Roses – a real force in
healing and beauty by Caroline Sheldrick MNIMH
HIGHLIGHTING HERBS
A symbol of love and beauty since ancient times, it is the gallica rose, depicted in a Minoan fresco dated 1500–1600BC, which is most used in apothecary.
The ancient Greeks made a tonic from roses, and the Romans used petals in ceremonies and celebrations, but they were first cultivated 3,000 years ago in what was northern Persia, now Iran, and spread from there all over Europe.
Since early times the rose has been treasured for its beauty and perfume, and also for its medicinal properties. Sappho, the Greek poet of the sixth century BC, described the red rose as the ‘queen of flowers’. Pliny, in the first century AD, listed 32 medicines made from roses. Rose water was first made by Avicenna in the tenth century, a tradition carried on all over the eastern Mediterranean where it is widely used in cosmetics and cookery. It is mildly astringent, as are most members of the Rosaceae family, and makes a valuable lotion for inflamed and sore eyes. Avicenna
Rosehip syrup
Rosehip syrup was an important source of vitamin C for children during World War II. English children were paid 3d per lb for rosehips harvested in the autumn to be made into rosehip syrup by the company Delrosa in Wallsend near Newcastle. Rosehip oil is produced from the seeds of a different rose, Rosa rubiginosa. A rich source of vitamin A (in the form of retinol) plus Omega 6 and Omega 3 essential fatty acids rosehip oil is light, non greasy and good for scar tissue, stretch marks, damaged and dry skin.
apparently cured diseased lungs with petals of red rose, which were made into a conserve and eaten with milk. As much as 30lb of this conserve had to be eaten to complete the cure! During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, the rose was widely used as a remedy for depression: a use continued to this day.
Cultivated roses became a central symbol in our history as long ago as the fifteenth century when the opposing political factions of Lancaster and York adopted red
Gallica rose is the one most used in apothecary 22
Country Gardener
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