Hyssop

Parts Usually Used

Above ground portion

Description of Plant(s) and Culture

A bushy evergreen plant; 1-2 feet high, once widely cultivated for medicinal uses, it is now grown mostly as an ornamental shrub. The plant consists of several square, branched, downy stems which are woody at the bottom and bear opposite, entire (toothless) sessile, glabrous to hairy, linear-lanceolate leaves that have a peppery scent when stroked firmly. The rose-colored to bluish-purple flowers (1/2 inch) grow in successive axillary whorls at the tops of the branches and stems from June to October.

Zones 3-10. Not heat-tolerant. Prefers full sun and warmth but will accept some light shade. Prune back severely in winter or early spring. Other varieties: Blue giant hyssop or anise-hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) is anise scented; White-flowered cultivar (A. snow spike); Korean anise hyssop (A. rugosa); Mexican giant hyssop (A. mexicana); and yellow giant hyssop (Agastache nepetoides) has saw-toothed leaves; A.

alba has white flowers; and A. rosea has pink flowers.

Where Found

Grows wild in warm countries, dry soils, and frequently cultivated. Introduced into the warmer parts of the United States from southern Europe. Native to Europe and temperate Asia.

Medicinal Properties

Anthelmintic, aromatic, aperient, astringent, carminative, emmenagogue (stimulates menstrual flow), febrifuge, anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, antispasmodic, expectorant, stimulant, diaphoretic, stomachic, sudorific, tonic.

Biochemical Information

Volatile oil, tannin and glycoside (diosmine), flavonoids, marrubin

Legends, Myths and Stories

Herbs were well known in ancient Egypt. ” Scholars believe the hyssop of this reference is Origanum aegyptiacum rather than Hyssopus officinalis. David, of the Bible, knew the benefits of hyssop. He drew lessons from the remedy, which he used in showing the cleansing of the body from sin, for he said, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psalms 51:7).

Planted as a companion to cabbage (deters the cabbage moth) and grapes. Keep away from radishes. Hyssop is an herby fragrance used in Chartreuse, Benedictine and other liqueurs. Hyssop is historically known as a holy herb, used for cleansing sacred places. Hyssop is a name of Greek origin, adopted from the Greek azob (a holy herb), because it was often used to clean the temples and other sacred places.

Uses

Historically, herbalists regarded hyssop as a cleansing herb and a tonic, traditionally utilizing it to address coughs, catarrh, and excess mucus. Practitioners administered it to clear the chest, promote sweating during fevers, soothe the nerves, and manage both high and low blood pressure. It was also commonly employed to aid digestion and relieve flatulence, intestinal congestion, gallbladder gravel, dropsy, and jaundice, sometimes serving as a laxative.

In folk tradition, hyssop was often used much like sage, occasionally in combination with it as a gargle for sore throats, or blended with horehound for asthma, bronchitis, and respiratory complaints. The dried leaves were traditionally chewed for toothaches, while teas and decoctions were applied for cystitis, fevers, and conjunctivitis. Externally, decoctions were utilized as washes for burns, bruises, ulcers, and chronic inflammation.

Herbalists also applied crushed leaves topically to bruises and wounds, and used the plant for insect bites, stings, and body lice.

Bibliography

The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974. , Loma Linda, CA 92354, Original copyright 1939, revised edition 1994 Culpeper’s Complete Herbal & English Physician: Updated With 117 Modern Herbs , by Nicholas Culpeper, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1990, (reprint of 1814) The Complete Medicinal Herbal , by Penelope Ody, Dorling Kindersley, Inc, 232 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, First American Edition, copyright 1993 Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants , by Steven Foster and James A.

, Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000 The Nature Doctor: A Manual of Traditional and Complementary Medicine , by Dr. A. , 27 Pine Street (Box 876) New Canaan, CT. 06840-0876. Copyright Verlag A. , Pantheon Books, Knopf Publishing Group, New York, 1994, first edition The Magic of Herbs , by David Conway, published by Jonathan Cape, Thirty Bedford Square, London, England.

, Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. , Copyright 1988, published 1992 American Folk Medicine , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1973 Indian Herbalogy of North America , by Alma R. , Simon & Schuster/Fireside, Rockefeller Center 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020 Prescription for Nutritional Healing, Fifth Edition: A Practical A-to-Z Reference to Drug-Free Remedies Using Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs & Food Supplements , by James F.

D. and Phyllis A. , Garden City Park, NY Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary , 15th Edition, F. A. , 180 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014, first printed by the United States Government Printing Office, Washington, in 1928, this Dover edition 1974 The Herbalist Almanac , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, copyright 1988, fifth printing, 1994 The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine , by Dr.

David Frawley & Dr. Vasant Lad, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, Second edition, 1988. The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book) , edited by William H. Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc. , 1974 Country Home Book of Herbs , Meredith Books, Editorial Dept. RW240, 1716 Locust Street, Des Moines, IA 50309-3023, copyright 1994