Watercress Dried Cut & Sifted Herb (Nasturtium Officinale)

Description ShareTweetPinLinkedInPrintEmail Watercress Cut & Sifted Herb (Nasturtium Officinale) HERB COMMON NAME :  Watercress HERB SCIENTIFIC NAME :  Nasturtium Officinale OTHER NAMES :  Brooklime, Brown Cress, Cress, Cresson, Nasturtium, Water Cresses, True Watercress FAMILY :  Brassicaceae Element: Water Planet: Moon Day: Friday Direction: West Zodiac Sign: Cancer Chakra: 5th Throat Chakra (Vishuddha) Energy: Yin Gender: Feminine Rune: Laguz Tarot: the Strength Tarot Spirit Animal: frog Candle Color: blue, silver Sabbat or Holiday: Ostara / the Spring Equinox (btw. March 19-23) ; Beltane / Walpurgis / May Day (April 30 – May 1) Deity or God / Goddess Association: Eostre, Shashthi, Priapos (Priapus), Ocnus, Vishnu   Parts Used:  Aerial parts (herb / leaf) Description:  Watercress is in the same botanical family as broccoli and cabbage. A leafy green herb, most people are familiar with fresh watercress as sandwich bedding, but the dried herb offers peppery flavor enhancement for soups, stews and other cooked foods. It is also nutritious, popular as a Super Food (scoring higher by the CDC than spinach, chard, and beet greens, as of 2023 the only herb/vegetable to earn a perfect score of 100 for nutrition density!), providing a boat load of calcium, iron and vitamin C. Dried Watercress can be added to tea blends, while the powdered herb can also be encapsulated as a dietary supplement. The ancient Greek general, and the Persian King Xerxes ordered their soldiers to eat Watercress to keep them healthy. The Greeks additionally believed that “Eating cress makes one witty”. Watercress is an edible plant, exceptionally rich in vitamins and minerals. It has long been valued as a food and herbal plant. Watercress has a mildly hot mustard flavor, very good fresh in salad or on a sandwich or cooked as a pot herb. The seed is ground into a powder and used as a mustard. As an herb, Watercress is used in alternative medicine to prevent scurvy, for congestion (expectorant), as a purifier and purgative, as a diuretic, for hypoglycemia, to ease toothache pain caused by inflammation around the tooth (from tooth decay or infection), as a stimulant, to promote appetite, and to aid digestion. Culpepper says that the leaves bruised or the juice applied as a lotion will free the face from blotches, spots and blemishes. A poultice of the leaves is said to be an effective help for glandular tumors or lymphatic swellings and chronic irritations and inflammations of the skin. The plant has been used as a specific in the easing of tuberculosis. The freshly pressed juice of Watercress has been used internally and externally for chest and kidney complaints. Applied externally, Watercress has a long-standing reputation as an effective hair tonic, helping to promote the growth of thick hair. Historical Uses:  SUPER FOOD, scurvy, congestion, expectorant, blood purifier, purgative, induce vomiting, diuretic, hypoglycemia, toothache, stimulant, promote appetite, digestion, skin blotches, skin spots, blemishes, acne, skin inflammation, tuberculosis, alopecia, baldness, hair loss, energy, tiredness, swollen lymph glands Mystical Attributes:  Having health and healing properties, Watercress represents strength and can help boost magickal power to manifest your intentions. Watercress can be added to ritual asperging waters to enhance purification and clarity. Mystical Intentions:  health and healing, nutrition, boosting magickal power, strength, potency, vitality, longevity, purification, cleansing, clarity, asperging, Moon rituals, productivity, energy, survival Taste & Smell:  The dried herb offers peppery flavor enhancement for soups, stews and other cooked foods. Watercress has a mildly hot mustard flavor, very good fresh in salad or on a sandwich or cooked as a pot herb. The seed is ground into a powder and used as a mustard. Botany, Cultivation & Harvesting:  Native to Europe and Asia, Watercress is a wide-spread perennial herb that prefers to set roots in a watery environment rather than solid, dry ground. This aquatic, hardy perennial has hollow, succulent, branching stems from 1-2 feet. The floating, trailing stems and foliage of watercress may grow to 32 inches long, but usually only the top 4-6 inches of the plant are visible above the water’s surface. These creeping (or floating) stems will root easily and bear shiny, fleshy, heart-shaped leaves. Watercress leaves range in color from very dark green to a brownish green or bronze. These mostly glabrous (hairless), petiolate leaves are oval shaped or pinnately divided, with narrow lateral lobes and a wider lobe at the top of each leaf. Clusters of small white to purplish white flowers appear at the tips of the plant’s stems from early summer to mid-autumn. Watercress’ flowers are characteristically mustard-like. Their clusters form on terminal stalks that arise from the upper leaf axils, each with four petals. The fruits each contain two rows of tiny seeds and are linear capsules ½ to 1 inch in length. A fast-growing plant, the flowers are a rich source of pollen and so are very attractive to bees. Watercress is a semi-aquatic plant that is frequently found growing around the headwaters of chalk streams, in open running watercourses or near cool shallow springs, spring holes, spring fed stream margins, and brooks where the soil stays very wet. Due to its semi-aquatic nature, it is well-suited to hydroponic cultivation, preferring slightly alkaline water. Watercress does best in sun or partial shade. The watercress plant is fairly easy to cultivate under the correct conditions of slowly flowing cool clean water about 2-3 inches deep, preferably coming from chalky or limestone soils. Being semi-aquatic it can grow in water or on wet soils. Since virtually any part of the plant will form roots if detached from the parent plant (including a single leaf), cuttings can be taken at any time in the growing season. Place cuttings in a container of water until the roots are well formed and then plant out in shallow water. Watercress can also be cultivated via seed. Sow seed in the spring in a pot emerged to half its depth in water in a cool place around 50-60°F. When transplanting, space plants 8 inches apart and place them outdoors after the last frost. The leaves can be harvested throughout the year and are used fresh, or dried for later use. Store dried watercress pieces and dried powdered watercress in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. Contraindications & Toxicity: Do not use if pregnant or nursing. Watercress may provoke menstruation and can cause miscarriage.   Constituents:  Arginine Aspartic-acid Beta-carotene Biotin Folacin Glutamic-acid Glycine Histidine Isoleucine Lysine Methionine Pantothenic-acid Phenylalanine Serine Threonine Tryptophan Tyrosine Valine     Sources: https://spiritartsandherbs.com/sources **IMPORTANT INFORMATON: Products are sold as curio items for entertainment purposes only and based upon historical and magical uses.  We do not imply or guarantee that any items provide specific abilities, powers, outcomes, remedies, or treatments. Any information provided on listings or through private conversation is intended for educational purposes only and are based on historical folklore and traditions, and should not replace the advice of a physician. Use our products at your own risk. By purchasing this item, you understand and release Spirit Arts & Herbs Inc from any liability. No items we sell are for internal use and should never be ingested for any reason. Some may also not be safe for topical application, or even be safe to touch while unprotected. Always use proper safety precautions when using our products. We will not be held responsible for illness, injury, or death from the use of any product. PRODUCT IS NOT A TREATMENT. This product has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. CAUTION : Do not use ANY product if pregnant or nursing. Do not use if allergic to any ingredients. Prior to use, consult with your professional health-care provider to ensure safe use and understand effects that ingredients may cause relative to safety, personal conditions, and medication interactions which may be harmful. FOR ADULT USE ONLY. By purchasing, you confirm that you are over 18 years of age. Keep out of reach of children and pets. 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