Herbs & Herbal Remedies @ Green Papaya

No uterine stimulants have been found in bay, but the herb was used for thousands of years to stimulate menstruation and abortion. For that reason, pregnant women should stay away from medicinal doses.

Bay is on the Food and Drug Administration’s list of herbs gene ‘lIly regarded as safe. For otherwise healthy nonpregnant, nonnursing adults, bay is considered safe in amounts typically recommended.

Bay should be used in medicinal amounts only in consultation with your doctor. If bay causes minor discomforts, such as stomach upset, use less or stop using it. Let your doctor know if you experience any unpleasant effects or if the symptoms for which the herb is being used do not improve significantly in two weeks.
You may want to avoid external use of bay if you have particularly sensitive skin, as it may cause a rash.

Native Cultivation - Challenge Your Green Thumb

Bay laurel is a small evergreen tree, which seldom grows taller than 20 feet in the United States. Its shiny, leathery, dark green leaves have wavy edges and grow on short stalks. Its spring-blooming flowers are inconspicuous and have no petals. Bay berries are dark purple or black, have one seed, and are about the size of small grapes.

Daphne played hard to get with Apollo, so perhaps it is fitting that the tree she became is so hard to grow “Notoriously difficult to propagate” is how Gaea and Shandor Weiss put it in Growing and Using the Healing HerDs. “Seeds almost invariably grow moldy; cuttings are very difficult to root, and when successful, take up to six months.”

The Weisses recommend purchasing saplings from nurseries. Bays cannot survive cold winters, but they do well in pots, reaching 6 to 8 feet. Grow them indoors and you’ll have a wonderfully aromatic plant, not to mention fresh bay leaves all year long. Bays like moderately rich, well-drained soil and plenty of sun. Do not take potted bays outside again until danger of frost has passed

Leaves may be harvested year-round.