Booze of the Week: Mai Tai Liqueur

When you old queens are done gossiping, this old queen would like a drink. – The Queen Mother, from Royal Biographies, David Johnson

Good in a mixed drink, or "on the rocks." Not this particular rock...

The quote above was supposedly said by the Queen Mother to her staff. She had a keen sense of humour. I used this quote because our mothers have so much to do with who we are as adults, and today in the Commonwealth we are celebrating 60 years on the throne of her very famous daughter, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Congratulations, Your Majesty.

After the first straining. Slightly more than 2 cups.

On a more personal note, if there ever was a week when I should need a drink this would be it. We had the misfortune of losing a very large client where I work, the reverberations of which will last for years. Anyone who works in, or has worked in, advertising knows exactly what I mean.

So what better to do than write about a liqueur that, if used injudiciously, could really mess you up. I am writing this at 6am so it’s a bit too early to get into it. I know that from experience.

I also – believe it or not – don’t drink all that much. You may find that odd with all the liqueurs I make, but it’s true. I used to, but not any more. Most of my liqueurs from last year made their way into gift boxes for family and friends last Christmas.

Mai Tai is a hangover (pardon the pun) from my halcyon days when I was in my 20s, when I was far less care worn and far more likely to get into a bit of trouble. 

One such day I remember (if I can accurately say remember…) was one when several of us bought a “pump on” bottle of rum and a bunch of grocery store Mai Tai mix. From there the day went sideways. Can you imagine...

By “pump on” I mean a bottle of rum so large they supply a small vacuum pump with the purchase so you can get the booze out. In other words, a very, very large bottle. I’m not even sure if they still sell them at our local liquor stores. 

A quick search didn’t find anything the size I remember. They have 3000 ml bottles, but I think the one I remember was bigger. (Maybe they keep them in a special room in the back like dirty movies. They should…)

Regardless… enough of my hedonistic early life. What exactly is a Mai Tai? There are many recipes for Mai Tai cocktails, all of which are heavy on the alcohol. They usually consist of amber rum, orange liqueur and lime, plus something sweet to mask it all. C’est dangereux!

If you don’t need to move off your deck for the day, Mai Tai cocktails are an excellent way to enjoy (?) a sunny summer day. Of course this liquer circumvents all the purchasing of different liqueurs for a single liqueur you can cut with something fizzy or citrus juice.

This liqueur makes two very full 375 ml bottles plus a little more. After it was made I gave it a smell, and very small taste. It was exactly as I remember the mix to be. So I guess that means success. I would suggest that you at the very least double the recipe below and make enough to share. There’s no sense in drinking alone…

Mai Tai Liqueur

Prep: 3-4 weeks  |  Yield: about 800 ml  |  20% alc. vol. (a pure guess)

375 ml amber rum

1/4 cup demera sugar

1 navel orange, zest and juice

2 limes, zest and juice

1 cup white sugar

1-1/2 cups water

1/2 tsp almond extract

Wash and slice the orange and limes. Place in a 1 L Mason jar. Pour the sugar over the top and then add the rum. Let sit for 3-4 weeks, shaking occasionally to ensure the sugar dissolves.

After the aging, strain the mixture through a sieve pressing some of the juice from the citrus. Restrain through a sieve lined with fine cotton cloth.

Bring the sugar and water to a boil and let simmer for 5 minutes. Let cool slightly and then add to the infused rum. Then stir in the almond extract.

Bottle and chill before use.

Mai Tai ageing on the left. Two more mystery liqueurs beside it. I guess you'll just
have to come back to the site to see what they are. They'll be ready in 1 week.

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Foraging the forest: Clintonia Borealis, Blue-bead Lily

Sadly, it's much easier to create a desert than a forest. – James Lovelock 

Clintonia borealis. If you live in its range you must have seen it.

Recently when I was visiting my mother in the country I went for a walk with my best friend (Henry my Bouvier) up to the beach where we used to swim when we were children.

As usual I took the camera with me to photograph what was growing and to see the progress of nature.

One plant that I came across was the Clintonia Borealis (otherwise known as blue-bead lily). The common name is quite apt as after flowering shiny blue beads, about the size of a blueberry, form at the top of the stalk.

Clintonia forms large colonies.

