Hypericum
Family: Guttiferales
English: St. John's Worts
They look more like auburn-yellow balls that contrast sharply with the brownish monotony of the summer landscape. This tough little perennial shrub, the Hypericum, is one of nature's most significant pharmaceutical stores.
From antiquity to the present this plant has been useful in treating a range of ailments, both physical and , psychological. Dioscurides commends it for treating snakebites.
It is a small bush producing 50-60 small, ovate leaves. Its flowers are golden-yellow giving a bright red or yellow substance that was formerly used as a natural dye.
It self-grows in sandy soils and waste places, sometimes in cultivated plots and blooms from mid-June to September.
The plant occurs in 26 different species in Greece, with minor differentiations in flowers and leaves: Hypericum androsaemum, H. hircinum, H. thasium, H. empetrifolium, H. amblycalyx, H. empetrifolium, H. rhodopaeum, H. keleri, H. trichocaulum, H. perforatum, H. aegypticum.
In the beginning of summer, when the plant is in bloom, it is collected by the farmers of Greece even to date. It is placed in large glass bottles filled with olive oil and placed under the sun for 40 days. The olive oil treated as such acquires a reddish colour and is useful for wound healing, as anti-inflammatory and antiseptic. Taken internally, the red oil helps stomach ulcers. As an infusion or tincture internally, it is good for rheumatism. Or you can use the oil to massage the joints. It also treats nerve-related disorders such as neuralgia, sciatica and shingles. Modern pharmacology uses the extract to treat symptoms of depression.
Popular Greek names:
"Spathohorto", "Leihinohorto", "Helonohorto", "Valsamo", "Goudouras", "Valsamino".
