2. THE HAZEL
The hazel belongs to the family of
Betulacee, Type Carylus. It is native
to Asia Minor. In Italy, it is common
everywhere: from the plains to
heights of 1300 metres above sea
level.
It is a bushy shrub, usually 2-
4metres high (with a maximum
height of 7 metres). The trunk is
slim and slender and the bark is
grey-brown. The alternate leaves are
round/oval with long stalks. The
flowers are gathered in heads that
grow long before the leaves. The
fruit is an achene made up of the
hazelnut and its nutshell. The woody
part contains a sweet and oily seed,
called hazelnut.
3. Italy is one of the leading
producers of hazelnuts.
The regions where it has
greater importance are
Piedmont, Sicily,
Campania, Latium and
Liguria.
PROPERTIES:
From the pressed fruits,
you get an edible oil, also
used in the cosmetics
industry. The leaves have
astringent properties and
are tonic for blood vessels.
The bark is used to abate
fever.
4. THE RHODODENDRON
The rhododendron family includes
over 500 species, countless
hybrids and varieties of shrubs
ranging from 40 to 90 cm high,
with foliage in open canopy and
large, rough, oval or
lanceolated leaves, shiny green
in colour, with single or double
flowers in bright colours and
bell-shaped. Its colours are in
all the shades of white, pink,
red, magenta ; some varieties
have two-tone flowers,
gathered in large clusters at the
ends of the branches. It
blooms in spring or summer,
depending on the species.
5. The rhododendron has been
known since ancient
times, especially for the
nectar it is particularly
rich in.
However, some species
are poisonous, as
reported by the Roman
historian Plinius who
wrote about a poisoning
suffered by Roman
soldiers, during the Asian
campaign, caused by the
honey made from
poisonous species of
rhododendron.
6. THE BIRCH
The birch tree belongs to the
family of Betulaceae. The
genus includes over forty
species, originated in the
northern hemisphere, in
particular from Scandinavia.
They are trees and shrubs with
deciduous leaves that can be
from 15 to 30 metres high.
The most widespread species
is the silver birch that needs
acidic, poor, sandy or stony
soils. Birches have a white and
silver bark and they resist
adverse environmental
conditions such as sudden and
prolonged frosts and long
periods of drought.
7. PROPERTIES:
For internal use: it
stimulates diuresis
and reduces the level
of cholesterol in the
blood.
For external use: it
has antiseptic and
astringent properties.
8. THE HEATHER• The heather belongs to
the family of Ericacee
and includes
approximately seven
hundred species of
evergreen shrubs.
• Leaves are small,
needle-shaped and from 2
to 15 millimetres long.
The flowers are generally
plentiful: for this reason,
heather plants are
cultivated as ornamental.
The seeds are very small
and in some species they
can stay in the soil for
decades.
9. The heather grows in
the alpine regions
and in the
Northern
Apennines, it can
be found in the
undergrowth, in
pastures and along
alpine roads.
PROPERTIES:
It has diuretic and
emollient
properties.
10. THE CHESTNUTThe European chestnut is a
tree with deciduous
leaves. It is the only
species of the genus
Castanea that is native
to Europe. The tree can
be up to 30 metres high,
with a big trunk and
rounded foliage. The
leaves are lanceolate in
shape and have a serrated
edge.
11. The fruits are composed of
1 to 3 achenes, called
chestnuts, enclosed in
husks covered with stiff
and prickly thorns.
PROPERTIES:
Its leaves are used in
infusion as a cough
sedative or a skin
disinfectant.
12. THE BEECH
The beech belongs to the
family of Fagacee, and
can be from 15-20
metres up to 30-35
metres high.
The leaves are oval
and covered with a
thin down on the ribs.
It is used to decorate
parks and gardens and
to reforest mountains.
13. PROPERTIES:
The oil extracted
from its seeds,
pale in colour and
with a sweet
taste, is used as a
condiment and, in
the past, it was
also used as fuel.
14. THE BORAGE
The plant probably comes
from the East and is
widespread in large part
of Europe and of Central
America, where it grows
as a wild plant up to a
height of one thousand
metres above sea level. It
is cultivated in all the
temperate regions of the
world.
