The cowslip. Medicinal plant
"Where cowslips grow, the elves dance at night" - say the Indians!
According to legend, the "key to heaven", as the cowslip is still called, came into being when Peter's bunch of keys fell to earth and the cowslip grew from it. It had slipped away from him in horror when he heard that fiends had had a duplicate key made for the golden gate of heaven in order to gain access to it.
If we look closely at this beautiful little flower, we can indeed see its resemblance to a bunch of keys. In the vernacular, there are many other names for the cowslip, such as meadow primrose, alleluia and cowslip: Wiesen-Primel, Allelujableaml, Himmelschlüssel....
There are two very similar species of cowslip, or cowslip as we commonly call it. The tall cowslip blooms very early in the year and has light yellow flowers. It blooms particularly profusely in areas that are not fertilized with liquid manure.
The cowslip is rare and protected. It only blooms in April/May and has dark yellow flowers with small reddish spots. Its ingredients are more intense and are used in medicine. The true cowslip belongs to the primrose family. It is widespread in large parts of Europe.
Hildegard von Bingen was the first to mention the cowslip in her works. According to the abbess, the plant is warm because it is strengthened by the sun and therefore drives away melancholy and melancholy. Today, cowslip is one of the classic medicinal plants for respiratory diseases, which is why it can be found in the well-known syrup Sinupret, which is used to treat inflammation of the sinuses.
Use in folk medicine
- relaxing
- Colds
- Heart, kidney and skin diseases
- expectorant
- for nervous disorders
Use as a food and medicinal plant
Salads are given a particularly fine touch when garnished with cowslip blossoms.
The small yellow flowers are also very decorative in an aperitif!
In medicine, the roots and flowers are used to make tea. This has an expectorant effect on persistent coughs.
However, some people are allergic to contact with Primula species.
Recipes with the cowslip
Cough tea:
As the cowslip has an antispasmodic and expectorant effect, it is very suitable as a cough tea. To make cough tea, use a teaspoon of cowslip roots and/or flowers, pour a cup of boiling water over them and leave the tea to infuse for ten minutes. Then strain and drink two to three cups a day once cooled.
Cowslip flowers can also be mixed very well with the following herbs for a spring tea blend: Birch leaves, nettle leaves, dandelion, chickweed, speedwell
Spring flower vinegar
500 ml wine vinegar or mild apple cider vinegar
50 g violet flowers
50 g daisies
1 tbsp honey or ½ vanilla pod to taste
Pour the vinegar over the flowers. Make sure that there are no small animals in the flowers. (If necessary, leave briefly). Leave to infuse for approx. 2 weeks.
Makes the salad dressing something very special!
