A Plant Miscellany

The usefulness of plants is unending, and we can hardly pay sufficient tribute to the diversity of their worth. This section briefly describes some of the more important remaining uses of plants, from sweetening your breath to building your house.

Breath Sweeteners and Mouthwashes
Most of these have been chewed to freshen the breath. Made into tea, or soaked in 75% alcohol for a week and then diluted, they become mouthwashes:
Aniseed, cardamom seeds, cloves, European angelica root, gum mastic, mint leaves, orris root, parsley, peppermint oil (additive), sweet flag root, tarragon tea.

Dentifrice Ingredients
Dried and powdered plant parts can be used a's tooth powders. Mix them with plant extracts or oils to make a toothpaste.
Alder bark (vinegar decoction), charcoal, clove oil, lemon oil, mint, myrrh, nutmeg oil, orris root, Peruvian bark, rhatany root, rose oil, sage, sassafras oil, soapwort (decoction of root as additive), sweet flag. root, thyme oil, wintergreen.

Deodorants
These liquid plant preparations can be used as deodorizing washes:
Creosote bush (leaf decoction), lovage (infusion), thyme oil (disinfectant additive), white willow bark (in­fusion) with borax, witch hazel extract.

Fibers
Stems, twigs, and inner bark are the usual sources of plant fibers. Soaking or beating or both are often necessary before the fibers can be extracted. After drying, they can be worked into such things as rope, twine, cloth, netting, stuffings, baskets, blankets, and mats;
Agave leaves, baobab, basswood, bear-grass, buckhorn brake (leaf hairs), cannabis, carnauba leaves, coconut husks, corkwood, cotton, date palm leaves, dwarf nettle, flax, giant arbor vitae, Guinea sorrel, hemp, dogbane, Hibiscus surattensis, hops, iris leaves, Joshua tree (root bark), jute, kapok tree seeds, maidenhair, milkweed, musk-mallow, nettle, ramie, Scotch broom, Spanish bayonet leaves, squaw bush, yucca leaven.

Honey
These plants are preferred by bees. The colour and to some extent the flavour of the honey depend on the plant con­tributing the bulk of the nectar.
Alfalfa, balm, basil, basswood, black sage, blind nettle, borage, buckwheat, camomile, catnip, chicory, cotton, dropwort, European linden, European sweet cicely, fennel, ground ivy, heather, hyssop, inkberry, lavender, marjoram, meadowsweet, mezoreon. Oswego tea, partridge pea, rosemary, saw palmetto, Scotch broom, sugar bush, sweet orange, thyme, tulip tree, white clover, white melilot, winter savory, yellow metilot.

Insect Repellents
Either the plant parts or various extracts and other prepa­rations made from them can be used. Those marked with *are good for moths, those with + for fleas:
Aspic oil, +black alder leaves, black birch bark, chili pepper, columbine seeds (crushed), English walnut leaves, +eucalyptus leaves, European pennyroyal oil, garlic, khus-khus root, *+laurel leaves, mugwort, onion, patchouli, pine needles, *red cedar wood, true, *sweet flag root, *tansy, wild marjoram (for ants), *winter savory, *worm­wood, *yellow melilot, yew leaves.

Insecticides and Parasiticides
These plants are usually made into a spray or dusting powder to kill insects and parasitic vermin. Those marked with * are for lice:
*Alder bark (vinegar decoction), American hellebore soot, '*aniseed (salve), *columbine seeds (crushed), cube plant root (source of rotenone), darns root (source of rotenone), dittany, *European pennyroyal oil, feverfew flowers, green hellebore root, *larkspur seed (tincture), mayweed, *'parsley fruit, prickly juniper (oil of cade), pride of China fruit, pyrethrum flowers, red cedar wood oil, sweet flag root, tansy, thyme oil, *wild angelica fruit,, wild tobacco leaves (decoction).

Livestock Feed
These plants are used to provide forage, fodder, and silage. The pulp remaining after extracting the oil from the seeds of plants is called oil cake; the plants marked with *provide an oil cake that makes a high-protein food for livestock:
Acorns (hogs), alfalfa, barley, carrots, chicory, *coconut, *cotton, dropwort (hogs), fenugreek, foxtail millet, goat's rue (dried), *Indian corn (oil cake or whole), *jojoba, kidney bean plants, kidney vetch (sheep and goats), oats (horses), *opium poppy, rape (sheep and Cats), rice hulls and straw, rye, *safflower, *St. Benedict thistle, 'sesame, sorghum, velvet bean, white melilot, wild clover,

Oils
Drying oils react with oxygen to form a tough elastic film. Semi-drying oils react slowly with oxygen to form a soft film. Non-drying oils remain liquid at normal temperatures and form no film when exposed to air.

Oils for Edible Uses. Mostly semi-drying and non-drying oils an plant fats (oils that are solid at ordinary temperatures) are used for cooking and salad oils. Some drying oils are used in making cooking fats and other food products:
Avocado, black mustard seed, Brazil nut, celery seed, cocoa bean (cocoa butter), coconut, cottonseed, cucumber seed, English walnut, horseradish tree seed (ben oil), Indian corn, linseed, oil palm fruit, olive, opium poppy seed, peanut, pumpkin seed, rapeseed, safflower, sesame seed, shea tree seed, sour cherry kernel, soybean, sunflower seed

Oils for llumination. Semidrying oils are most commonly used for burning in lamps:
Cannabis seed, coconut, olive, pumpkin seed, rapeseed, soybean, sunflower seed, white mustard seed.

