysis of the tongue, weakening pulse, and finally, according to O. Gessner, violent dyspnoea and death by asphyxiation.
Properties :
Bittersweet is slightly laxative, diuretic, stimulant, sudorific, depurative, expectorant, antiherpetic and slightly narcotic.
The part used is the woody stem (at least one year old) chewed, who gives a feeling of bitterness followed by a sweet taste (...)
In fact, Bittersweet is mostly used as a depurative and is effective in chronic skin conditions : eczema, herpes, psoriasis, various scabs, pruritus.
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Manual :
- Infusion or decoction : 8 to 30g per liter of water; to be taken 3 times a day between meals.
Cazin recommends starting with 4-8g per day and gradually increasing the dose, and assessing body susceptibility as you go.
It can produce at the beginning of the treatment headaches and dizziness, or even an exacerbation of the evil incriminated; but by persisting, the symptoms decrease.
However, it should be done with caution.
- Diuretic wine : 500g of stems boiled in 1 liter of white wine, 2 glasses/day.
- Decoction for lotions and baths : 100 to 200g per liter of water, young shoots or fresh leaves.
- In homeopathy its essence is used against rheumatic affections, urticaria and bladder disorders.
Elements of personal experience :
H. Roth as well as S. Lawless say that this plant can help to "regain its balance" or to "keep it", which seems fair to me.
Nevertheless, there is an old German legend which clearly indicates that this plant is inhabited by a very powerful Fairy (able in particular to fight step by step against *dark* witches / mares) , and I have felt few times, more than an ambivalence, an real ambiguity.
I don't have much experience with the "little people" (apart from the "ones" taken directly from the folklore of where I live), but what I have found is that indeed, the Spirit of this plant can help to find our balance, but (and) he is never there where one thinks he is, and thus he is very "good" to play certain "tricks", typical of the "little people".
With me, he was a sure 'friend' and 'ally' for a very long time, he taught me a lot of things very slowly (because I never understand anything quickly) but the FLASH he showed me once of his great power left me "mute" and "stunned" at the moment.
Also, to guard against nightmares, and unless you have a special relationship with this very powerful "Fairy", I recommend more strongly than hanging a branch of Bittersweet at the head of your bed, to place a branch of St. John's wort (among others, but it all depends on the mares in question, of course.)
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