Eyebright

EYEBRIGHT
(Euphrasia officinalis( G

Folk Names: Euphrosyne, Red Eyebright
Gender: Masculine
Planet: Mars
Element: Air
Powers: Mental Powers, Psychic Powers
Magical Uses: Brewed into a tea and drunk, eyebright clears the mind and aids the memory.
  The infusion applied to the eyelids on cotton pads induces magical clairvoyance, but it must be persisted in before results are achieved.
  Carry to increase psychic powers. Also, use when  you need to see the truth in a matter.

From: Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs"

A lovely little plant here photographed on Brading Down - a fabulous stretch of chalk grassland and well worth exploring. Interestingly it is not a single species

of plant at all but is in fact a group name for around twenty closely related plants (which even experts have difficulty telling apart). Eyebrights are semi-parasitic and feed from the roots of other plants, particularly grasses.
    In Greek mythology it was the linnet who first used eyebright to clear the sight of its fledglings. Eyebright has been used for making eye lotion.


Found in the pastures of Europe, the plant known as the eyebright of the Euphrasia genera of plants, is a hardy and small annual plant native to Europe, it is characterized by the presence of deeply cut leaves. The eyebright grows abundantly in the heaths and the pastures of European countries such as Britain, it is also found throughout much of the European continent, and some populations of the plant can also be found in the sub-arctic regions of the North American continent. The eyebright - Euphrasia is hemi parasitic and in this it resembles plants found in several general of the plant family Scrophulariaceae all of which are characterized by this hemi parasitic feature in the root system. In these plants, food gathering nodules are found on the roots, these nodules are attached to the roots of any plant nearby in order to parasitize food materials from neighboring plants. Due to this hemi-parasitic mode of life, cultivation of the eyebright is very hard to accomplish, the wild populations of the plant are the virtual source for the entire supply of eyebright used in herbal remedies - and the plant is collected with very little regard to the difference between species. The time for floral blooming of the eyebright is between the months of July to September, the plant bears many small flowers during this time, these are white or purplish in color and at times variegated with a yellowish tinge. The flowers resemble bloodshot human eyes due to the presence of the various spots and stripes on the surface of the flowers - giving the herb its name. This peculiar appearance of the flowers is one of the reasons, that the herb was used in the treatment of eye afflictions since the middle Ages in Europe.

Here in this picture your can see the 'bloodshot'

eye image that is spoken of.

To treat conjunctivitis and other eye problems, an herbal lotion or whole plant infusion made from the aerial part of the eyebright is normally prescribed by most herbalists to their patients. Traditionally, the same infusion was consumed and many ancient writers on herbs, like Culpeper and Parkinson, suggested the drinking of such herbal infusions for the treatment of eye afflictions in patients. Many places in Europe still use the eyebright for the treatment of such eye problems in their folk medicine, this practice is prevalent especially in the Eastern European countries, in these countries both the topical as well as the internal remedy made from the eyebright herb is used in the treatment of disorders such as blepharitis and conjunctivitis. The folk medicine in these places also lays stress on the use of an eyebright poultice for direct topical treatment of styes in the eye and in the treatment of eye fatigue in patients. A number of plant based organic compounds have been identified during chemical studies carried out on the eyebright herb. The herb has been analyzed and found to contain chemicals such as the aucubin, the organic compounds caffeic and ferulic acids, various plant based sterols, compounds such as choline, a variety of basic organic compounds, and a plant based volatile oil unique to the eyebright. There have been no conclusive scientific tests which can prove that the eyebright is effective in treating eye disorders, and at the same time, no useful therapeutic properties or effective healing powers have been detected in these compounds. Some bactericidal activity seems to be present in the compounds called the phenol-carboxylic acids, found in the eyebright herb. A potential risk for infection and complication exist when using home made herbal products which are not sterilized on the eyes, and such practices are not advocated and cannot be condoned as it can lead to serious complications for the person. The danger increase of a large number of unknown principles of dubious safety and healing efficacy are contained in the unsterilized home made herbal lotion. The risk is also from many modern herbalists, who often suggest the ophthalmic use of such non-sterilized remedies and these remedies are strictly not recommended for potential patients as the complications are many. Our knowledge of the herb is as limited as it was during Culpeper's time, and the properties of this herb still require extensive investigations in a modern setting.

[From: http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_eyebright.htm ]

And here are excerpts from:  http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/e/eyebri20.html

The Eyebright is the only British species of a genus containing twenty species distributed over Europe, Northern and Western Asia and North America.

---Description---It is an elegant little plant, 2 to 8 inches high, an annual, common on heaths and other dry pastures, especially on a chalky soil, and flowering from July to September, with deeply-cut leaves and numerous, small, white or purplish flowers variegated with yellow.

