---
Eight Medicinal Plants from the Forest
Rosebay Willowherb (Epilobium angustifolium)
The bright pink willowherb is one of the first plants to colonize clear-cut areas after logging. It is also commonly found in dry forests (especially pine forests), forest edges, clearings, and dry meadows.
It flowers from June to August. The flowers and leaves are collected throughout the flowering season for medicinal use.
Willowherb tea, with its pleasant aroma, promotes good sleep. It dilates blood vessels, helping relieve headaches, chills, and leg cramps.
Scientific studies have demonstrated its ability to inhibit the growth of cancer cells, and it is used in the production of a preparation called Canerol.
Willowherb is an excellent tonic for the immune and hormonal systems. It is helpful for intestinal disorders such as colitis and gastritis, helps against diarrhea, and is believed to improve male potency.
The young, juicy leaves are rich in vitamin C and are suitable for salads.
Applied externally, it is used to treat various skin conditions such as boils and ulcers.
---
Meadowsweet (Filipendula)
The fragrant meadowsweet grows in moist meadows, deciduous forests, swamp forests, wetlands, wooded meadows, and along the banks of rivers and lakes. It prefers moist habitats such as marshes, floodplains, forest edges, and clearings.
The entire plant is used medicinally.
Flowers are collected at the beginning of flowering.
The aerial parts (about the upper 15 cm) are harvested throughout the summer.
Roots are dug in early spring and September.
Meadowsweet is considered an excellent cleansing herb. It helps remove toxins from the body, improves metabolism, promotes weight loss, strengthens the immune system, and reduces stress.
It also eases symptoms of colds, relieves pain (including rheumatic pain, nerve pain, and headaches), and supports heart function.
---
Lady's Mantle (Alchemilla vulgaris)
Lady's mantle, known for its fan-shaped leaves that collect dew and raindrops, grows in various meadows, wooded grasslands, and sparse forests, as well as among shrubs and along roadsides.
Besides its inconspicuous green flowers, the leaves and stems are also used medicinally.
It is especially useful for inflammation, cleansing the body, relieving eye problems, and strengthening weakened blood vessels.
Lady's mantle is particularly beneficial for women: it helps stop uterine bleeding and promotes breast milk production.
---
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Yarrow, with its white fragrant flowers, grows in open pine forests, wooded meadows, dry grasslands, but is most commonly found along roadsides, field edges, and pastures.
For medicinal use, flowering shoots about 15 cm long are collected.
Fresh yarrow tea is a well-known remedy for colds because it strongly supports the immune system.
Yarrow also:
improves digestion,
stimulates metabolism,
reduces nausea,
supports kidney function,
helps against anemia.
It has a particularly strong relationship with the circulatory system: it stimulates blood circulation and heart function, helps regulate blood glucose levels, promotes blood clotting, and reduces bleeding.
---
Greater Celandine (Chelidonium majus)
Greater celandine, with its bright yellow flowers, grows from spring to autumn in open, moderately moist forests and deciduous woodland.
Caution is required when handling celandine because its yellow, unpleasant-smelling latex is poisonous.
If ingested, it may cause stomach pain, nausea, and cramps. The sap is also irritating and can cause blisters. It must not come into contact with the eyes or mucous membranes.
When used correctly and externally, celandine is an excellent remedy for various skin problems.
Its latex is traditionally used against:
warts,
corns,
fungal infections,
calluses.
---
Heather (Calluna vulgaris)
Heather, with its purple flowers, grows in sunny pine forests and peat bogs. It prefers acidic soils created by decomposing pine needles.
Heather blooms from June until late autumn. For medicinal purposes, mainly the flowering tops are harvested.
Traditionally, heather has been used:
to calm the nerves,
to improve sleep,
to help eliminate kidney and gallstones,
as a diuretic,
to support weight loss,
to reduce inflammation.
---
Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica)
The preferred habitat of stinging nettle is moist, soft, humus-rich woodland.
It is often confused with the smaller small nettle (Urtica urens), which has weaker medicinal properties. Small nettle has paler, rounder leaves.
Nettle is harvested at the beginning of flowering and dried in bundles.
Because of its high iron content, it is considered a blood-strengthening herb and may help lower blood sugar.
It is also an excellent digestive aid. Since it helps restore healthy intestinal microflora, it is recommended after antibiotic treatment.
Nettle stimulates metabolism, promotes bile secretion, and helps remove excess fluid from the body.
When applied externally, it has long been known as a remedy for joint pain and rheumatism.Wild Strawberry (Fragaria vesca)
The tasty fruits of the wild strawberry can be found almost everywhere: in mixed and deciduous forests, forest clearings, grassy slopes, shrubs, roadside ditches, and along paths. In northern Estonia it prefers sunny locations, while in southern Estonia it is more commonly found in semi-shaded habitats such as wooded meadows, natural forests and meadows, and herb-rich deciduous forests. It avoids excessively wet or sandy soils.
In traditional folk medicine, the entire above-ground part of the plant is used medicinally—the fruits, leaves, and flowers.
The berries are used to help with anemia, blood pressure problems, and vitamin deficiencies. Fresh strawberry masks are traditionally applied to the skin to improve the complexion and reduce pigmentation spots, freckles, and wrinkles.
Tea made from strawberry leaves helps relieve digestive disorders, stimulates the appetite, speeds up metabolism, and promotes urination and sweating.
Finely chopped fresh strawberry leaves have anti-inflammatory properties and help the skin recover more quickly, for example in the case of slow-healing wounds.
People who are prone to allergies should use wild strawberry with caution, as it may cause allergic reactions.
