Flower Photos: St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum)

It's Byouyanagi (ビョウヤナギ) in Japan

 

 

These bright yellow flowers on plants with dark green leaves bloom here in May.

Over the past two years, they caught my attention, when I went to see the Ajisai flowers.

The flower had me stumped and was sitting in a pending file.

Now We Know It's St. John's Wort for Sure

 

 

This year, the flowers were under some horrible light so, I didn't shoot them.

But, I spotted a label on one of the plants.

The gal who likes to flip peace signs at my camera, helped.

She, pulled the label out from under some bushes so, I could shoot a photo of it.

Then, I used my magic translation and search engine stuff to get a scientific name.

We Have an Interesting Herb Here

 

 The New Healing Herbs ISBN 0-553-58514-2 says it's a premier antidepressant.

Yearly sales, around the globe used to total $10 million.

They jumped to over $550 million when its antidepressant qualities became known.

Mind you, I'm looking at an old 2001 copy of the book.

The National Institutes of Health seems concerned about safe use of St. John's Wort.

  

University of Maryland says it might be used to treat mild or, moderate depression.

Over at WebMD:  Some scientific evidence, the herb could be used for mild depression.

The Biggest Skeptic of All

 

 

A doctor, who wrote for Quackwatch makes taking this herb, sound scary.

He skillfully, uses another doctor's name, I think, for racist stuff.

Like, a scientific study, conducted outside English speaking countries, could be false.

The dude and many doctors, around the world, got me thinking.

They don't want people using herbs.

Doctors and drug companies want everyone to keep taking prescription drugs !

Photos of Shiso: Green and Purple Growing Side by Side

Beefsteak Plant

 

 

In Japan, the green plant is known as Aojiso (青紫蘇).

The one that looks purple is called Akajiso (赤紫蘇) or, red shiso.

The wind and rain held off just long enough to get these photos.

These two plants are growing right behind my office.

 Perilla frutescens is the scientific name.

The most common place I see these leaves is at sushi bars.

It's a mildly, tangy sort of herb that goes well with fish or salads.

 Red Shiso, which, I call purple is good, too.

This is one of the secret ingredients, I put in salsa.

The rest of the stuff will remain a secret.

Not until today, did I ever think of cooking the stuff.

That's because, they are both delicious, raw.

There Are Many Uses for this Herb

 

At About Japanese Food it's even be called Japanese Basil

Just Hungry says the flowers get salted and pickled and you should grow your own.

The stuff is expensive but, seeds are cheap. 

Serious Eats tell me, sometimes shiso is served as tempura.

The Global Healing Center says it may prevent dental problems.

Somebody called Wabi Sabi made this video about Purple Shiso Juice:

Last but not least the Wiki folks helped with some translation.

It got me thinking.

It might be a good idea to grow your own and make that purple juice.

It's probably cheaper and, better for you, than drinking wine !