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| Plague Herbs - Featuring Labdanum; Cistus Creticus - Cistus Ladaniferus | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jan 14 2011, 03:56 PM (1,218 Views) | |
| yass | Jan 14 2011, 03:56 PM Post #1 |
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In my latest travels studying herbs I ran across a few that had references to treating the plague and noted them down. I was curious about and looked into Ladbdanum, and quite honestly there is so much about it I couldn't post it all, but I can post a lot! It makes for a very interesting study. When I began to post I had some initial confusion as to whether it was Cistus Creticus or Cistus Ladaniferus but after a bit of investigation discovered it was both of these Cistus species that produce the resin from which labdanum or ladanum as well as essential oil are produced. Woden's (or Odin's) Nine Herbs Charm makes reference to an herb that grows on rocks. The only candidate I'd come up with seemed unlikely, being that it's medicinal properties were as a contraceptive and it's availability in plants or seeds nill -- but, it grows on rocks. Cistus, however, is known as "The rock rose" and "The rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valley" and by all appearances seems to be an excellent candidate for Woden's reference. CISTUS creticus (Cretan). fl., petals purple, yellow at the base, imbricate; sepals villous; peduncles one-flowered. June. l. spathu-late-ovate, tomentosely-hairy, wrinkled, drawn out along the short footstalk, and waved on the margin. h. 2ft. Crete, 1731. (S. F. G. 495.) This, and some other species in the Levant, yield labdanum, a resin which was largely used as a medicine during the prevalence of the Plague. It is collected by whipping the plants with long thongs attached to a rake-like frame, the resin adhering to the straps. At the present time, it is principally used as a perfume in Turkey. http://www.factopia.com/c/cistus_gardening.html Various classical writers mention its use as an emetic, for weak stomachs and livers, disorders of the spleen and diarrhoea. It has also been used for hair loss, scurvy, catarrh, asthma, stomach ulcers and cancer, as a protection against the plague and as a fumigant. http://www.cistuspage.org.uk/folk_medicine.htm Labdanum: Dembinska suggests that this resin may have been imported to Poland and 'carried in the pocket as prevention against bubonic plague' (p 42) http://www.gallowglass.org/jadwiga/herbs/easterneuropeherbs.html For immune system. In ancient times it was used for embalming and aphrodisiac purposes. Most Cistus species have aromatic foliage but some species also exude a highly aromatic gum or resin, called ladanum or labdanum, which has been used in incenses since ancient times and is now a valuable ingredient of perfumes. Various classical writers mention its use as an emetic, for weak stomachs and livers, disorders of the spleen and diarrhoea. It has also been used for hair loss, scurvy, catarrh, asthma, stomach ulcers and cancer, as a protection against the plague and as a fumigant. http://botano.gr/herbs-and-spices/most-wanted-products/labdanum.html |
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| yass | Jan 14 2011, 04:01 PM Post #2 |
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Labdanum Resin from Cistus Creticus 11. Rose of Sharon/Cistus (Labdanum--Cistus ladanifer) "I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valley." (Song of Solomon 2:1) Defining the rose of Sharon requires the wisdom of Solomon. One likely candidate is labdanum, sometimes called rock rose. This beautiful rose has a soft honey-like scent and may be the small shrubby tree called the rose of Sharon. Anciently, the gum that exudes from this plant was collected from the hair of goats that had browsed among the bushes. Cistus has been studied for its effects on cell regeneration. http://www.walkinginthelightministries.com/?page_id=656 First of all, what is it? It comes as a sticky dark brown resin exudate from two sources: from the shrubs Cistus ladaniferus (western Mediterranean) and Cistus creticus (eastern Mediterranean), both species of rockrose. Rockrose forms the Cistaceae (or rock-rose family), a rather small family of plants reknowned for their beautiful shrubs, covered by flowers at the time of blossom. It consists of about 170-200 species in eight genera and those are distributed primarily in the temperate areas of Europe and the Mediterranean basin, although they can be found in North and South America too in some instances. The flowers themselves have a faint odour and are not used in perfumery. http://labdanum-creta.blogspot.com/  Pharaohs used fake beards made of goat hair (from animals that had grazed upon the resiny bushes) There is an ancient background to labdanum, as its etymology reveals: lôt in Hebrew (coming from a semetic root) which means resinous herb, ladunu in assyrian, lâdhan in Arabic, ledanon in Greek and ladanum/labdanum in Latin. Egyptians used it in their Kyphi mixtures whereas the Hebrews burned it in their temples as incense, so it had a ceremonial character. It is even referenced in The Bible (as Balm of Gilead): The Ishmaelite caravan coming from Gilead to which Joseph was sold, was transporting labdanum (Genesis 37, 25). Subsequently, Jacob ordered his sons to offer labdanum, along with other local products, to their brother, now an Egyptian dignitary: "And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts and almonds." (Genesis 43, 11) {found through Bible fragrances}. It is believed that the above refers to the resin from the Pink Rockrose as "myrrh", although the two are not interchangeable. Myrrh per se is mentioned in the Bible (Psalm 45:8; Song of Solomon 4:14) and is believed to have been a mixture of natural myrrh (extracted from a tree in Africa and Arabia, like franckincense used to be got as well) and the oleoresin labdanum. The Japanese use labdanum today in their Neriko mixtures, used during tea ceremony. The tradition is alive! The use of ladbanum in medicine is well documented. Its high content in polyphenols makes it an excellent food supplement protecting the immune system. In ancient times it was used for its properties of protection against bacteria and fungi. It is suggested that the Pharaohs used fake beards made of goat hair (from animals that had grazed upon the resiny bushes) for that reason, but also to surround themselves with an aura of distinction. Greek physician Hippocrates prescribed "myrrh" (the mixture of natural myrrh and labdanum, as above) for sores and the Romans used it to treat worm infestations, the common cold, coughs, and some infections. Up to 3000 tons of frankincense and myrrh were transported each year during the height of Nabataean trade! According to Cocker, J. D.; Halsall, T. G.; Bowers, A. (1956). "The chemistry of gum labdanum. I. Some acidic constituents" (Journal of the Chemical Society: 4259-62) and II. The structure of labdanolic acid" (Journal of the Chemical Society: 4262-71): http://labdanum-creta.blogspot.com/ |
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| yass | Jan 14 2011, 04:09 PM Post #3 |
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A variety of biological activities have been determined for labdane diterpenes including antibacterial, antifungal, antiprotozoal, and anti-inflammatory activities. (Studies in Natural Product Chemistry : Bioactive Natural Products, Part F, Atta-Ur-Rahman) Theophrastus and Pliny mention labdanum as does Herodotus in his Historia, in the book "Thalia" (one of a total of 9,named after the Muses): "Ledanum, which the Arabs* call ladanum, is procured in a yet stranger fashion. Found in a most inodorous place, it is the sweetest-scented of all substances. It is gathered from the beards of he-goats, where it is found sticking like gum, having come from the bushes on which they browse. It is used in many sorts of unguents, and is what the Arabs burn chiefly as incense. Concerning the spices of Arabia let no more be said. The whole country is scented with them, and exhales an odour marvellously sweet." But then why the confusion with opiates? The answer goes back to the Middle Ages and Paracelsus. A famous medical preparation of his own -which included gold, crushed pearls and other ingrendients (Opera, 1658, i. 492/2), but with opium as its chief component. Therefore the term is now used for the alcoholic tincture of opium (q.v.). The name was either invented by Paracelsus from Latin laudare (=to praise), or was a corrupted form of "ladanum" (from Persian ladan), a resinous juice or gum obtained from various kinds of the Cistus shrub, formerly used medicinally in external applications and as a stomach tonic." (Source 1911encyclopedia.org) http://labdanum-creta.blogspot.com/ Its complexity is one of the reasons it has fascinated people since antiquity and it has been reported to affect the subconsious in profound ways. Its aromatheurapeutic value is that it is grounding, warming and sensual. http://labdanum-creta.blogspot.com/ The method of extracting it is unusual and highly entertaing at that. Herodotus and Pliny report that labdanum was collected by combing the beards of goats, which were impregnated with the substance. The goats graze from the branches and the sticky resin gets stuck on their beards. Upon their return, their owners comb the resin our of their beards and extract the resin. Also a rakelike instrument with long strips of leather attached to it, which they drag across the bushes to collect the resin, is used, called ladanesterion. To this day labdanum is still gathered in Crete by driving goats into the thick forests overgrown with labdanum bushes. It is difficult work as it is best done in hot weather, under bright sunlight in the summer months. Sises is a Cretan village near Rethymnon, where such work is done to this day (coincidentally also the area from which El Greco/Dominikos Theotokopoulos comes). http://labdanum-creta.blogspot.com/ |
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| yass | Jan 15 2011, 08:53 AM Post #4 |
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The process in pictures.       
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| yass | Jan 15 2011, 08:54 AM Post #5 |
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The process in videos. |
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| yass | Jan 15 2011, 09:00 AM Post #6 |
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http://labdanum-creta.blogspot.com/ |
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| yass | Jan 15 2011, 09:02 AM Post #7 |
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Cistus Creticus       
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| yass | Jan 15 2011, 09:07 AM Post #8 |
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A resource: LAbdanum SHOP http://labdanum-shop.blogspot.com/ Niktaris Dimitris Sises, Creta TK 74057, Greece ladanum@gmail.com Through his various linked blogs I got some information, pictures and video for this thread. You can get 30 grams (just over 1 ounce) of labdanum resin for Euros 9.00 + shipping (about $20 USD total) paying with Paypal. From Crete, Greece.  |
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