What is Clintonia

Clintonia borealis is a perennial forest plant found in eastern North America. It is named after DeWitt Clinton (1769-1828), an early naturalist and governor of the State of New York in the USA.

Blue-bead lilies are native perennials, growing to about 10-12" tall, usually found in large colonies. The leaves look very much like lady's slippers when they first emerge. If you don't know what you're looking at it can cause great excitement – hoping for a massive show of those beautiful native orchids later in the season. 

That's not to say Clintonia aren't beautiful. It's just they are far more common in our forests than the somewhat exotic Lady's Slippers.

Reproduction takes place via seed and rhizomes. They flower in May and June but it takes quite a while for a colony to develop. An individual rhizome will exhaust itself in about 15 years, but the colonies can be quite large, covering hundreds of square yards.

It's actually not fair to compare the flowers of Clintonia with Lady's Slipper, because they can't be less alike.The yellow flowers look very much like miniature garden lilies at the end of the stalks. Often they are arranged in pairs or up to eight in some cases. 

These are the mature berries, which are toxic.
Photo: peupleloup, Flickr ccl

Toxicity

The flowers are followed by the distinctive blue berries, which can be mistaken for blueberries by small children. Blueberry plants and Clintonia are not at all similar, but the berries do look fairly alike and can be mistaken by wee folk. 

They are somewhat toxic so care should be taken to educate your little folk if you live in an area where this plant is common. Ingestion of several berries can be enough to poison a child. I haven't been able to find out how many "several" actually means, so the quantity to eat is zero.

A very common plant

And common this plant is… Clintonia grows from Newfoundland to Manitoba, south to North Carolina and over to Wisconsin. It loves the rich soil of our coniferous and mixed wood forests and is an extremely common understory plant. It is not found in open spaces, and only grows in the shade. 

The leaves when they emerge look almost identical to Lady's Slipper.
A bit of a disappointment when they aren't... because they're so profuse.

Clintonia on your plate

Although we must avoid the berries, the leaves are edible. The young leaves of the plant are best while still only a few inches tall, before they unfurl completely. Young leaves are supposed to taste a little like sweet cucumber when raw. They can be chopped and added to salads.

As the leaves mature they become more bitter, but nothing I have read says they cannot be eaten when mature. In fact several sites suggest using the mature leaves as a "potherb." That's a term that means you can eat them by boiling. If using the mature leaves boil for 10 minutes and serve with butter, salt and pepper.

I have to admit I have not eaten Clintonia, but I very well may this year. As usual, please use common sense when foraging. When trying any new forage plant, eat only a very little at first to make sure you don't have any unknown allergies, and ensure that the area you are foraging in is free from pollution. Don't set in with a full-blown feats with all your family and friends...

One final note about Clintonia. I have read in the past that hunters used it as bear attractant. They rubbed the juice from the rhizomes on their traps. How unusual...

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Gardening: What’s growing now?

All gardening is landscape painting. – William Kent

Woody tree peonies make their appearance in late May in Nova Scotia.
This flower is about 8" wide.

Today I thought I would take a bit of a different tact than talk about anything in specific and instead show you some of what’s happening now in my garden.

There’s been quite a change over the past two to three weeks, and I’m quite excited about what this season will bring.

I like to have both flowers and shrubs/trees in my garden. The flowers add that burst of colour we so miss during the winter months. Trees and shrubs on the other hand give structure and year-round interest. That is every bit as important as well.

So without further ado, here’s a snapshot of some of what’s happening in my garden in Nova Scotia.

The photo above is of a variegated tulip tree (Liriodendron). This is the third year for this tree in our garden. Later in the summer it will become covered in "tulip-like" blossoms. I like to have trees that deliver more than just shade – when I can. This one certainly does. It can reach a height of about 60 feet, if I remember correctly.

This is a copper beech. The leaves emerge a purple-green and then develop into a bronze-purple as they reach full size. Copper beech (Fagus sylvatica Purpurea) makes a dramatic statement wherever it's planted. An interesting fact I have found out is that the leaves do not have the same deep colour when planted in a shadier area. I have two – one in full sun and one in shade. The shade located tree is always more green than this one.

Of course for sheer impact not much rivals rhododendrons. We have several in different stages of bloom right now. Colours range from white, to apple blossom pink, magenta, deep red and even yellow. Our yellow one is still too small to bloom. But I am looking forward to subsequent years.

