Almond, Hazel, Mugwart, Moonwart

Almond: This nut (actually a type of fruit) has been noted as a food source for over 4000 years and comes in a variety of types.

The most commonly known almond is what is known as a domesticated almond that was cross-breaded to enhance its qualities over 2000 years ago.

It originally was found in the areas of the Mediterranean such as Turkey, Syria and Israel but was spread in early times throughout the regions of Northern Africa and Europe.

It is a tree and its popular cross breed is called a nut but it actually isn't. 

There are a few interesting things about almonds though. The wild form of this plant has an outer coating, like a peach has. 

The fruit from the wild almond can be crushed and/ or ground and has a great deal of hydrogen cyanide in it and highly poisonous.

So in order for ancients to actually eat it without killing themselves they had to some how cook it slowly to leach the poisons from the nut (actually fruit).

We all think of how tasty the almond is but we are eating a cross breed of the original plant. The wild almond looks edible from the start but is basically cyanide and has

certainly killed many uneducated users in the past.

The almond, ground to a paste, has been used in cosmetics and facial scrubs and its oils are suitable for lipsticks, facial lotions and skin soothing creams. 

It has been used in this way for centuries.

Hazel: This nut has been discovered to been harvested over 9000 years ago.  They've found its hulls in mounds near fossilized villages.

There are a large variety of types of hazel trees and shrubs and every type produces nuts that are edible. They are found all around the globe in the Northern temperate areas.

Common Hazel, Asian Hazel, Turkish Hazel, Chinese Hazel, Himalayan Hazel, Wang's Hazel to name only a few. You get the idea, all over the world.

The Hazel tree doesn't commonly look like a tree and is referred to as a shrub by many people, because of where it grows and the way it's roots are affected by the ground that's

under them. But it is a tree.

The tree has been acclaimed to make powerful wands from it's branches and stories written from the United kingdom (Britain) mention scepters of hazel being buried with

highly respected individuals, in their coffins. Their branches have been used for a wide variety of practical and ornamental weaving, baskets, furniture and fishing poles. 

It can be a good wood for shelters due to its density. I'm sure many an arrow was carved from hazel as well.

For hunting, spears, traps, snares and fences could all be made from a hazel tree. They grow in places a lot of other trees don't. Any kind of soil will suit a hazel tree apparently. 

Their branches ashes have been used for crayons, chalk and gunpowder.

There are written accounts from the 15th century of a forked Hazel branch being used for "dowsing" (finding water) and there was a tradition of burning the nuts on Oct 14th

for the upcoming All Hallows Eve (Halloween) the hazel nuts being burned to avoid problems and avert upcoming evil or powerful forces.

Its oils are pressed out and used on the skin to help with more oily skin, acne and complexion.

It's still sold today for this same reason. It is used for cooking and in salad dressing, then and now.

People often confuse witch hazel with the hazel tree. The witch hazel is a shrub.  Used for a tremendous variety of reasons. The hazel is a tree. 

It has many similar associations to witch hazel but isn't in the same family (genus). The hazel grove has always been a valued prize to have growing nearby.

Mugwart: What you might call a common ditch weed. It's found at dumpsites and in ditches all over the world.

Used as a bath additive and food additive to aid in digestion. Its juice can be rubbed on poison oak irritation for relief. 

This plant has been used as an insect repellent. It's odd that a plant can be used to eat and drive bugs away but its been used for both.

It promotes the digestion by creating more digestive fluid when eaten with food as a spice so the body purges the food easier and more effectively.

It is used in only small amounts in food as too much will poison you.

Moonwart: This is a very strange plant indeed. Just by looking at the way it grows you can see that it's different. 

It almost has an alien look to it with one main stem that holds seedpods and another offshoot that has leaves on it.

Its thick and fleshy like an aloe but doesn't actually drop seeds. It drops spores like a mushroom does. There are a great variety of moonwort's and grow all around the world.

I was able to find thirty types of moonwort. 

They have a very complex make up and are what is called a vascular plant and are very much like a fern in their texture and coloration.

They're really small for the most part and not very easy to find on the forest floor.  They'll also lie just under ground for years and then sprout up at one point or another.

The technical name for it is Botrychium lunaria and it's pretty easy to see the lunar equation in this name.

The moonwort's legends are vast and varied and it has been associated with many different mystical and strange powers from un-shoeing horses, picking locks to raising the

dead. Healing by rubbing its oils on a wound and has been used as a tea for stomach problems and internal disorders.

It's been used in spells to draw out honesty and income. It is even given the name "honesty" as one of its references.

The plant grows in cooler climates and sandier soil. As mentioned all around the world and is one you may see near snow in the mountains.

There are a good variety of types of moonwort. Some flower and have translucent disks on them. Some are totally green like a fern.

It is becoming an endangered species in some areas of the world.