Moss – Bryophyta

ForagingHerbal MedicineHomesteadingSurvival

Moss – Bryophyta

The magical Moss can be found everywhere and is a very handy plant in survival situations, it can be eaten as a last resort, but it won’t taste very nice however it’s uses for medical purposes are astonishing. During WWI and WWII Moss was an essential part of a medical kit when bandages or wound packing was in short supply and as you can imagine there were never enough with the amount of wounded soldiers coming from the battlefields and trenches. In fact, Moss has been used for thousands of years on battlefields, but like most things it was forgotten or replaced by something that can be mass-produced for convenience and profit.

Moss is very absorbent, far more than cotton wool, and has remarkable deodorizing power. The remarkable sponge-like quality comes from Sphagnum’s cellular structure, ninety percent of the cells in a sphagnum plant are dead. They’re made to be empty, so they can be filled with water. In this case, medics took advantage of that liquid-absorbing capacity to soak up blood, pus and other bodily fluids. Sphagnum moss also has antiseptic properties that helped avoid infections and amputations. A lot of research is taking place on the medicinal properties of Moss, and it has been found that it has similar attributes as Cannabis.

Moss and water

If you ever find yourself in a survival situation and can find sphagnum moss, you probably won’t die of thirst. Sphagnum moss, due to its spongy consistency, soaks up and holds moisture. Just squeezing it will provide a water source – and due to its acidic nature, bacteria typically aren’t present.

Mosses function like sponges, using their capillary spaces to hang on to water. 

They help to soak up rainfall, maintain moisture in the soil below and keep conditions around them humid. This enables other plants around them thrive, such as in habitats like marshes and woodland. 

Mosses also play a vital role in the development of new ecosystems. They’re among the first plant colonisers of disturbed sites, such as when an area is deforested or affected by forest fires. They stabilise the soil surface and retain water, helping new plants to grow. 

Other uses for Moss

Dried Moss Is Extremely Flammable

If you can find dead moss or have the time to pick some and let it dry, it’s extremely flammable and is great for starting your fire. Since it’s lightweight, you may even want to add some of it to your homemade fire starters or just carry some raw.

Moss Is Waterproof

Moss is damp, isn’t it? Well yes it is but it likes to hold on to its water. You can use a nice layer of moss to cover your shelter and it will keep you dry. One of the best things about this is that, since moss has an interconnected, shallow root system, you can cut it in large chunks that make it easy to transport and cover your shelter quickly.

Within 24 hours, these root systems will grow together and you have an instant, waterproof roof. As a matter of fact, there are many stories of wilderness people who actually use moss to roof their houses.

Myth and Lore

The moss people or moss folk (German: Moosleute, “moss folk”, wilde Leute, “wild folk”), also referred to as the wood people or wood folk (Holzleute, “wood folk”) or forest folk (Waldleute, “forest-folk”), are a class of fairy folk, variously compared to dwarfs, elves, or spirits, described in the folklore of Germany as having an intimate connection to trees and the forest. In German, the words Schrat and Waldschrat are also used for a moss person.

More articles here

Pine Tree

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Pine Tree

The Pine Tree is one of the most resourceful trees I know, fresh pine needles make a refreshing cup of tea that is full of vitamin C, the Pine Cones have their uses too as it has been reported ancient tribes used them as combs / brushes and not forgetting the delicious pine nuts hidden within. Pine cones are a familiar sight at Christmas and used as decorations, they also make a great item for arts and crafts and the possibilities to make art from them are endless, I have used them in the past to make miniature trees for a train track diorama, and they looked great. In bush craft and survivalist communities, they are a great resource to make a resin glue and a preserver for wood, which comes in handy when making tools and other useful items. Pine resin can also be used to seal wounds which is especially handy if you don’t have the material for stitches.

Therapeutic benefits of pine

Pine trees have long been an ingredient to prepare herbal tea. Indeed, its benefits are known to treat:

  • – rheumatism and wounds that are rebellious to healing (in the form of lotions and creams)
  • – common colds and pulmonary tract mucus lining inflammation (in the form of inhaled vapour treatment).

Pine tree is particularly recommended to treat diseases resulting from nerve malfunction, neuralgic disorders and rheumatism.

Relaxing in a bathtub with pine tree extracts is for sure beneficial to your health.

To best appreciate its health benefits, keep the least tender shoots from your collection of fresh young shoots, and add them to the hot water. Use a cloth pouch to make it easy to pick the leaves out later and throw them to the compost.

It is possible to bathe in water infused with pine as described above, but inhaling the raw power of a pine tree forest in nature is another experience altogether.
Indeed, if you’ve got the chance, go for a walk in a thick pine tree forest, and gulp the air into your lungs. It is loaded with pine extract, a lemony camphor-like fragrance.

Pine glues in the wild

Pine trees are a great resource in the wild.  You can make cordage out of the roots, tea from the needles, and pitch or tar from the sap.  Pine resin is also flammable and can be used as an accelerant in fires for short, powerful bursts of heat. The  sap also contains compounds which prevent the growth of microorganisms, making it a great sealer for open cuts or deeper flesh wounds.  Pine resin is easy to carry, too.  Chip a hardened piece off a damaged pine tree and later, when you need to put it to use, heat it over a fire to convert it back into its liquid (easily usable) state.

