Heather, Calluna vulgaris grows throughout Europe and western Asia. It is a notable plant of the British Isles, where the shrub thrives throughout the region’s dry, acidic soils. Heather has been a revered plant in Scotland for millennia and was used as firewood, thatching, bedding, and broom making. In fact, the Latin name, Calluna, is said to come from the Greek, “kallyno”, meaning “to cleanse”, “beautify”, or “to sweep”.
Additionally, heather tips were utilized for their wellness supporting properties and as the main ingredient in meads and ales. Heather flowers can be steeped as tea, added to bath and body creations, and used in homebrewing. The ancient Pictish people of Scotland were renowned for their fierceness in battle and their heather ale. Legend states that the ale, made solely from heather tips or heather honey, was an intoxicating and formidable brew. On the Isle of Rum, archeologists have found traces of a fermented brew made of heather flowers on a Neolithic shard of pottery. Also called ling heather, the flowers and upper leaves were used as fabric dye and employed in traditional European herbalism for their beneficial properties.
A member of the Ericaceae family, Calluna vulgaris is a low growing shrub with multiple spikes of pink, bell-shaped flowers. Heather dominates most heathland and moorland habitats, providing an ecosystem for many animals and insects.
Heather flowers are said to be good luck in Scotland much like the four-leaf clover is in Irish Celtic tradition. To this day, white heather flowers are used in Scottish weddings as an accent or in bridal bouquets. Some legends say that the white flowers grow over the burial grounds of faeries.
Heather flowers and leaf can be enjoyed as an infusion and used topically in skin care products. Historically, a strong tea was brewed and added to baths. Heather flowers can also be infused in honey, added to herbal syrups, used as a dyeing agent, and employed in brewing recipes, and included in dream pillows.
1 oz dried herb, certified organic
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