Balm | Barberry | Basil | Bay | Belladonna | Bergamot Red | Betel | Betony | Bird's Foot Trefoil | Blackberry Blackthorne | Borage | Bryony | Bugle | Bugloss | Burdock | Burnet | Butcher's Broom | Butterbur

Note: This information is not intended as medical advice, and should not be relied upon as a substitute for consultation with your doctor who is familiar with your medical needs.

Balm (Melissa officinalis) (Lemon Balm). Up to 1 m (3 ft).
Small pale yellow flowers in clusters, can be rose or blue-white. Leaves bluntly serrated and somewhat hairy, and square. Easy to grow in temperate climate.
Sow March-April to plant out in autumn for harvest in the following year.
Culinary use as a substitute lemon flavour. Use chopped leaves.
Used in making chartreuse.
Medicinal use of leaves for soothing and digestive disorders.

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Barberry (Berberis vulgaris) 1-2 m (3-8 ft).
Small yellow flowers April-June hanging from branches in clusters.
Bright red oblong berries. stems reddish when young but dirty grey when older. Root yellow, bark bitter.
Root bark once used for liver ailments, fresh juice of ripe fruit claimed good for gums when applied directly.

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Basil (Ocimum basilicum) 1 m (3 ft).
Flowers whitish in whorls on small light-green leaves clustered round square stem. Larger leaves greyish-green beneath, soft and cool to touch.
Can be grown outdoors in temperate climate but inclined to be delicate as comes originally from India.
Culinary use of leaves being particularly aromatic increases in flavour when cooked. Peppery flavour when mixed with parsley and savoury.
Medicinally once used for digestive disorders and externally as a healer in compresses and baths.

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Bay (Laurusnobilis). Up to 10 m (30 ft).
Shrub-like tree often unrecognised. Evergreen, leaves elliptical tapering to points, undersides pale yellowish green.
Can be grown outside, but frost will damage or kill, or in tubs indoors.
Culinary use in traditional bouquet garni and often used with fish and vegetables in soups etc.
Medicinal use of leaves to stimulate appetite.

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Belladonna (Atropa belladonna). Up to 1.5m (5 ft).
Single bell-shaped flowers dull brown to dark purple. Erect leafy stem often splitting into three branches, thick creeping whitish fleshy root. Fruit, black shiny berry, size of a cherry.
Found in pastures and waste places.
Medicinal use only by medical direction, narcotic action can produce paralysis and death.
Dangerous.

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Bergamot Red (Monarda didyma) 50-100 cm (18-36 ins).
Red crimson purple flowers July-September in whorls at top of square stem with oval serrated leaves.
Can be grown in rich moist soil, propagated by division.
Flowers and leaves once used as sleep-inducing drink.

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Betel (Areca catechu).
Palm tree which is native of Sri Lanka and Malaya and is cultivated in other parts of the tropics.
Chewing of the nut, the fruit of the tree,produces mild stimulation and it is estimated that over 200 million people are addicted.

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Betony (Stachys officinalis) 15-70 cm (6-24 ins).
Whorls of red-purple flowers June-August. Having leaves on opposite sides of square hairy, unbranched stem.
Found in old gardens, meadows and along forest paths.
Plant juice was used to heal cuts, and for asthma and bronchitis.

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Bird's Foot Trefoil (Lotus comiculatus).
Ground level growth with spreading branches and lots of rings of small leaves. Flowers bright yellow to brownish-red at ends of branches.
Found almost anywhere on open ground and heaths.
Leaves once used to treat nervous pain.
Bistort (Polygonum bistorta). (Adderwort). Up to 1 m (3 ft).
Red to rose flowers in spike-like formation. Bluish-green leaves at base and a few higher tapering leaves on long narrow stem. Root is thick, knobbled and twisted into "S" shape.
Found in damp mountain areas.
Decoction of root once used for diarrhoea, also for infections of the mouth.

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Blackberry (Rubus fruticosus).
Familiar rambler with white flowers and finely hairy leaves.
Found in hedgerows etc.
Historically leaves chewed to stop bleeding gums, and for diarrhoea.

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Blackthorne (Prunus spinosa) (Sloe) 3 m-4 m (10-15 ft).
Tree or shrub, often cultivated for ornamental purposes. Small white flowers grow profusely March-April. Small leaves and very thorny branches. Found in b
hedgerows and on the edge of woods.
Medicinal use of tea from flowers as a harmless laxative, also stimulates appetite.
Culinary use of fruit in jam makes good laxative for children.

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Borage (Borago officinalis). Up to 70 cm (2 ft).
Blue or purplish star-shaped flowers. Leaves greyish-green bristly, oval or oblong, hollow bristly bunched stem. Grown from seed in March/April, well-drained sunny position. Grows freely.
Culinary use of leaves on bread and butter and sometimes used like spinach, improves cabbage cooking, gives coolness to beverages.
Medicinal use once as a stimulant and against depression, and generally as a refreshing coolant.

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Bryony (Bryonia alba) (White Bryony) 3 m (1Oft).
Small, greenish-white or yellowish flowers June-August, prickly stem with spinal tendrils used for climbing. Root dirty white, fleshy, containing milky juice.
Can be cultivated in moist soils, but also found wild.
Root once used as a strong laxative but is very poisonous as are the berries.
Dangerous.

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Bugle (Ajuga reptans) 30-60 cm (12-24 ins).
Crowded spikes of blue flowers in May/June. Upper leaves growing straight from stem often tinged blue, lower leaves stalked, hairy stems.
Found particularly in damp woods and meadows.
Leaves have been used as an astringent; bitter taste can be sweetened with honey and used as sedative for upset stomachs.

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Bugloss (Echium vulgare) (Viper's Bugloss) 1 m (3 ft).
Red and blue flowers June-
August, leaves narrow and rough with stiff hairs as is the whole plant, stem unbranched.
Found on roadsides, near the sea and on dry pastures.
Whole plant once used medicinally as a diuretic and expectorant.

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Burdock (Arctium lappa) 1-1.3 m (3-4 ft).
Purple flowers in loose clusters, heart shaped leaves, smaller higher up reddish pithy stem. Familiar seed pods which cling to clothing.
Common in hedgerows and waste places.
Leaves were used to stimulate secretion of bile and to help acne.

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Burnet (Sanguisorba minor) (Salad Burnet).
Flowers gathered into a purplish head with no petals, coarsely-toothed leaflets in pairs on slender stems. Stout root.
Common in grassy places on chalk.
Culinary use of leaves in salads, have a nutty cucumber taste, use as parsley.
Best to use home-grown leaves.

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Butcher's Broom (Ruscus aculeatus) 1 m (3 ft).
A low shrub, tiny greenish-white flowers grow singly from centre of leaves which are green, rigid and end in sharp spikes. Erect green branched stems. Round, bright red berries are two or three times as large as holly berries.
Decoction made from twigs once used to promote perspiration and other body water loss.

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Butterbur (Petastites vulgaris).
Stalk appears in January about 30 cm (1 ft) high, dull lilac-coloured flowers bloom in late winter, after which leaves appear, kidney shaped, 30 cm-150 cm (1-5 ft) in diameter, lighter below than above.
Decoction of root once used as a stimulant.