Nova Scotia was home to an internationally known rhododendron breeder, Captain Richard Steele, until his death a few years ago. I believe he is credited with the development of the dark red variety, as well as many others. 

Rhodos seem to like our maritime climate and do very well if placed in a good spot. They do like soil a little on the acidic side. Mulch with pine needles if yours is not.

This is an immature blossom of a Chinese wisteria. When fully developed each lilac-coloured blossom will be about 12" long and hang down among the leaves from the branches. I have two growing over the open top of a back porch. I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch with them hanging overhead.

Even though they receive a fair amount of sun these woody vines seem to be a bit fussy. I get a fair amount of winter kill every year on the smaller branches. Hopefully when they mature that will lessen. I actually planted two so if one dies I'm not completely wisteria-less.

This photo is a weeping mulberry (Morus). If you look closely you will see strange little bunches of round green stuff. These are the immature fruits. When they mature in summer they will be in clusters, close to the main branches. This tree grows to only about 10-12 feet tall and is quite ornamental. 

The berries, which resemble blackberries or raspberries, are edible. But you'll have to fight with the birds to get them.

And last, but not least, is the Solomon Seal (Polygonatum). This is actually a herbaceous perennial, meaning it dies back to ground level every year. The overall height of each stalk is about 3 feet. Each arching stalk bears clusters of sweet smelling bells that are touched with green on the petal tips.

Solomon Seal likes some shade and can be quite vigorous, but not invasive. It is very easy to dig up the roots and transplant wherever you want. I started out several years ago with just a little, but that has definitely changed.

I actually have had enough to share with several people, and it's always welcome.

So there you have a brief overview of some of what I found recently. Of course as the season goes on, more and more plants will put on their seasonal show!

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Recipe: Salted Pollock with Potatoes & Vinegar Onions

Preserving tradition has become a nice hobby, like stamp collecting. – Mason Cooley 

An old-time recipe Delicious, homey and filling.

I like to try to do my part in preserving old recipes and old ways of doing things. It makes me feel closer to those who I love who have passed away.

Here’s a recipe that really made me remember when I was a child. That’s a little odd because when it was being described to me I would have sworn I had never eaten it. The taste was what brought the flood of memories back.

I got this recipe over a conversation with a very unlikely source – a friend of mine from “home” who is known more for his love of meat and potatoes than anything else. Well, maybe one other thing (his love of beer…).

Regardless, the recipe that I was told (over a drink or two, of course) was from his childhood. His family was connected to the fishery, so I imagine fish was probably on the menu a lot. Maybe not salted fish, but fish. Perhaps that’s why he has an aversion to anything that’s not simple meat and potatoes now.

You must soak salted fish before using for several hours.
It rehydrates the fish and removes much of the salt.

Preserving fish with salt

Salt has an interesting history. It was one of the most valued seasonings in most cultures for millenia. For example, the phrase "not worth his salt" dates from a time in the ancient world when slaves were traded for that precious commodity. For some more very interesting info on salt and history look HERE.

Drying and/or salting food are two of the world's oldest known preservation methods. Preserved fish can be stored for several years. In 3,000 BCE Egyptians were exporting salt fish to the Phoenicians in return for expensive luxuries.  

Salting became far more common during the 16th century when salt became available in quantity throughout northern Europe. Salting fish was therefore cheap – and the work could be done easily by anyone with little to no special skills. 

At the time of the European discovery of the Grand Banks off Newfoundland, salted fish (cod in particular) became an important item of commerce between the New and Old Worlds. It quickly became a central ingredient not only in European cuisine, but also in the Mediterranean, West African, Caribbean, and Brazil.

After soaking – ready for the pot.

Pollock is good for you

The following information is abridged from a Nova Scotia salted pollock producer.

Salted pollock contains just 60 calories in a 2 oz. serving. For dieters, this is just 3% of a 2,000-calorie-per-day diet. It is even lower than many other types of fish, including salmon, which comes in at 117 calories for the same weight.

It is also high in protein. one serving containing 14 g of protein, which is more than twice the amount of one egg. Salted pollock also contains no fat or carbohydrates.

It is relatively high in cholesterol (at 30 mg), and isn't particularly high in vitamins and minerals but does contain a few.

As far as sodium content? Well, we won't even go there. It is "salted fish" after all...

