These Henbits are popping up all over the place in Middle Tennessee so I thought I’d look up what they can be used for. Virtually everything is good for something. Most people don’t realize that. Because they don’t want you making hebit poultices, they want you buying Neosporin and soaking up every chemical in the ingredient list into your bloodstream.
Research Dupont. Tennessee is a weird place, man. A TON of Feds. A lot of really weird things going on. They claimed they built the bomb they dropped on Japan in Oak Ridge but that’s not true and no nuclear bomb has ever been dropped on anyone. Japan wasn’t conquered in 1940-whatever. It was conquered long ago and then a charade took place to put the Japanese people even more under thumb than they previously were. And it’s ruined Japanese culture, but these people have ruined most of the world’s cultures to some extent. You can see their influence everywhere you see Patriarchy, and you might not realize this, but that is NOT everywhere!
So here they are. You’ve probably seen them. Here are the uses.
Culinary Uses
Fresh Greens: They have a mild, slightly peppery, or earthy flavor (some compare henbit to kale or celery). You can chop them into salads, smoothies, or use them as a garnish.
Cooked Dishes: Use them as a substitute for spinach or kale in soups, stews, stir-fries, and pasta dough.
Spring Pesto: They make an excellent base for a “wild” pesto when blended with olive oil, garlic, and nuts.
Decorative Garnishes: The small purple flowers are edible and look beautiful on top of cakes, salads, or even frozen into ice cubes.
Medicinal Uses
Anti-Inflammatory Tea: Dried leaves and flowers can be steeped into a tea used to reduce fevers, soothe joint aches, or act as a mild sedative to help with anxiety.
Topical Poultice: Because of their antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties, crushed fresh leaves can be applied to minor cuts, stings, or burns to reduce swelling and speed healing.
Allergy Relief: Purple deadnettle, specifically, is often used in tinctures as a natural antihistamine to help with seasonal allergies.
Aromatic Smudging: Interestingly, dried henbit stems can be bundled and burned as a “smudge.” It has a subtle, pleasant scent when smoldered that some use for clearing or cleansing a space.
Most people who think they are allergic to pollen, aren’t. Ever done an allergy test at a doctor.? They are a nightmare. But they’ll give you a Claratin after it’s over.
Here’s the thing: they test for stuff like pollen and pet dander when most people are, and don’t realize, allergic to things that are in the food they are eating and the stuff they absorb through their skin.
Do you really think it’s a great idea to cover your entire body in lye daily?
Your skin IS an organ. That’s not a debate. Would you bathe one of your organs in lye? Hypodermically. I mean hypothetically. Either. That’s what you are doing quite literally when you use something invented to clean clothes, on your skin.
Do you shampoo your hair?
I know this all might sound absolutely crazy but most of your life, if you function in society, has been determined by corporations and marketing. You buy diamond engagement rings for that reason alone. You shave your body hair for that reason alone, unless you’re a man shaving your face. But do you know that comes from the Greeks (as far back as record goes) and they used sea shells? How much cheaper do you think that would be? And here’s the problem the razor companies have with sea shells: you can just resharpen those bad boys when they get dull. No profit in that.
These people showed up to Florida where most of the people exist on fish from the sea and environment.. “Here are some cattle, horses, pigs and sheep. Hope they don’t wreck the place. Good luck with all of that.” (Ponce de León’s second trip in 1521.)
I wonder if today there are more imported or indigenous species in Florida. I mean, if we’re going to call things like bio-organisms species (which they are!) then there are definitely more endemic species but think about the animal mass of livestock and other animals that have been released as pets and set up breeding populations.
I think Florida is either the biggest or #2 cattle producing state.
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