Post by Raven on Jan 29, 2011 19:05:29 GMT -8
List of Herbs Used by Medicine Cats
"To truly be a medicine cat lies in a cat's heart, and all its five senses. You must be braver than warriors, wiser than a Clan leader, humbler than the tiniest kit, more willing to learn than any apprentice..." - Cinderpelt
Medicine cats must know all the useful herbs in addition to the basic fighting moves. Here is a list of the most commonly used herbs and what they do. If a medicine cat didn't know about herbs, they wouldn't be able to heal their clanmates!
This is a list of herbs used by medicine cats.
Credit to Familiar for listing many of these herbs.
__________
This is a list of herbs used by medicine cats.
Credit to Familiar for listing many of these herbs.
__________
Alder Bark - A tall plant with round, wavy-edged leaves. Good for toothaches.[/U] - A delicious-smelling, leafy plant that's hard to find in the wild; often found growing in Twoleg gardens. The best remedy for green-cough.
Blackberry Leaves - Yellow-green leaves harvested from the prickly blackberry bush. Be careful of thorns when gathering these! When chewed into a pulp, they help soothe and ease the swelling of bee stings.
Borage Leaves - To be chewed and eaten. The plant can be distinguished by its small blue or pink star-shaped flowers and hairy leaves. Great for nursing queens as it helps increase their supply of milk. Also brings down fever.
Burdock Root - A tall-stemmed, sharp-smelling thistle with dark leaves. A medicine cat must dig up the roots, wash off the dirt, and chew them into a pulp, which can be applied to rat bites. Cures infection.
Burnet - This plant is identifiable by its small pink or red puffball-like flowers that grow on long stalks. Used in traveling herbs to help prevent bleeding if a cat is wounded.
Catmint (also known as catnip)
Celandine - Small, yellow flowers. Juice is good for damaged eyes.
Chamomile - Small, daisy-like flowering plant. Calms cats and gives them strength; mostly used in traveling herbs.
Chervil - A sweet-smelling plant with large, spreading, fernlike leaves and small white flowers. The juice of the leaves can be used for infected wounds, and chewing the root helps with bellyache.
Chickweed - Small weed-like plant with white and green colored flowers. Best substitute for catmint if none is available.
Cob Nuts - Hard-shelled nuts that grow on a tall, bushy plant with heart-shaped leaves. It takes some muscle to remove them from their shells, but once they're out, they make an ointment that is excellent for swelling and much less painful than nettle. Can also bring down fever if eaten.
Cobweb - Spiderwebs can be found all over the forest; be careful not to bring along the spider when you take the web! Medicine cats wrap it around an injury to soak up the blood and keep the wound clean. Stops bleeding.
Coltsfoot - A flowering plant, a bit like a dandelion, with yellow or white flowers. The leaves can be chewed into a pulp, which is eaten to help shortness of breath.
Comfrey - Identifiable by its large leaves and small bell-shaped flowers, which can be pink, white, or purple. The fat black roots of this plant can be chewed into a poultice to mend broken bones or soothe wounds.
Daisy Leaves - Appearance self-explanatory. Good for aching joints, especially in elder cats.
Dandelion - A common flowering plant with yellow flowers and long, hollow stems. Dandelion milk, which is found in the stems, can soothe bee stings. Its leaves can also be chewed to reduce pain.
Deathberries (also known as night-seeds/yew) - A deadly plant with bright red berries. Not to be eaten under ANY circumstances. Used by some clans to give dying cats in pain a swift death.
Dock - A plant similar to sorrel. The leaf can be chewed up and applied to soothe scratches. It is also good for cracked and bleeding pads.
Dried Oak Leaf - Collected in the autumn and stored in a dry place. Stops infections.
Elder Leaves - Teardrop-shaped leaves that grow in a fern-like manner. Poultice is good for sprains.
Fennel - Bushy plant with long stalks and thin, spiky leaves. The juice in its stalks helps dull pain without causing drowsiness, unlike poppy seeds.
Feverfew - A small bush with flowers like daisies. The leaves can be eaten to cool down body temperature, particularly for cats with fever or chills.
Goldenrod - A tall plant with bright yellow flowers. A poultice of this is terrific for healing wounds.
Heather Flower - An upward-growing meadow plant with tiny pink bell-shaped flowers. Has no real herbal value, but can be used to sweeten mixtures in order to persuade cats to swallow them.
Honey - A sweet, golden liquid created by bees. Difficult to collect without getting stung, but great for soothing infections or the throats of cats who have breathed smoke.
Horsetail - A tall plant with bristly stems that grows in marshy areas. The leaves can be used to treat infected wounds. Usually chewed up and applied as a poultice.
Juniper Berries - A bush with spiky dark green leaves and purple berries. The berries soothe bellyaches and help cats who are having trouble breathing. They also help give cats strength when they have just gotten over an illness.
Lamb's Ears - Not to be confused with animal's ears. Pale-leaved mountain plant used by Tribal cats to give strength. Similar to ragwort.
Lavender - A small purple flowering plant. Cures fever.
Marigold - A bright orange or yellow flower that grows low to the ground. The petals or leaves can be chewed in to a pulp and applied as a poultice to wounds. Stops infection.
Mallow - A small weed with long-stemmed, sunburst-like leaves and purple or pink flowers. Leaves soothe bellyache.
Mouse Bile - A bad-smelling liquid that is the only remedy for ticks. Dab a little moss soaked in bile on a tick and it'll fall right off. Wash paws thoroughly in running water afterward.
Nettle Leaves[/U] - Long, spiky-leaved plant. Good for swelling.
Nightshade[/U] - Deadly plant similar to deathberries. Looks almost identical, except for the way the berries hang off of the stem.
Parsley - Small, green, fan-like plant with sharp smell. Stops queens' milk if they lose their kits or if they want to hide the birth of their kits.
Poppy Seeds - Small, black seeds collected from round, red flowers. Good for soothing cats and putting them to sleep when they are stressed. Also numbs pain.
Ragweed - A mountain herb used by Tribal cats to give strength. A ragged-looking, fernlike plant.
Ragwort - Used to give strength. Short, fern-like plant that grows in an odd upward fashion.
Raspberry Leaves - Spiky-edged leaves from a plant with red, bumpy berries. Used to give queens strength while they are giving birth, as well as speed up the kitting.
Sorrel[/u] - A leafy plant with oblong leaves and crimson veins. Used in traveling herbs.
Snakeroot - A plant with small, white, sunburst-like flowers used to counter poison.
Tansy - Yellow-flowered plant that looks rather like dandylion. Good for coughs.
Thyme - Lemon-scented, upward-growing herb that is excellent for shock.
Tormentil - Weed-like plant with small yellow flowers and a strong, almost romantic scent. Its roots, when chewed up, are good for extracting poison, as well as for wounds in general. Mostly used by Tribe cats.
Watermint - Good substitute for juniper berries. Weed-like plant with periwinkle-colored flowers. Cures bellyache.
Wild Garlic - A pungent plant easily found via its scent. Rolling in a patch of this helps prevent infection.
Willow Bark - Thin pieces of this, stripped from willow trees, can help relieve pain and stop headaches when sucked on.
Wintergreen - A small plant with round red berries that grows close to the ground in patches. Used by Tribe cats to treat wounds.
Yarrow - Can be used like marigold and dock to sooth cracked pads. Makes cats sick when eaten, and can therefore also be used to get rid of ingested poison. Has tall-growing clusters of pink flowers. [/blockquote]