Herbs & Herbal Remedies @ Green Papaya

Cytisus scoparius (formerly Geniste scoparius)

LEGUMINOSAE

broom, scotch broom, broom tops, link, banal, hay-weed

Although it is usually found in sandy} coastal areas} it may at times be found elsewhere} escaped from cultivation or planted in gardens.

Broom is a three-foot shrub composed of narrow} leafless} green branches which} in June} bear yellow} pealike flowers. The common name suggests how easily one might make a hearth-broom from the gathered stems} and it has been used in this way for centuries.

There are many references to its use in the oldest of herbals} and always for its properties as a purgative and diuretic. The fresh} green tops are picked just before flowering} when they contain the maximum of active principles. As an official medicinal herb} the tops are dried and powdered} but they may be given as a simple infusion of 1 ounce of dried tops to 1 pint of boiling water} taken frequently} a wine glassful at a time.

One of the active principles which is separated into crystals is a drug, Sparteine sulphate} which “is used as a cardiac depressant to quiet an overactive heart} in functional palpitation} et cetera.” Such a drug is not, however, a home remedy.

There are a number of references to an infusion of broom with dandelion roots as a beneficial medicine in bladder and kidney infections and in chronic dropsy. A recipe in Grieve’s Herbal is:

One ounce Broomtops and % ounce Dandelion roots are boiled in one pint of water down to half a pint, adding toward the last, % ounce bruised Juniper berries. When cold, the decoction is strained and a small quantity of cayenne added. A wineglassful is taken three or four times a day.

It should be noted that in large doses this plant is emetic and poisonous, and that it seems to be especially poisonous to animals.