Native to Europe this upright perennial with showy, star-shaped yellow flowers is now grown throughout the world.The name, St John’s Wort, is related to John the Baptist as its yellow flower comes into bloom in late June, the time of the feast of Saint John the Baptist. The term wort is the old English word for ‘plant’.

St John’s Wort can be used to:

• Support healthy mood balance and emotional wellbeing.

It was recognised by early Greek physicians as being both an excellent herb for internal use and also a ward to keep evil spirits at bay.

Native to South America and now grown throughout the world, this exotic vine flower is also referred to as Maypop, Apricot Vine and Maracuja.

Its botanical name Passiflora incarnata was coined by Spanish missionaries who saw the flower’s resemblance as the crown of thorns, a symbol of the crucifixion. Incarnata is derived from the Latin word carn, meaning ‘flesh’ and atus, meaning ‘like’.

Traditionally used in Western Herbal Medicine as a calmative and to:

• Soothe nerves and relieve nervous tension
• Reduce symptoms of stress
• Relieve excess nervous energy
• Relieve restless sleep
• Support refreshing sleep

Spanish explorers in South America learned of the Passionflower’s medicinal benefits and brought it back to Europe. It quickly became widely cultivated and introduced to European folk medicine.

This mild lemon-scented member of the mint family is a European native and is now grown throughout the world.Its botanical name Melissa officinali is derived from the Latin word meaning ‘honey bee’. It refers to the plant being considered a favourite food of bees, with a connection to the ancient religious thought that any plant that kept bees away from their hive was considered sacred.

Traditionally used in Western Herbal Medicine to:

• Reduce nervous unrest
• Relieve restless sleep
• Support refreshing sleep
• Relieve symptoms of stress
• Reduce symptoms of indigestion
• Support healthy digestion
• Maintain healthy gastrointestinal function
• Relieve flatulence

This herb has historically been valued as a culinary, medicinal and cosmetic herb.

Native to China and now grown throughout the world, this perennial woody plant is also commonly known as Chinese Date, Date Seed, Red Date or by its Chinese name Suan Zao Ren.

In Chinese, suan means ‘sour’, zao means ‘date’ and ren means ‘seed’ in other words “seed of the sour date”. The medicinal part is the seed, also called the jujube kernel.

Traditionally used in Traditional Chinese Medicine to:

• Nourish heart-yin and balance spirit
• Relieve sleeplessness
• Reduce symptoms of mild anxiety
• Relieve excessive perspiration

From a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective, it is commonly known to nourish the heart (yin) and calm the spirit (shen).