Herbal Goddess (Storey Publishing, 2015) is herbalist and yoga teacher Amy Jirsa’s guide to the restorative powers of herbs, including recipes and ideas for healing teas, nourishing foods, and beauty and health treatments. This excerpt introduces the benefits of roses, and how to use the plant for teas and healing properties.
You can purchase this book from the Mother Earth Living store: Herbal Goddess.
Rediscovering the Most Romantic Bloom
Ah, roses; ah, love. Enter a beautiful medicinal with the most romantic history (and associations). No matter where you fall on the love it/hate it rose-love symbolism spectrum, you have to admit that there’s nothing like the jolt from the sight and smell of a rose (a species of the Rosa genus). Casting love and its myriad consequences aside, roses (as herbs) are soothing and therapeutic to the body, mind, and spirit.
Now, we’re not talking the seriously sexy, long-stemmed, perfectly velvet-red roses you find for a zillion dollars a dozen in any florist’s Valentine window display. We’re talking the untamed, undomesticated, uncultivated, wily, wanton, and wild rose (my favorite varietal is Rosa
For the Body
In herbal medicine, we use the petals and fruit (rosehips) of the rose. Rose petals are mildly sedative, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-parasitic. They’re also mild laxatives, a good supportive tonic for the heart, and great for lowering cholesterol (romantic, right?). The antiseptic nature of rose petals makes them a wonderful treatment for wounds, bruises, rashes, and incisions. Taken internally, their anti-inflammatory properties make them a wonderful treatment for sore throats or ulcers. They can stimulate the liver and increase appetite and circulation.
Got flu? Rose can also lower your body temperature and help bring down a fever or cool you off in the summer. As an anti-spasmodic, it helps relieve spasms in the respiratory system (asthma and coughs), in the intestinal tract (cramping, constipation), and in the muscles (cramps and sports injuries). Adding its antiviral qualities, you’ve got an entire winter’s medicine chest in one herb.
The benefits don’t stop there, however! Rose petals (and we’re just talking the petals here, not the leaves) are an emmenagogue, which means this herb can help regulate and bring on delayed menstrual cycles (as a caution, avoid taking this herb internally if you are pregnant). They’re also a uterine tonic — healing cysts, infections, and bleeding. And, just like the essential oil, rose petals are
Okay, so that’s just the flower. (What?! There’s more?!) Once the flower has run its course, we’re left with
Rosehips also contain iron, which is therapeutic for anemia as well as for easing pain and discomfort during one’s monthly cycle. Their flavonoid content makes rosehips strong antioxidants that protect the body from free radicals (read: anti-aging tonic for inner and outer beauty). Their anti-inflammatory nature helps soothe all kinds of pain, including arthritis, gout, and sore muscles.
Teas
Base tea
One batch of rose petal tea can have many uses. For your base infusion, pour 1 cup boiling water over 2 to 4 teaspoons of dried rose petals. Cover and steep for 10 to 15 minutes. Apply that base tea to any of the
Blend the base tea with 1 or 2 teaspoons of honey (a natural sore-throat soother and cough suppressant), plus a dash of lemon and/or brandy to taste. Both the lemon and the brandy are optional, but they do wonders for a stubborn cough, especially one that’s kept you up for a few nights.
Digestive tonic
When you’re under the weather (you know, below the belt), a strong tea full of tannins is helpful in treating diarrhea and bladder infections. Use a teaspoon more of the dried herb than usual and drink a cup without milk or sweetener. Repeat every 45 minutes to an hour, as needed. If the diarrhea is especially uncomfortable, you may bring on faster relief by adding a dash of black tea to the rose petals.
Rosehip tea
Use 4 teaspoons dried hips or 4 tablespoons fresh per cup of water and simmer on low heat for 5 minutes. This makes a tangy, sour tea loaded with vitamin C. For a little variation, pour this hot infusion over 1 teaspoon spearmint leaves or toss a little ginger in with the hips while simmering. This tea is great chilled or heated, depending on how you feel. But let me tell you, there’s nothing like rosehip and ginger tea laced with stevia and a splash of vanilla almond milk in the midst of a snowstorm . . . bliss!
Rose Recipes from Herbal Goddess
• Homemade Rose Facial Clay Mask
• Rose Butter Cookies Recipe
Excerpted