This recipe is simplicity itself, as most homestyle recipes are. My friend is no friend of complex recipes, to be sure. But that’s what you want in home-style comfort food. What really intrigued me was the method of soaking the onions in malt vinegar. No cooking – just soaking. That was an unexpected "exotic" twist.

This recipe must have come from his mother and as such is a memory of his childhood. We used to have delicious smoked haddock when I was growing up and occasionally salted fish. That I remember. Maybe I didn’t remember this recipe because I didn’t like it at the time. We probably had cod, which isn’t a favourite of mine anyway.

Thank goodness my palate has “matured.” This is one of those comfort meals that will make memories of your own – guaranteed.

Salted Pollock with Potatoes & Vinegar Onions

Prep: 10 min (+8 hr soak)  |  Cook: 18 min  |  Serves 4

1 lb salt pollock

6 medium potatoes, in eighths

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1/2 cup malt vinegar

2 tsp sugar

1/4 cup butter

1 cup 10% cream

2 tsp cracked black pepper

In the morning, soak the pollock for 8 hours (while you're at work) in cold water to extract much of the salt and rehydrate the fish. Change the water when you get home and let soak for a further 1/2 hour. Drain and cut in chunks.

Slice the onions and toss with the vinegar and sugar. Let sit for 1/2 hour while you finish the meal.

Peel and cut the potatoes into fairly large pieces. Boil the potatoes in water – you need no salt – for 10 minutes. Add the fish and boil for a further 8 minutes. 

Drain the water from the fish and potatoes. Add the butter, cream and pepper and stir to combine.

Serve the creamed potatoes and fish in a bowl with the onions on top.

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Recipe: Salmon Burgers with Basil and Garam Masala Mayo

You ain't supposed to get salmon when they're swimming upstream to spawn. But if you're hungry, you do. – Loretta Lynn

Basil leaves on top, flavoured mayo and salmon.

I was lucky to get a few minutes to go to the grocery store today. It was my first day back after a week of vacation and, oddly, work was still there. It certainly felt like I was swimming upstream. I suppose I should be thankful – and I am.

Regardless, I usually get a few mental minutes before noon to dream up what to have for dinner. Today I did not. So I went to the grocery with nothing more than a hope to find something cheap, or on sale, or both. That, and an odd craving for fish.

The mixture will be wet. Shaping is easier with wet hands.

As I walked up to the fish display I could see that my wish wasn’t going to be granted easily. The "sale” item was previously frozen haddock – at a whole dollar off regular price per pound. Not much of a deal I would say. And a little unappetizing.

Just as I was about to turn away some small packages caught my eye. They were “salmon trimmings.” Trimmings are what’s leftover from the fish after the in-store fishmonger cuts all those expensive salmon portions for which they charge outrageous prices.

I looked at them and wondered what on earth I could do with “scraps.” The price was right – about $4/lb. Chowder? No… And then I thought of fish cakes, but who wants to boil potatoes before getting down to the real business of making them?

Then it struck me. Salmon “burgers”! You need small pieces of fish anyway, and you can incorporate other things in them for complexity as you wish. I decided to keep it fairly simple. Just green onions (99¢). It was a good choice.

The trick with making patties is to add enough binder to keep them together, but not make them tough. I did the trifecta: egg, bread crumbs and flour. The additions held the fish and green onions together with no crumbling. Success. (I’ve made fresh fish burgers before and they fell apart. One must learn from their mistakes.)

Every good burger needs a good sauce so I opted for a “curry” mayo that had a boost of fresh grated ginger (25¢)  for spicy freshness. To top it all off, basil leaves ($2) with lettuce ($1.27) added another great taste.

The two packages of trimmings I purchased cost me less than $4 and made enough good size burgers to serve 4 people with an additional side dish, or 2 people without.

It’s amazing how creative you can become when you’re trying to squeeze maximum benefit out of your money.

I’ll be making these again. I hope you try them, too. There’s not much you can buy – that’s not on sale – to feed a family for what these "burgers" cost.

Salmon Burgers

Prep: 15 min  |  Cook: 8-10 min  |  Serves 2-4

for 4 burgers

350 g salmon trimmings

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs

1 egg

1 bunch green onions, chopped finely

1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt 

1 tsp cracked black pepper

lettuce

basil leaves

Garam Masala mayonnaise

3/4 cup mayonnaise

1 tbsp Garam masala

1 tbsp grated ginger, including juice

The basil leaves add a lot of interest to these burgers, as does the mayo.

