News for April 2024!
What happened in April 2024 at Phyto-info… we tell you everything!
Hello everyone 🌿
You know the story of the “child who cried wolf”? In short, it’s the story of a boy who has fun making the inhabitants of his village go crazy by calling them to his rescue under the pretext that a wolf is attacking his sheep, which is false of course. However, the day arrives when the wolf is really there, threatening and devouring the poor animals, but the villagers, no longer believing the boy, do not move. The moral, you guessed it, is that by telling untruths, we end up no longer believing in them. And what about the relationship with plants, you might ask? Don’t worry, we’re getting there!
In France, and certainly in other countries, the budget for research on medicinal plants is rather thin, not to say ridiculous. Research into the development of new drugs, on the other hand, benefits from massive investments, certainly stimulated by the profitability of the latter. As a result, few scientific studies on medicinal plants tell us about their effects in the case of pregnancy or breastfeeding. Most authors sharing the traditional uses of plants do not want to take risks on this subject, and we understand them. So to protect themselves, they generally, if not systematically, advise against the use of plants by pregnant or breastfeeding women, even if these plants were traditionally used successfully in the past.
A bit like the villagers who hear the boy cry wolf, we end up no longer believing that medicinal plants are not appropriate for pregnant or breastfeeding women. However, from time to time, they are not there “for real”, and this is the case of the Shepherd’s purse, our new plant. Not recommended for pregnant women by specialists, the shepherd’s purse causes uterine contractions and was once used to induce childbirth. So ladies, you who are expecting a baby, put the shepherd’s purse in the closet while waiting for the happy event because this time we are crying wolf because he is really there.
Added plants 👏
- Shepherd’s purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris)
Discover its traditional uses and terms of use on our platform.
Update 👏
We regularly update our plant 📚 sheets. This month it’s the turn of the common daisy and plantain. For the ribwort plantain, for example, we went from 20 to 27 sources among which the English confirm that the leaves are excellent against diarrhea, on the other hand, it is the seeds which will be our allies in case of constipation.
- Common daisy (Bellis perennis)
- Ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata)
- Broadleaf major (Plantago major)
- Hoary plantain (Plantago media)
Re-discover all their benefits and precautions for use on our platform.
Stress 👏 Presentation
We talked about stress and plants at LinkedIn, an Ireland-based company, on its special employee day. During this one-hour presentation, we talked about the mechanisms of stress and how to manage it with the help of plants so as not to collapse and suffer burnout. We thank all the participants and their warm feedback, it was an hour full of sharing and fun. To be done again 🥰
Celebration 👏
We have passed the milestone of 40 plants in our database, next goal… 50 🎉
Concerning the addition of plants, remember that we give our members the possibility of choosing the plants to include in our search tool; Do not hesitate to let us know your preferences by email.
New books 👏
And here are two new books this month in our library:
- Le guide des plantes sauvages, written by Carole Minker and published by Tana Editions
- Le livre des bonnes herbes, written by Pierre Lieutaghi and published by Actes Sud.
Pierre Lieutaghi, who died recently, was pursuing research on the relationships between plants and societies in Western Europe. He was the scientific director of the ethnobotanical garden of Salagon in Haute Provence. He was one of the best connoisseurs of traditional knowledge of plant remedies in France.
Concerning Dr. Carole Minker, she is a pharmacist specializing in phytotherapy and gemmotherapy. She has studied the traditional uses of medicinal plants around the world.
Workshops and walks 👏
We are ready to meet you on the occasion of walks or workshops around medicinal plants. First date to come on May 🥰 11
Visit our pages walks and workshops for more information and to come in large numbers, we are waiting for 🎉 you
🌿 🌻 🌾
This was the news of our month of April, if you are interested in our search tool, more info on phyto-info.com.
To discover our plant finder, head to this page.
And if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us 🤗
Next newsletter in a month! Stay tuned!