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TULSI / HOLY BASIL / SACRED BASIL
Ocimum tenuiflorum
Family: Lamiaceae
Part used: Leaves
Energetics: Sweet, spicy, warm, neutral
Actions: Adaptogen (mild), antidepressant, antioxidant, antispasmodic, antiviral, carminative, expectorant, immune amphoteric, neuroprotective, nootropic
Tulsi, also known as sacred basil or holy basil, is a wonderful annual here in Maine. This plant is so easy to grow and a favorite for pollinators. It’s a plant that I recommend everyone should grow and it grows well in containers. As with its cousin, culinary basil, you pinch the flowers to keep the plant bushing and branching out. I use the leaves and flowers all summer long to make into refreshing teas and drinks using our vinegar shrubs. Tulsi is a wonderful medicinal plant. I use it for uplifting the spirit and clearing the mind. This is a wonderful brain tonic for helping clear mental fog, bringing on clarity and focus but not in an overstimulating way. It’s calming and supporting to the nervous system, and I like to use it in formulas to help relieve anxiety. It’s also great for the digestive system, relieving gas and bloating, and for immune support.
Contraindications: None known.
Chamomile is well known for being a calming, relaxing and mildly sedating plant, but it’s also a plant that can inspire deep creativity. It’s all in how you work with it. I believe great medicine comes from just spending time with the plants. For me, spending time with chamomile means tapping into my intuition and creativity. It’s like a floodgate gets released and a series of clear, amazing possibilities fill my thoughts.
Chamomile is a fabulous herb for children who are restless or irritable, and for teething, growing pains, colds, fevers, sleep issues and nightmares. It can be used for both children and adults with digestive issues caused by anxiety or stress. Chamomile helps reduce inflammation in the GI tract, relieves gas and calms a nervous stomach. It’s also used to ease symptoms of PMS and menopause, like cramps, anxiety, irritability and sleep issues.
Topically, chamomile can soothe eczema, sunburns, sores and other skin irritations. Here in Maine, it has even brought relief to painful rashes caused by the browntail moth caterpillar.
Lemon balm is a cooling, uplifting, aromatic herb that has long been used to support the nervous system, digestion, and emotional well-being.
Herbalists often reach for lemon balm when someone is feeling hot, tense, worried, scattered, or emotionally worn down. It has a way of helping us soften, cool down, and come back into ourselves.