Take the salmon trimmings and, one by one, squeeze them in your hands to break up the flesh. Leave some bigger chunks in the process. (Alternatively, you could chop the salmon.)

Add the breadcrumbs, egg, green onions, flour, salt and pepper to the salmon. Mix well.

Place some vegetable oil in a  frying pan and heat until a few drops of water sizzle in the pan.

Take a 4” ring (like a large muffin cutter or similar) and press 1/4 of the mixture down into it and out to the edges. (Using wet hands will help greatly with this.) Repeat with remaining salmon.

Fry the patties on both sides until golden brown.

While the burgers are frying mix the mayonnaise with the Garam masala and grated ginger.

To assemble, place some lettuce on half of a bun, top with a salmon burger, then some whole basil leaves and the mayonnaise.

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Foraging for Pudding: Carrageenan Orange Pudding

Words today are like the shells and rope of seaweed which a child brings home glistening from the beach and which in an hour have lost their luster. – Cyril Connolly 

This was amazing to make with irish Moss I gathered myself.

This is something that I suggest everyone do at least once, if you can get your hands on Irish Moss. This sort of thing helps put you back in touch with nature, and a little further away from the chemical-laced world we live in.

Any fears I had that this was NOT Irish Moss evaporated when
I reconstituted it and the water became gelatinous.

It's an amazing thing to go to the seashore, pick up some seaweed and then go home and make pudding. 

It's even more amazing when you realize that what you are doing is recreating something that has been done for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

Two days ago I posted out going to a local beach and finding some Chondrus crispus (otherwise known as Irish Moss). It is one of the more common seaweeds growing on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

From this most unpromising plant comes the food additive called carrageenan. Carrageenan is a natural thickener and stabilizer used in a wide range of food products like frozen yogurt, reduced-fat ice cream, chocolate milk, toothpaste…

Carrageenan health scare? Not so fast...

If you research on the internet you will find articles about carrageenan being bad for you. This is due to a bit of confusion between carrageenan (the food additive) and "degraded" carrageenan, a non-food additive and chemically-created product of carrageenan.

The following information is from the "Tom's of Maine" website. That business is a respected natural product company that has been in existence for decades. One of their main products is toothpaste, hence the reference at the end of the quote.

There is some confusion about carrageenan which has cast an unfortunate light on the ingredient. Poligeenan is a chemically degraded derivative of carageenan which is used for industrial (non-food) purposes. Although poligeenan does not posses the thickening or stabilizing properties of carrageenan, it was improperly named "degraded carrageenan" and for a short time the word "carrageenan" was used ambiguously and might refer to either food-grade or degraded carrageenan. Due to this confusion, the US Adopted Names Council determined that "poligeenan" was a more accurate and descriptive name for the chemically degraded form of carrageenan. While poligeenan has shown unfavorable health effects in studies, food-grade carrageenan has no known toxicity or carcinogenicity and is Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) by the US Food & Drug Administration. Unfortunately, because the two ingredients were referred to by one common name for a short time, many people have been left with the mistaken impression that the negative health effects shown for poligeenan are true of food-grade carrageenan. Food-grade carrageenan is an entirely safe and appropriate ingredient for toothpaste.

So hopefully the above allays any fears you may have.

Now back to making pudding.

I dried my Irish Moss in the oven, which was the quick way to handle it. As such it turned very dark. The usual way to dry it is in the sun, where it bleaches to a beautiful off-white. This makes the potential for "coloring" of your final pudding less. I noticed hardly any coloring from my moss. So I guess either methods will work.

Something weird happened when I reconstituted my moss in warm water. The liquid instantly – and I mean instantly – became slightly gelatinous. That was strange, and I also was worried that I was "rinsing away" its thickening abilities. But I didn't have to worry.

The moss reconstituted in just a couple minutes, and was ready for making my pudding. I wanted to have a pudding I could mould, so I opted for a larger quantity of Irish Moss versus milk ratio. You can make anything from "solid" to creamy, depending on cooking time. Experimentation will have to be done…

So this is my recipe, based on a couple I found "here and there."

By the way – there was no scent or taste of ocean or seaweed in the finished product.

Not a fancy mould, but I wasn't in my own kitchen...