How to make pine pitch glue

Here’s how to use Pine resin in a homemade glue recipe.

  1. Collect the resin from a pine tree.  Here’s a method to tap a pine tree to obtain the sap from a tree.
  2. Melt the resin.  If it ignites, blow out the flame and move the container to better control the heating process. Try to not overheat the resin, as the compounds can be destroyed the longer they are subjected to heat.
  3. Add 1 part hardwood charcoal powder.  This helps temper the resin and reduces its stickiness.
  4. Add 1 part filler material.  This can be ground plant material (crushed to a fine powder) or rabbit or deer scat/droppings (dried and ground up).  In a pinch, you may also substitute sawdust, bone dust, or animal hair.  The filler material helps strengthen the glue compound.
  5. If you wish to make the resultant glue more flexible, so it can be easily worked, add one part fat, tallow, or beeswax to the mixture.
  6. Mix thoroughly.
  7. Apply using a stick.

After the glue hardens, it will resemble hardened glass.

Dried pine pitch glue can be reheated to convert it back to its liquid state.  Dip a stick into the mixture and remove, allowing the glob of glue to harden on the stick.  Re-dip the stick to add additional layers of glue (as it cools, you may wish to roll it between your hands to compress and shape it).  The finished lolly of pine pitch glue is ready to be stored and carried with you, ready to be reheated when needed.

Spiritual Meaning of the Pine Cone

The pineal gland is a remarkable feature of the human experience. Nestled in the brain between the two hemispheres, it is a source of endless intrigue in the realm of mysticism. Sometimes the Pineal Gland is referred to as our “third eye” the “dream centre” or my favourite, the “mystic seed.”

The Pineal Gland is shaped very much like the pine cone and lies at the centre of our brain and is intimately linked to our body’s perception of light. The Pineal modulates our wake-sleep patterns and circadian rhythms.

It’s totally fascinating that both the pine cone and the Pineal Gland not only look like each other but are also light sensitive. More articles here.

Jack by the hedge

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Jack by the hedge

Jack by the hedge / Garlic mustard, is an easy-to-identify plant simply by its smell. It has a pleasant, mild scent of garlic when rubbed between the fingers. The leaves are a light green colour and are slightly toothed. The flowers are brilliant white, with four petals. The plant is common in Europe and can be found on hedgerows and open woods. In my local woods close to mid-spring, Jack has his foothold everywhere and announces his presence with his mild garlicky smell as you brush past him. If you like Garlic, but only want the suggestion of the garlic flavour, this will be ideal for you as an ideal flavouring.

Food Uses

Jack by the hedge can be found in spring from as early as February, if the weather has been good a second harvest can be found in autumn. Young leaves at the top of the plant are the most tender. The taste is a combination of garlic and mustard with a pleasant, albeit slightly bitter after taste. The leaves can be chopped and added to a salad, but a tasty treat to accompany spring lamb would be a sauce made from Jack by the hedge.

Quick and easy recipe for Jack’s sauce.

  • 2 handfuls of Jack by the hedge leaves.
  • 2tbs of Malt Vinegar (more if required)
  • 1tsp of Sugar

It’s basically an alternative to mint sauce.

 

Traditional uses and benefits of Garlic Mustard

  • Garlic mustard has been little used in herbal medicine.
  • Leaves and stems are anti-asthmatic, antiscorbutic, antiseptic, deobstruent, diaphoretic, vermifuge and vulnerary.
  • Leaves have been taken internally to promote sweating and to treat bronchitis, asthma and eczema.
  • Externally, they have been used as an antiseptic poultice on ulcers etc., and are effective in relieving the itching caused by bites and stings.
  • Roots are chopped up small and then heated in oil to make an ointment to rub on the chest in order to bring relief from bronchitis.
  • Juice of the plant has an inhibitory effect on Bacillus pyocyaneum and on gram-negative bacteria of the typhoid-paratyphoid-enteritis group.
  • Seeds have been used as a snuff to excite sneezing.
  • Leaves can be used as a sudorific and deobstruent when taken internally, or as an external treatment for gangrene and ulcers.
  • Leaf juices taken alone or boiled in syrup with honey were used to treat dropsy.
  • Garlic mustard was once used medicinally as a disinfectant or diuretic, and was sometimes used to treat wounds.
  • Leaves have been consumed to bring relief to congested chest and eczema.
  • For relieving skin irritations and insect bites, these leaves might be beneficial.
  • It can be used for stimulating appetite and inducing hunger which is often affected due to internal illness.
  • It can be effective for keeping respiratory problems in check.
  • Mild garlic and mustard flavour, the leaves are also believed to strengthen the digestive system.

In 1657 William Coles wrote that is was eaten by many country people as sauce to their salt fish, and helped well to digest the crudities and other crude humours that are engendered by the eating thereof.

Early herbalists used the leaves for dropsy and to induce sweating. The herbalist Sir John Hill recommended that they should be boiled with honey to make a syrup as a remedy for coughs and hoarseness.  The leaves were also believed to have antiseptic properties and were applied as dressings to open sores and ulcers.

Myth and Lore

For magical uses performed by witches, mustards in general have a long history of protective uses, including hiding the seeds under a doormat to keep supernatural threats from crossing the threshold. More articles here.