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VOM NÜTZLICHEN UND HEILSAMEN KRAUT
Picture Book for Training in the Hitler Youth Program
Knowledge of the healing power of plants is very old, and we too have reflected on how
to apply healing herbs for the reduction of pain and in the struggle against many illnesses. Tea
must have been the most frequently used of the herbal plants, especially as an infusion for
bandages; plants were used in herbal baths as well. Herbal pillows for the at-home care of the
ill also required herbal plants, including their frequent application in salves and other
medicines in the pharmacies.
When we use local herbs for healing purposes, the number is relatively limited in
comparison to the herbal teas that we use for drinking. Tea made from German herbs is a good
thirst-quenching drink, and the fields and forests provide us with innumerous supplies of tasty
teas. Much foreign exchange is saved by local tea harvesting, for more than four million
Reichsmark are spent abroad for herbal tea; the amount is much greater than is spent for Asian
tea. Germans will need close to 40,000 tons of tea in one year, and the collective tea
harvesting on the part of our youth must supply the major portion of this tremendous amount of
tea.
Valuable juices that provide the body with necessary elements are contained in wild
vegetables, and it is therefore the task of the girls to collect and prepare wild plants for use in
their own homes.
The immense riches of our forests in mushrooms and berries are healthful and
economically of great value. Care must be taken so that nothing becomes spoiled, but rather
the places of growth are maintained for further harvesting.
Beechnuts and sunflower seeds are harvested in great amounts in late summer and fall;
they provide the best salad oil, and they increase the production of fat.
Even fodder can be obtained from wild fruit; therefore, chestnuts and acorns are gathered
and their utilization is made possible.
In no way should this kind of harvesting activity mislead us, in that we expect to find
only economical herbs and fruits in the forests and meadows. We should also find an element
of nature while gathering and therefore proceed with care so that our actions do not harm any
plants.
OVERVIEW OF THE PICTURES
1. All meadows and all fields, all mountains and all hills are apothecaries.
--Paracelsus.
Whenever we wish to combat many different types of illnesses, we turn to chemists who have
succeeded in discovering and developing effective means; we often do not sufficiently regard
the healing power that is contained in plants and herbs. We should rejoice twice at each
mountain meadow and each bit of forest, because we not only see their beauty, but also know
of the healing juices that are contained in herbs and leaves.
2. Green bushes reveal new life.
Plants are a critical element of our traditions, and we experience them in the green of Easter
and Pentecost as symbols of new life. The hazelnut is one of the most mysterious plants, and
many fairy tales and proverbs tell of this plant whose leaves give us a healing tea.
3. Knowledge of the healing power of plants is ancient.
Knowledge of Germanic women concerning the healing power of plants was extensive, and
they prepared healing potions for man and beast. Much of that knowledge has become lost, but
in fairy tales the familiarity of wonder flowers and plants lives on. The cowslip was
considered the bearer of magical powers that were revealed to that person who had an honest
countenance and a naïve heart.
4. Many wild herbs are rich in beneficial juices.
We expect that healing herbs contain elements that influence a certain organ of the human
body. We also know there are many plants, that on the basis of their minerals and vitamins,
have a positive effect on the entire body. To this group belong the herbs that are used as wild
vegetables and salad. Especially during the spring, when we have fewer vegetables, they are a
useful addition to our nourishment as well as providing essential elements from the earth.
5. Nature provides us with varieties of herbal tea, vegetables and salad plants; wild
berries and mushrooms enrich our nourishment. Other wild fruits yield fodder and oils.
This overview illustrates the manifold possibilities of using wild plants. The most important
use as tea must be of special interest.
6. For German homemade tea we gather birch leaves…
Next we will discuss the tea plants that must be harvested in great quantities. They exert a
stimulating effect on the entire body, but do not affect any single organ in particular. The
young leaves have the best taste and therefore, the main harvesting time takes place in May and
June.
We can harvest tealeaves at the earliest time of the year. The leaves of the white birch are
picked from the branches and put into sacks. The shrub birches are especially suitable for tea
harvesting. In no case can we pick all the leaves from the shrub and leave it bare, but rather we
must leave some branches untouched, so that they do not die.
Unprinted paper is spread on a dry floor, and then the tealeaves are placed in a thin layer for
drying. We will turn them a little as possible; otherwise the danger exists that indentations will
appear that will cause them to become black and worthless.