15. Its name comes from the Latin
“borra” (“a cloth of rough
wool”) owing to the down
covering its leaves. Or it may
come from the Arabic “Abu
Araq” (“father of sweat”)
through the Medieval Latin
“borrago”, maybe because of
the sudorific properties of the
plant.
It is a herbaceous plant and it
can reach the height of eighty
centimetres. It has dark green,
oval leaves that are covered in
a rough down and are ten-
fifteen centimetres long. The
flowers are made up of five
petals, arranged in a star,
violet- blue in colour.
PROPERTIES:
It is emollient and sedative of
cough; diuretic and depurant.
16. THE GENTIANELLA
The Gentianella or Gentiana of
Koch (Gentiana Acaulis)
belongs to the genus Gentiana,
family of Gentianacee. It is a
small plant that does not
exceed twenty centimetres in
height. The leaves, green but
also yellow, are collected at
the base in a rosette. They are
oblong and lanceolated, with
an indented border, two to
five centimetres long. The
flower is apical, on a short
stalk, in the shape of a blue
tubular corolla.
17. The fruit is a capsule with a large
number of seeds.
It blooms in late spring and in
summer. It originates in Central
and Southern Europe, from Eastern
Spain to the Balkans. It grows in
mountainous regions, between
eight hundred and three thousand
metres of height above sea level. It
grows in acidic soils and it has a
preference for exposure in full sun.
PROPERTIES:
It stimulates appetite, helps with
digestion, abates temperature. Its
roots are used for preparing
digestive liqueurs.
18. THE ELDERThe common Elder
(Sambucus Nigra) is a
woody plant with
deciduous leaves. It is a
widespread species in
Italy, especially in damp
woods and along
waterways. It is a four-six
metre tall shrub. Its
leaves are composite,
dark green in colour, ten-
thirty centimetres long,
lanceolated in shape with
a sharp apex.
19. The flowers form showy
inflorescences which are ten-
twenty-three cm wide and
perfumed. The single flowers
are made up of five petals
fused at the base, an ovary
chalice and four protrudring
stamens. It blossoms
between April and June. Its
fruits are shiny, black
berries.
PROPERTIES:
It is diaphoretic, diuretic,
antirheumatic and
antineuralgic. Its flowers are
also used as aromatical
components in liqueurs.
20. THE PULMONARIA
The Pulmonaria
(Pulmonaria Officinalis)
is a plant belonging to
the family of the
Boraginacee. It is
possibly the most
widespread species in
Europe. It was called
“officinalis” by Charles
Linneus as it was used by
the chemists of the time
for treating cough and
lung conditions.
21. It is characterized by its
heart-shaped leaves,
spotted in light green.
In Italy this species is
present in the
mountainous regions of
the North, starting from
200 metres and reaching
up to 1,600 metres in
altitude.
PROPERTIES:
It is diaphoretic and
emollient (for treating
cough, hoarseness and
lowering of the voice).
22. THE PRIMROSE
The Primrose belongs to
the Primulacee family
and it originally comes
from temperate areas in
Europe, Asia and
America. The name
derives from the Latin
“Primus”, to mean its
bloom’s precocity, that
happens just after the
snow thawing, when the
grass begins to grow in
meadows.
23. It includes about 600 species
of annual and perennial
herbaceous plants, from a
few centimeters to some
decimeters tall, with basal
leaves in the shape of a
rosette and colourful
flowers.
PROPERTIES:
The flowers have diuretic,
sedative properties, they are
useful to insomnia and
neuralgia. The roots can
relieve cough, ease
rheumatic pains and heal
bruises.
24. THE SILVER FIR
The Silver Fir (Abies alba
Mell. Or Abies Pectinata)
belongs to the Abies
genus, typical of the
forests and of the
mountains in the
northern hemisphere. The
Silver Fir is a majestic,
slender, long-lived tree,
in fact it can reach the
age of 600 and about 40-
45 metres in height.
25. The Silver Fir prefers
humidity, cool and deep
soils, typical of shaded
and very wet areas.
PROPERTIES:
It relieves respiratory
problems and rheumatic
pains. For external use, it
has antiseptic and
deodorizing properties.