Oils for Lubricants. These are generally nondrying oils that remain liquid and retain their properties over a cer­tain range of conditions:
Black mustard seed, cashew nut, castor bean, Jojoba seed, oil palm fruit, olive, rapeseed, white mustard seed.

Oils for Making and Scenting Soap. Soap consists of a mixture of various oils and fats with lye. Semidrying oils are the most important for this use. Aromatic oils provide the sent
Baobab seed, black mustard seed, Brazil nut, cannabis seed, castor bean, clary sage, coconut, coriander seed, cottonseed, English walnut, European pennyroyal, Indian corn, laurel seed (bay fat), lavender, lemon grass, lemon seed, linseed, oil palm fruit, olive, opium poppy seed, orange seed, peanut, red cedar wood, sesame seed, shea tree seed, soybean, thuja leaf, rapeseed, ylang-ylang flower.

Poison Ivy (Oak) Remedies
Decoctions or liquid extracts of these plants can be used as a wash for poison ivy irritation, or the fresh plant can be made into a dressing for small areas. Euell Gibbons has had excellent results with a jewelweed decoction, which can be preserved by freezing.
Gum plant, jewelweed, lobelia, mugwort, Solomon's seal, sumac, sweet fern, witch hazel

Soap Substitutes
These plants contain compounds called saponins in suiflcient quantities to produce lather when the mashed plant parts are beaten up in water. They can also be used to make shampoos:
Amole root, California soap plant root, California soap­root bulb, guaiac leaves, papaya leaves, quillai bark, red campion root and leaves, saltbush root, soapberry fruit, soap pod fruit, soap tree yucca root, soapwort root, Spanish bayonet root, wild gourd fruit.

Tanning
Hot water extracts the tannic acid (or tannin) from plant materials -usually bark or wood. When a prepared animal skin or bide is soaked in a tannin acid solution, the tannin combines with the protein of the hide to form decay­resistant leather. Samples of Egyptian leather over 3000 years old have been found in nearly perfect condition.
American chestnut wood, baobab bark, bearberry leaves, black alder bark, black wattle bark, catechu wood, divi­divi pods, Douglas fir bark, dwarf sumac leaves, heather bark, hemlock spruce bark, Iceland moss, mangrove bark, myrobalan fruit, oak galls and bark, pomegranate rind, quebracho wood, red pine bark, rhatany root, tanbark oak wood, tanner's dock root,

Tobacco Substitutes and Additives
These are most commonly mixed with regular smokfng tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), but the leaves of most of them can be smoked alone as a nicotine-free tobacco sub­stitute. Those marked with * are additives for flavour or aroma:
"Bearberry, buck bean, chervil, coltsfoot, ,corn silk, "cubebs, dittany, evergreen sumac, *field mint, hawthorn (Young leaves), *licorice, life everlasting, manzaaita, milfoll, mugwort, pearly everlasting, rock-rose, rosemary, sage, sumac, *sweet flag root, *sweet gum balsam, *wild marjoram, *wild vanilla, *woodruff, *Yellow melilot, yeeba
Santa.

Waxes
Natural plant waxes usually occur as external coatings on various plant parts. The Jojoba plant is a notable excep­tion, its wax occurring In liquid form in the seeds. Carnauba is the hardest wax known.
carnauba, Jojoba, sugar cane, wax myrtle, wax tree.

Wood-Small Objects
These woods are made into such Items as tools and implements, decorative artifacts, gunstocks, and inlay or mosaic works:
Alder buckthorn, apple, barberry, basswood, bird's tongue, black alder, black birch, black poplar, blackthorn, black walnut, black willow, boxwood, California laurel, Common buckthorn, common plum, dogwood, English elm, English ivy, English walnut, eucalyptus, European aspen, European linden, guaiac, hawthorn, horse chestnut, Joshua tree, magnolia, maple, mountain holly, mountain laurel, olive, pear, privet, quaking aspen, red ash, redwood, rowan, sandalwood, shagbark hickory, sour. cherry, spruce, sweet cherry, teak, white ash, white birch, white holly. white pine, white willow, yew.

Wood-Interior Uses
These woods are made into larger interior items such as furniture, cabinets, and paneling;
American chestnut, basswood, bird's tongue, black ash, black birch, black walnut, boxwood, butternut, English elm, Fnglich oak, Fnglish walnut, European linden, giant arbor vitae, horse chestnut, larch, longleaf pine, mahogany, msauzaraita, maple, mountain holly, Oregon ash, pride of China, quaking aspen, red alder, red ash, red gum, rose­wood, sour cherry, sweet cherry, sweet gum, sycamore maple, teak, tulip tree, white ash, white holly, white oak, white pine, wild black cherry.

Wood-Exterior Uses
These woods provide materials for such heavy-duty apps cations as building, marine uses, agricultural implements, and fence posts:
American chestnut, bald cypress, black birch, black walnut, blue ash, coconut palm, Douglas fir, English elm, English oak, eucalyptus, giant arbor vitae, guaiac, hemlock spruce, larch, longleaf pine, mangrove, maple, mesquite, mulberry, Oregon ash, pecan, ponderosa pine, quaking aspen, red alder, red ash, red oak, red pine, redwood, rowan, sallow, sassafras, shagbark hickory, slippery elm, spruce, sweet gum, teak, thuja, white ash, white oak, white pine.