It varies much in size and in the colour of the corolla, which changes to quite white and yellow. On the mountains and near the sea, or in poor soil, it is often a tiny plant, only an inch or so high, with the stem scarcely branched, but in rich soil it assumes the habit of a minute shrub and forms a spreading tuft, 8 or 9 inches high. The leaves, also, are sometimes almost round, and at other times pointed and narrow, their margins, however, always deeply cut into teeth. The variability of the Eyebright has led to much discussion as to how many species of it are known: continental botanists define numerous species, but our botanists follow Bentham and Hooker, who considered that there is only one very variable species, with three principal varieties: officinalis proper, in which the corolla lip equals or exceeds the tube and the bracts of the flower-spike are broad at the base; gracilis, more slender, the corolla lip shorter than the tube, and the flower-spike bracts narrowed at the base, and maritima, found on the shores of the Shetland Islands in which the capsule is much longer than the calyx.



The stem is erect and wiry, either unbranched in small specimens, or with many opposite branches. The leaves are 1/6 to 1/2 inch long and about 1/4 inch broad, opposite to one another on the lower portion of the stem, alternate above, more often lance-shaped, though sometimes, as already stated, much broader, and with four to five teeth on each side.



The flowers, white, or lilac and purpleveined, are in terminal spikes, with leafy bracts interspersed. The structure of the flower places the plant in the family of the Foxglove and the Speedwell - Scrophulariaceae. The corolla is two-lipped, its lower, tube-like portion being enclosed in a green calyx, tipped with four teeth. The upper lip is two-lobed and arches over the stamens, forming a shelter from the rain. The lower lip is spreading and three-lobed, each lobe being notched. A yellow patch emphasizes the central lobe and purple 'honey guides' on both upper and lower lips - marked streaks of colour - point the way down the throat. Four stamens, with brown, downy anthers lie under the upper lip, in pairs, one behind the other; on the underside of each anther is a stiff spur, the two lowest spurs longer than the others and projecting over the throat of the flower. The upper spurs end in miniature brushes which are intended to prevent the pollen being scattered at the side and wasted. When a bee visitor comes in search of the honey lying round the ovary at the bottom of the petal tube, it knocks against the projecting anther spurs, which sets free the pollen, so that it falls on the insect's head. On visiting the next flower, the bee will then rub its dusty head against the outstanding stigma which terminates the style, or long thread placed on the ovary and projects beyond the stamens, and thus cross-fertilization is effected. But though this is the normal arrangement, other and smaller flowers are sometimes found, which suggests that self- fertilization is aimed at. In these, the corolla elongates after opening, and as the stamens are attached to it, their heads are gradually brought almost up to the stigma and eventually their pollen will fertilize it.



The seeds in all kinds of the flowers are produced in tiny, flattened capsules, and are numerous and ribbed.



The Eyebright will not grow readily in a garden if transplanted, unless 'protected' apparently, by grass. The reason for this is that it is a semi-parasite, relying for part of its nourishment on the roots of other plants. Above ground, it appears to be a perfectly normal plant, with normal flowers and bright green leaves - the leaves of fully parasitic plants are almost devoid of green colouring matter - but below the surface, suckers from its roots spread round and lie on the rootlets of the grassplants among which it grows. Where they are in contact, tiny nodules form and send absorption cells into the grass rootlets. The grass preyed upon does not, however, suffer very much, as the cells penetrate but a slight distance, moreover the Eyebright being an annual, renewing itself from year to year, the suckers on the grass roots to which it is attached also wither in the autumn, so there is no permanent drain of strength from the grass.


Part Used---A fluid extract is prepared from the plant in the fresh state, gathered when in flower, and cut off just above the root.


Euphrasia is best collected in July and August, when in full flower and the foliage in the best condition.



---Constituents---The precise chemical constituents of the herb have not yet been recorded; it is known to contain a peculiar tannin, termed Euphrasia-Tannin acid (which gives a dark-green precipitate with ferric salts and is only obtainable by combination with lead) and also Mannite and Glucose, but the volatile oil and acrid and bitter principle have not yet been chemically analysed.

Here you have an idea of how small these flowers

are on the Eyebright plant.

And here is information on this herb from a new herbal book I got yesterday: "The Green Wiccan Herbal" by Silja

Planet: Sun

Deity: Zeus, God of Fatherhood and Protection

Magical Uses: Memory, divination, telling the truth.

Non-magical uses: As the name suggests eyebright is said to help with eye problems - the herb can be rubbed gently on closed eyes - although there is no scientific proof for this. Eyebright tea also helps cleanse the liver after a heavy night of drinking.

Spell: Keep an eyebright plant where you store your tarot cards, scrying mirror, and similar witchy divination tools. Of, if you cannot find a plant, sprinkle some dried eyebright over the tools. As the name suggests, eyebright helps the eyes, not just physically, but also by opening your 'third eye', which sees unseen things, future things, and other planes of existence.