The perfect dry leaves must have the same shade of green as the fresh leaves. Discolored
leaves are thrown out, for they will destroy the taste life of the leaves. The rustling, dry leaves
are packed into clean paper or jute sacks and delivered to the collecting point or to the
appropriate dealer.
Birch leaf tea has a sharp, lightly bitter taste. Therefore it is generally used as a mixture rather
than alone. Birch tea often has a urine producing effect, but that does not reduce its use as a
daily drink.
7. Willow leaves…
At about the same time as the birch—the best from May to mid-July—we can gather the
willow leaves. Each of us knows the willow from the banks of the streams with their hollow
trunks, from whose extended heads the green branches protrude. Here, too, we proceed
carefully to get the young leaves from the supple twigs, place them in baskets or sacks, and
after drying them we deliver them to the tea dealers.
8. Ash leaves…
The young leaves of the ash, known in folk terms under the name of Asch (ash) or Wundesche
(ash) are an important element for tea. The hanging branches with small gray-green
glimmering leaves identify this tree. Carefully we pick leaf by leaf from the branches. From
May to mid-June is the best harvesting time. If possible, we must avoid using pressure, in
order to obtain good tea. In addition, all leaves must be thrown out that do not have the color
of fresh leaves after they have been dried.
9. The small leaves of the willow rose.
From the mountain meadows and fresh forest areas we recognize the high, violet willow-rose
that glows from afar. Small dull green leaves are on the stem, and we can use the young
pointed leaves for the tea harvest. They are picked gently and dried according to type.
10. Tea mixtures are improved through the addition of blossoms from the heather.
In late summer the heather is especially important for the collection of tea. We can use only
the usual heather for tea; the bell heather is not usable. Before the blossoms appear, we strip
them from the stems and collect them in a basket or box. Through the use of a sieve we can
remove all particles of leaves and other unclean elements and then dry the blossoms in a
shaded place. Heather-rose blossoms give the tea a beautiful gold-yellow color. It is a folk
belief that heather tea stimulates good sleep.
11. Leaves and stems of sour cherries.
Many plants in our gardens provide good, aromatic tea supplements, such as the leaves and
stems of the sour cherry. Soon after blooming we pick the leaves, but we must leave enough,
so that the setting of the fruit will not be influenced. When harvesting the cherries we obtain
the stems. They are washed and then dried as quickly as possible with intense heat—either on
hot ground or in a warm oven—until they are rustling-dry and break smoothly. When dried
they must have the green color of the fresh stems.
The leaves of the black currant and the peels of ripe beans are good additions to tea; they have
a good aroma and are therefore treasured.
12. Even tea from apple peels has a good taste.
Tea from apple peels belongs to the most refreshing and tastiest tea varieties from local plants.
Wherever apple peels fall, we can dry them, after removing bruises and rotted areas. Almost
all tea varieties, except roots and rind, can be brewed too long, but apple peel tea must come to
boiling only once, in order to release the aroma and taste elements. With a small amount of
lemon it comes close to the Asiatic teas.
13. We can make house tea from the leaves of the linden tree. Its leaves have healing
power.
From May until August the summer linden and also the smaller-leafed winter linden provide us
a good tea from the leaves with healing powers from the blossoms. The young leaves are
picked individually from the breakable branches, and while avoiding pressure of packing too
tightly, they are harvested in baskets or crates. Linden leaves alone are rather tasteless;
therefore, a slight addition of peppermint is suggested.
Linden blossom tea has a perspiration-inducing effect and is therefore a good treatment for
colds and flu. We harvest the blossoms with the tender yellow tongue-shaped cover before the
fruit begins to form, then dry them on shaded ground in thin layers, to that we do not need to
turn them. In closable cartons the tea is then shipped, so that the aromatic flavors do not
become lost.
14. Wild plants give us fruit as well as valuable tea in their leaves.
In the spring and early summer a group of shrubs provides us with good tea in its leaves—we
have to proceed carefully and unusually protectively in collecting them, because we can later
harvest valuable fruits from them.
15. We really value the raspberry and blackberry perennials…
Tea from blackberry leaves is very tasty and aromatic. The wild blackberry is much more
valuable than the cultivated variety that will also be included in the tea collection. The leaves
of the cultivated blackberry must be harvested and kept separate from those of the wild variety.
