Pansy | Paprika |
Parsley | Pennywort |
Peony | Pepper | Periwinkle |
Plantain | Primrose |
Purslane
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. Pansy see Heartease
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Paprika (Capsicum frutescens).
Another capsicum shrub, see cayenne. This is the largest and mildest,
the ground pod being used mainly for decoration of food.
Back To Index Parsley (Carum petroselinum).
There are a number of different varieties: Curly, Hamburg, French, Italian
etc.
Found in cultivation everywhere, not hard to grow but germination can take
a long time.
Culinary uses are numerous, used during or after cooking, particularly with
savoury dishes.
Parsley is rich in Vitamins A, B and C and in many minerals.
Reported to stimulate the digestive glands and improve the working of the whole
digestive system.
Back To Index Pennywort (Cotyledon umbilicus-veneris, Umbilicus rupestris) (Kidneywort)
15 cm (6 ins).
Greenish-white flowers resembling bluebells from hollow flower stems.
Pale green heart-shaped leaves.
Found in rock crevices and in walls.
Whole plant has been used to make an astringent, and to help liver and
kidneys.
Back To Index Peony (Paeonia officinalis) 70-100 cm (30-40 ins).
Large solitary red or purplish-red flowers, green juicy stem, knobby
root.
Grows wild in S. Europe and cultivated elsewhere.
Root has been used for jaundice, kidney and gall-bladder problems.
Entire plant is poisonous especially the flowers.
Back To Index Pepper (Piper nigrum) (Black Pepper and White Pepper).
Both are dried berries of the tropical pepper vine. The black comes from
under ripe berries which have been dried and cured, the white from
dried ripe berries whose dark outer shell has been removed. White pepper
is not as strong as black, but its flavour is finer and more aromatic.
Back To Index Periwinkle (Vinca major, V. minor).
Prostrate creeping plant with dark green shiny leaves at joints and a
pale blue flower.
Found wild and also cultivated.
Has been thought to be a good remedy for diarrhoea, excessive menstruation
and haemorrhage, also tea for soothing hysteria and fits.
Back To Index Plantain (Plantago major, P. lanceolata).
Both have spikes of greenish-white flowers, shorter in the latter case; the
leaves differ totally being oval in the former and lance-like in the latter.
Both grow to about 50 cm (20 ins) though lanceolata may double this height.
Found in many waste places.
Whole plant has been used as an astringent, a soother and for kidney complaints.
Culinary use of young leaves as spinach, can be eaten raw but rather bitter.
Back To Index Primrose (Primula officinalis) 10-25 cm (4-10 ins).
Funnel-shaped yellow flowers; rosette of oval crenulated leaves. Found
in gardens and many wild locations.
Medicinal use of infusions of flowers once used for general headaches,
insomnia and nervous conditions, oil from leaves for skin problems.
Culinary use of flowers on roast veal.
Back To Index Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) (Green Purslane) 30-70 cm (12-30 ins).
Five- petalled yellow flowers, fat thick leaves; round, smooth, reddish
and succulent brittle stalks.
Can be grown but often found wild.
Leaves and seeds have been used as a laxative and to treat intestinal worms.
Culinary use of leaves cooked whole.
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