Comfrey
There is a plant that grows in abundance around the yard I grew up. In a family that wasn’t big on doctors, grandma had ideas for most of what ailed you. Her go-to plant was Comfrey and this is why she grew it everywhere around the yard. It had many uses that she found for us kids, and for the pets, we brought home. This plant was used from things as simple as a splinter or as drastic as a broken bone.
Grandma started out with one small plant, it quickly took over the whole side of our house. This may have been one reason why grandma was always come up with ways to use it. Some good things about this plant besides its healing properties are it is easy to grow.
Comfrey plant has been also called Knitbone and All Heal. This plant has been used since somewhere around 50 A.D. It was probably used before that but that is the earliest it was recorded in medical journals. It was originally used for broken bones and to heal wounds. As time went on the list of uses grew longer and longer. There are even some tribes in Australia who eat it on a normal basis to improve their overall health, but even grandma wouldn’t make us eat it. This plant should only be used externally and not as an everyday practice. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Plus I am not sure how they can handle eating it since it is fuzzy and kind of prickly.
It has been used successfully for Sprains, Bruises, Broken bones, Inflammation, gout, splinters, and bug bites. for all of these ailments, a simple poultice made from the leaves can give you the healing that you need. There are also creams made from the roots that have been used to help with many skin issues. A wash is recommended for open wounds as the speed of healing can be increased so much with this plant that on an open wound can heal it to fast on the outside leaving bacteria inside. Using a wash will help clean the wound and speed up healing but not to fast. It has also been used as feed filler for livestock since once dried it contains 26% crude protein and can be great boosting livestock immune systems. One of the best uses is in the garden. Rich in Nitrogen it makes a fantastic fertilizer, mulch, and garden tea. For ways to use it in the garden check out this post here
Even though the Comfrey leaves have also been used to make tea I wouldn’t recommend it as they have found that it can be damaging to your liver. Grandma was always drinking it but it isn’t recommended. There is such thing as too much of a good thing, even when God gives us an amazing plant with many uses doesn’t mean it is a cure-all and should be used every day.