The blackberry leaves with the stems are carefully cut with a shears. From June to September
is the main harvesting period. We only take leaves that have no fruit on them. Greatest care
and protection must be observed so that the berry harvest does not suffer from the tea harvest.
The leaves are spread out in thin layers on shaded dry ground. All leaves that are discolored or
show signs of insects are removed. The less we turn the leaves, the greater the assurance that
they will remain without bruises, and therefore the tea will be better.
The same thing holds true for raspberries. Tea that is obtained solely from raspberry leaves has
a slightly stale and hay-like taste; therefore, it is generally used a mixture with other varieties.
Raspberries and black berries are of great importance to our diet due to their high content in
nutrients and supplementary substances.
16. Leaves and fruit of the wild strawberry…
From May to the middle of August we can harvest strawberry leaves for tea making. Here,
too, the wild berries are much better than the cultivated, and both varieties must be kept
separate from each other. The fruit is used fresh in cold soup, or we can also make juice or
marmalade. In this way we can have a winter’s supply of important nutrients.
17. Blueberries and cranberries…
We gather blueberries and cranberries from June until August. They can be stripped easily
from the stems, but we must avoid pressing them or holding them in one’s hands for too long.
Tea from blueberry and cranberry leaves has a tangy, sour taste and is often used in tea blends.
Blueberries and cranberries appear in great quantities in our forests and must be harvested as
an important food element, and therefore, must not become lost.
18. The elder shrub…
The white petal crowns of the elder bush are cut off and preferably dried while hanging. They
must remain white or ivory-colored; brown or black petals are discarded. From them the
sweat-inducing elder flowering tea is made, that serves well against colds. In the fall we
harvest the dark elder berries that are rich antibodies; they taste wonderful as a juice or in
soups and at the same time they are a good preventative measure against colds.
19. and the wild rose with rose hips.
The dried leaves of the wild rose have a certain meaning as a plant for making tea, but the
actual value of this plant lies in the rose hips that ripen in late fall. We gather the ripe fruits
with or without stem and deliver them to the local collection sites of the gardeners’
organizations that are located in almost every village. From there they go to large companies
that make marmalade and juice.
Rose hips contain a considerable amount of vitamin C—that is the antibody for cold-related
illnesses—about seven times as much as the valuable lemon—and therefore they are high on
the list of food stuffs and remedies. We must not destroy the content of rose hips through
improper care! Therefore we must pick them before frost can change them. We must not
remove the remaining sepals or remove the seeds; otherwise important elements could become
lost.
20. Healing herbs are often wild fruit.
It is not simply a matter of harvesting that large quantities of tea and healing herbs can be
obtained; we must also take care when adding useful elements of wild plants to our own
nutrition. It is best if we avail ourselves of the valuable elements, when we eat them raw as
salad, spread on bread or drink the juice. Wild vegetables are often mixed with garden spinach
or dried vegetables, because the somewhat sharp, strong taste is less known. Before blooming,
wild plants are the most valuable and the best tasting.
For spinach-like vegetables the following are suitable: Melde, Giersch, chickweed, daisy
leaves, cow slip leaves, nettles and dead nettles; these plants have a mild taste.
Dandelion, sorrel, meadow sage, and yarrow; all have a considerable amount of spice elements
and are therefore used only in small quantities.
We prepare vegetables like early plants in that the raw herbs are finely chopped or shredded;
then they are steamed with a small amount of fat. One then adds broth, and a small amount of
potato flour can be used to hold it together. A strong taste can be avoided by the addition of
skim milk.
Older herbs (with a bitter after-taste) are steamed with as little water as possible. They must be
drained and then shredded. One prepares a light thickening with a part of the cooking water
and then lets it stand. The addition of milk and broth improves the taste. Raw, chopped spice
plants mixed with the vegetables complement the taste.
Sorrel and plantain leaves are suitable for vegetable dips, especially the spicy herbs from
garden and field. With plantain leaves one has to remove the hard ribs from the underside—
just as one must remove the strings from the beans. The leaves are cooked in salt water, finely
chopped and mixed with a light thickening. Marjoram, parsley and chives refine the taste.
As a spread, butter or margarine mixed with cowslip leaves, meadow sage, yarrow and our
usual garden herbs are highly suitable.
For salads we use dandelion leaves, hops, cress, lambs lettuce, all of which can be
advantageously mixed with garden salad or corn salad.