Carrageenan Orange Pudding*

Prep: 5 min  |  Cook: 25 min  |  Serves 4

1 to 1.5 cups reconstituted Irish Moss

cheesecloth

1/4 cup sugar

3 cups milk

juice and rind of 1 orange

fresh raspberries

Reconstitute the moss in some warm water. Inspect it carefully and remove any debris. Place the moss in a double thickness of cheesecloth and tie it well.

Place the moss, sugar, milk, juice and rind in a saucepan.

Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium, and let bubble away for 20-25 minutes.

Stir almost constantly during that time. You will notice the milk becoming thicker.

This little bit I poured as a "tester" firmed up in minutes.

At the end of the cooking time strain the mixture and pour into an oiled mould. This helps extracting the set jelly when you're ready to serve.

Refrigerate for a couple hours before unfolding. I found the thin layer of pudding I poured as a "taste test" started to set up the minute it started to cool.

To serve, unmould, slice and serve with raspberries mashed with a little sugar.

*Optional flavors for this pudding could be good old fashioned vanilla, nutmeg, or even coffee. Experiment!

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Gardening: Germander Speedwell (Bird’s Eye Speedwell)

A lawn is nature under totalitarian rule. – Michael Pollan

These flowers are so small it was difficult to get a full closeup in focus
with my small camera.

My mother has an invasive flower in her lawn. It’s a shame it’s so beautiful because every time we mow the blue carpet of blossoms get cut away.

This is part of my mother's lawn. The grass is entirely gone.

These flowers define the colour “blue.” The flowers are almost the colour of the sky on a cloudless day. Quite stunning, en masse, and massed they certainly grow. The flower in question is a form of Veronica called Germander Speedwell.

Germander Speedwell is a low growing plant that if given the opportunity will take the place of the grass on your lawns. That fact alone makes it a little less impressive. 

This plant is not a native to North America. It was an introduction by European settlers, and has settled in quite happily.

Germander Speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys) is not to be confused with Common Speedwell (Veronica officinalis) or Common Germander (Teucrium chamaedrys). Although similar in name, the three are all different. Even by the botanical names you can see where confusion could arise.

I keep this small patch under control by mowing where
I don't want it. It's too late for my mom's lawn...

The plants have a short, upright stalk with paired leaves topped with numerous flowers. The blue flowers have a distinct white 'pupil' in the centre, giving it the common name of “bird’s eye.” They open in the morning and close at night, but the flowers only last a day or two, only to be replaced by more.

The blossoms wilt very quickly when picked, which has given it the German common name "Männertreu" (men's faithfulness). Interesting.

Germander speedwell will tolerate almost any soil from alkaline to slightly acid, heavy clay to dry and sandy. Germander is difficult to control because it has a fibrous root and spreads rapidly. It creeps along the ground, spreading by roots at the stem nodes. It propagates by both by seed and stem fragments. So if you really want to get rid of it expect to do some digging.

According to legend its generic name “Veronica” is from the Latin vera (true) and icon (image). According to legend, a woman named Veronica wiped the sweat from Jesus’ face and the blood from his brow as he carried the cross, and an image of Christ appeared in the cloth she used. Germander speedwell’s flowers do resemble a face, with the stamens being the eyes. But how that story is linked to the flower is lost in the mists of medieval Europe, one assumes.

This is early morning, before the flowers reopen for the day.

Past Medicinal Uses

Germander speedwell’s leaves are used in the same way as heath speedwell (V. officinalis) to make tea. In Sweden the plant is known as tea speedwell.

The plant is a blood purifier and can help heal wounds. It is applied externally to skin and is said to be an decent treatment for itch. Internally, an infusion of the leaves once had a reputation for the treatment of coughs, asthma, etc.

In ancient herbal medicine, the juice was boiled into a syrup with honey. An infusion of its leaves was used for coughs and a decoction of the whole plant was employed to stimulate the kidneys. It was also used as a blood purifier.

When in flower, the entire plant was used for sweats, and its astringent and stimulant properties. Its root was also used as a preventative against fever. It was believed to be a cure-all for many ailments, including smallpox, measles, cancer and kidney problems.

The main problem with this plant is its invasive nature. If you do wish to include it in your garden I suggest that you plant it where it can completely take over with no ill will, and let your lawn mower keep it in check.

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