Daisy is a widespread plant that grows in the wild. It is not only used for decorative purposes, but also enjoys increasing popularity in the kitchen. In addition, it is used in traditional folk medicine, especially for ailments of the digestive tract, as well as for wound healing.
Occurrence and cultivation of the daisy.
In naturopathy, among other things, the wound-healing effect of the daisy is used. The daisy has many names in the vernacular, for example, Maßliebchen or Tausendschön. The plant, which can be found on almost every nutritious meadow and lawn in Central Europe, belongs to the daisy family. Its height of growth is small, about four to fifteen centimeters. Its flower basket is characteristic, consisting of white ray florets surrounding the centered yellow tubular florets. From Europe, the daisy also reached North and South America, the Pacific coast and New Zealand through man. As a so-called storage plant, the daisy is able to survive frosty temperatures in the snow. Occasionally, the daisy is used as a forage plant. It has reclaimed human cuisine as part of the countryside boom, where it serves as a salad ingredient that is as tasty as it is ornamental. Naturopathy uses the daisy’s wound-healing properties, among other things.
Effect and application
At the latest, since it is again chic to enliven the menu with weeds and wild growing plants, the daisy also enjoys a renaissance in the kitchen. There it is not only used in green salads. For example, children enjoy the freshly plucked blossoms on buttered bread – all the more so if they have picked the white flower petals themselves! In addition to the flowers, the leaves of the daisy are also edible. Here, the young leaves from inside the rosette taste best. Finely chopped, they bring variety to the salad and make a great eye-catcher as a soup garnish. The open flowers taste slightly bitter, while the half-open flowers as well as the daisy buds have a pleasant nutty flavor. Pickled sourly, the buds also serve as a substitute for capers. They are also made into daisy tea, daisy honey or daisy jelly. However, daisies are not only tasty, they also contain many healthy nutrients such as vitamin C, calcium, magnesium or potassium. Medicinally effective are the bitter substances, tannins, saponins, flavonoids and the contained essential oil. They are mainly used for stomach, gall bladder and liver complaints. However, since they stimulate the metabolism (and thus the appetite), they also have a positive effect on the appearance of the skin as well as on the internal organs. A raw vegetable salad with daisies can stimulate the appetite for the following menu. To do this, mix yogurt with mustard and balsamic vinegar to make a dressing. Freshly ground black pepper and the bitter to slightly spicy daisy flowers round out the salad dressing. Since the plant is widespread, you can collect them yourself. Food-grade air-dried daisies from controlled collections can be purchased in pharmacies and herb shops. According to superstition, plants harvested on St. John’s Day – June 24 – are the most effective. To prepare a daisy tea, two teaspoons of dried daisies are poured over a quart of boiling water. After brewing for ten minutes, the tea, which can be sweetened with a little honey if necessary, can be drunk.
Importance for health, treatment and prevention.
Both in traditional naturopathy and in modern phytotherapy daisies are used internally as a tea, both externally as a tincture. The effect of daisy tea is primarily aimed at the digestive organs: Due to the bitter substances it contains, it stimulates the appetite before meals and promotes the digestion of even fatty foods after meals. The high content of saponins ensures that daisy broth is also traditionally used to relieve coughs, especially in children. It is also the saponins that act against springtime fatigue and to which the daisy owes its generally stimulating effect. Daisy tea also has a diuretic effect, which is why it can be used to combat edema.It is also used in gynecology in case of absent or painful menstruation. Furthermore, daisy tea is used for headaches and insomnia. Used externally, daisy tincture can help heal wounds and clear up blemished skin. Recent studies have also demonstrated an antimicrobial effect of daisies. When out and about, for example on hikes, daisies serve as a quick wound plaster substitute: simply place a few daisy leaves on the wound, bruise or sprain. Because daisies have anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties, discomfort improves quickly. If the daisy leaves are ground between the fingers, the resulting juice can be used to relieve itching – for example, after an insect bite. But skin damaged by contact with stinging nettles also breathes a noticeable sigh of relief when treated with the juice of daisy leaves. Blemished skin benefits in the form of washes or by facial tonic with daisies. Even cold sores improve with daisy dressings, which is attributed to the flavonoids and tannins they contain. For rashes, a decoction made from the green leaves of the daisy is used. Similarly, abscesses and age spots can be soothed by rubbing with daisy decoction. While all of these applications have been well known since the Middle Ages, the daisy briefly fell into disrepute in the eighteenth century because it was said to have an abortifacient effect. However, this could not be confirmed.