21. Dandelions and daisies appear early in the year.
Dandelions and daisies have a certain meaning as healing herbs. We value them much more as
vegetables and salads that are available early in spring. In the case of dandelions we must be
especially careful in that we select only young leaves that have grown in the shade, since with
older leaves the content of bitter elements increases and the taste suffers. Daisy leaves have a
mild taste, and therefore there are many uses.
22. Plantain sprouts on fields and meadows.
Whenever we harvest plantain to make tea, we must have considerable experience in the
gathering of herbs. Here each leaf is carefully cut and cannot be pressed in simply any manner.
We harvest them carefully in baskets and then spread them one by one on dry ground. Leaves
that still show dark spots after drying are thrown out for they are worthless had harm the
preservation qualities of the others.
23. Nettles and dead nettles are harvested for tea and vegetables.
The leaves of the large nettle are picked with gloves or a cloth, in order to protect oneself from
the inflammation-causing elements of the plant. They provide herbal tea, which, according to
folk legend, can cleanse the blood. From the dead nettle we harvest only the white blossoms
that must be carefully protected from being piled on each other; they must not be turned over
and dried in a shaded area. When dried they must have a white or ivory color. Dark portions
of the blossoms are worthless. We can use the leaves of nettles and dead nettles as a spinach
salad, and there is something very truthful about them, for according to folk legend, they are
good for one’s beauty as they stimulate good metabolism.
24. Meadow sage and chamomile have considerable healing power.
Chamomile is one of the most widely used healing herbs. The ethereal oil that causes the
pleasant smell is a germicide against inflammations and festering. It reduces cramp-like pains
of the stomach organs and therefore we value chamomile tea for those kinds of illnesses.
Garden sage provides tea with which we gargle in the case of tonsil inflammations and diseases
of the mouth. As a spice this plant is widely used, like meadow sage.
25. Yarrow blossoms are tea plants; the leaves are spice and vegetables.
The tender feathery leaves of the yarrow are used in the spring as a spice to improve our food.
Later on we collect the white blossoms and cut the blossom-bearing stems in about 25 cm
length; we then tie them in bundles and hang them to dry. The slightly bitter tea of the yarrow
has an appetite-stimulating effect; it is also found in numerous mixtures.
26. The riches of our forests are enormous.
Mushrooms are important foods. The content in supplementary substance D, raw fiber
substances and mineral salts make them valuable vegetables. Dried mushrooms serve as spices
to improve the taste of soups, dips and other foods.
Only firm mushrooms that are free of maggots and other insects can be harvested. While
gathering them we must be sure to protect them from moisture, for otherwise their safe storage
will suffer. There is no need to worry about mushroom poisoning, if we know the most
important varieties and limit ourselves to them. Most mushroom poisonings do not result from
confusing the non-edible varieties, but from mushrooms that have been compacted too long in
a container used for collecting them, and therefore they have begun to decay. Therefore, we
with gather mushrooms only in baskets and other airy containers and use them as quickly as
possible, or take them to the collection site for proper handling and storage.
27. The varieties of mushrooms are based on a few elementary forms.
With mushrooms we differentiate between the forms with and without a cap. Examples of the
non-cap variety are the morels and the Lorcheln. Among the puffballs there are well known
non-cap mushrooms that we do not harvest, because as they become older they are leathery and
distasteful. All edible mushrooms--with the exception of the morels and the Lorcheln--are cap
mushrooms, and they are easily recognizable by the stem and the cap. At the left we can
observe that the visible above-ground portion is only a part of the mushroom. The mushroom
plant has an underground network in the form of a “mushroom” that sends the edible part up
through the earth; it spreads the spores and thereby provides for reproduction. The
underground network is in close relationship with many trees in the forest, and we often harm
it while harvesting the mushrooms. Therefore mushrooms may not be simply torn from the
earth; we must cut them or carefully twist them. We must also ensure that the mushroom
harvest will be available in future years; we must not destroy or step on the old and maggot
infested mushrooms, for they spread the spores for new mushroom plants.
28. Mushrooms are differentiated by the location of their seeds.
The parts of a mushroom that carry the spores are arranged and constructed in completely
different forms. The two most important forms are arranged in tube-like containers with the
Röhrenpilz and in leaves with the leaf mushrooms. In the case of the Röhrenpilz we recognize
on the underside of the mushroom hat a number of spongy Röhrchen, and the seed deposit can
be separated from the remaining part of the hat. In many areas the folk expression for this seed
deposit of the Röhrenpilz is called “fodder.”
The boletus edulis, or more exactly, the Steinröhrlinge, are one of the best-known types of the
Röhrlinge.
Almost all of the Röhrenpilze that are native here are valuable edible mushrooms. The
poisonous Dickfußröhrlinge and Satan’s mushrooms have actually no significance. In the pine
forests of Brandenburg the Gallenröhrling is widely found; it is an unappreciated mushroom
from the boletus group, due to its bitter gall taste.
The best known of the leaf mushrooms are the champignons (Egerlinge) and the arrangement
of the seed carriers in the form of leaves (lamellas) is definitive for this type of mushroom.
29. Morels and Lorcheln are mushrooms for the spring of the year.
To the left on the picture we recognize the morels; they belong to the tastiest varieties of
mushrooms. The Lorchel is pictured on the right; we can find it in spring as well as in fall.
When fresh, the Lorcheln contain a poisonous substance called hevella acid. Therefore one
has to pour boiling water over them, and then pour the water out, if one wants to enjoy them
without any harm. By drying them the poisonous substance of the Lorcheln is destroyed.
30.Egerlinge are the best leaf mushrooms.
The Egerlinge (champignons) are found on the meadows (Feldegerlinge) and on the edges of
forests (Waldegerlinge). The can be recognized by the yellow flesh that becomes red after
breaking and by the tender pink lamellas on the underside of the hat that become brownish red
in the case of older mushrooms. The stem is equally thick and full, and also has a skin-like
white ring. At the base it is not thicker.
31. Amanitas have a deadly poisonous effect.
Actually it is not possible to confuse between Egerlinge and amanitas, because the flesh of the
amanita is colored green or yellow-white, depending on the type. Their lamellas are white, not
red as are the Egerlinge. Especially noticeable is the burr-like appearance of the stem that can
be easily recognized in young mushrooms, when they are cut lengthwise in the middle.
32. One must differentiate between the real and the false Pfefferling…
33. the valuable boletus and non-enjoyable Gallenröhrling.
Chanterelles, also known as Eierpilze, appear everywhere in Germany from July to October.
The bright yellow mushroom is recognizable by the curved up edges of its hat and is
differentiated from the false chanterelles, whose hat has smooth edges.
The boletus is a tasty, edible mushroom that likewise can be confused with the non-enjoyable
Gallenröhrling. The bitter gall taste of the Gallenröhrling serves as a differentiation. However,
the flesh of the Gallenröhrling turns light pink when it is broken. Its Röhrenlager is larger than
the underside of the hat, whereas the Steinpilz does not extend beyond it.
34. Rotkappen, boletus and birch-boletus are good, edible mushrooms.
The Rotkappen, also known as capuchins, the chestnut boletus and the Birkenröhrlinge are
similar to each other. They all belong to the group of Röhrenpilze. The chestnut boletus can
be harvested until the beginning of December in the forests. Its flesh becomes blue in areas
where pressure is exerted and where it is broken. In no way can that be considered poison,
since the chestnut boletus belongs to the best-tasting edible mushrooms.
35. Grünlinge grow until the beginning of winter.
The sulfur-green color gives the Grünling its name. They are mushrooms that that thrive
especially in sandy soil in pine forests and can be found here until the beginning of winter.
The stem extends deeply into the earth, and therefore it seems as though they cover the ground
very little. In the Grünlinge we also find a tasty and nourishing mushroom.
35. Many wild fruits are important for the extraction of oil and as food.
36. Oil is extracted from sunflower seeds.
In addition to the “blue poppy,” sunflower seeds produce the best cooking oil, and we must try
to raise sunflowers beside garden fences, in small gardens, and near railroad barriers, so that
we can harvest the oil in the fall of the year.
38. Beechnuts are also oil-producing fruits.
39. Acorns are used for food and can be treated to become fodder.
40. Even chestnuts produce fodder.
Until late fall nature provides us fruits that often go to waste, and yet they contain nutrients for
man and beast. We often take them in large quantities to the factories where they are used in
various ways. Everywhere there is an abundance of plants and fruits for us….
41. We are therefore thankful for that which the riches of nature provide.