QRDS Compendium

By Porche Gardener

Learning herbal or other natural medicine modalities can feel overwhelming when you realize how much you need to remember about each individual plant.

This is the problem that the Quick Reference Data Sheet was designed to solve.

 

Using the Quick Reference Data Sheet format developed to bridge the gap between pharmaceutical and natural approaches to health will streamline your experience.

What is a Quick Reference Data Sheet (QRDS)?

These break down the information into 6 sections;

 

1. The Latin name.

2. The biologically active constituents that are not ubiquitous. For example, water and carbon are excluded because they can be found in every fresh herb.

3. The properties under their technical names.

4. Basic uses, divided by usage type, eg topical vs ingestion. Not an exhaustive list.

5. Cautions including drug interactions and other safety info.

6. And any immediate first aid information that may be needed.

 

With 163 individual QRDS profiles, this is an excellent reference book for laypeople.

Careful research using a government database, studies, and textbooks such as Robert Tisserand's book "Essential Oil Safety" was undertaken to ensure the most accurate and complete information would be given.

 

This book has been written as a way of meeting the desire to create a database of all the QRDS for anyone to access essential information on natural medicinal substances. The compendium puts all of the current Quick Reference Data Sheets into one easy reference text. The book DOES NOT CONTAIN INSTRUCTIONS like the other books in the series (past, present, or future).

 

Most useful for people seeking natural health options, anyone trying to avoid miscarriages or other unfortunate accidents, and writers.

The ebook will be updated as new batches of QRDS are developed. All you have to do after purchase is redownload it to update the text.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Porche Gardener
• Release date: May 31, 2022
• ISBN: 9781777353049

Book preview

There are 2 main things you need to know before using this book. The first is for american readers. It’s not misspelled, I’m Canadian.

The second thing is that this book is a reference text, not an instructional text.

There are a few pages of basic information to help beginners but it will not replace your own research.

The Quick Reference Data Sheets (QRDS) are organized into 3 groups: herbs, essential oils, and non-herbal substances (clays for example). The ebook text will be updated with new QRDS every couple of years.

To avoid accidental miscarriages look for the words galactagogue, emmenagogue, abortive and abortifacient in the properties section of the QRDS. Especially the last 3.

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What is a QRDS?

On Herbs

Preparation types

Black seed oil

Cabbage

Catnip

Cayenne

Chamomile

Comfrey

Cranberry

Dandelion

Dill weed

Elderberry

Evening Primrose Oil

Feverfew

Garlic

Ginger

Green tea

Lemon balm

Mint

Mugwort

Mullein

Onion

Plantain (not the banana)

Stinging Nettles

Turmeric

Witch hazel

On Essential oils

Dilution chart

Agarwood

Allspice

Ambrette seed

Amyris

Angelica root

Anise

Basil (sweet)

Bay laurel/Laurel

Beeswax

Benzoin

Bergamot mint

Birch (sweet)

Bitter orange

Black pepper

Blood orange

Blue cypress

Blue tansy

Boronia

Cade

Cajeput

Camphor

Caraway

Cardamom

Cassia bark

Catnip

Cedarwood atlas

Cedarwood Virginiana

Celery seed

Chamomile (German)

Chamomile (Roman)

Cilantro

Cinnamon (leaf)

Citronella

Clary sage

Clove leaf

Copaiba

Coriander seed

Corn mint

Cypress

Davana

Dill seed

Dill weed

Elemi

Eucalyptus globulus

Eucalyptus lemon

Eucalyptus Radiata

Fennel (sweet)

Fir balsam

Fragonia

Frankincense

Galangal

Galbanum

Garlic

Geranium

Ginger

Ginger grass

Goldenrod

Grapefruit

Gurjum

Helichrysum/Immortelle

Ho leaf/Ravintsara

Holy basil/Tulsi

Hops

Hyssop

Jasmin

Juniper berry

Juniper needle

Kanuka

Labdanum

Lavandin

Lavender

Lemon balm/Melissa

Lemon myrtle

Lemon tea tree

Lemongrass

Lime

Manuka

May cheng/Litsea Cubeba

Mullein

Myrrh

Myrtle

Neroli/Orange blossom

Niaouli

Nutmeg

Oakmoss

Opoponax/Sweet myrrh

Oregano

Palmarosa

Palo Santo

Parsley

Patchouli

Peppermint

Peru balsam

Petitgrain

Pink pepper

Rose

Rose geranium

Rosemary

Rosewood

Sage

Sandalwood

Saro/Madravarotra

Scotch pine

Silver fir/needle

Spanish sage

Spearmint

Spikenard

Spruce (Hemlock)

Spruce black

Star anise

Sweet marjoram/Marjoram

Sweet orange

Tagetes

Tangerine

Tansy

Tea tree

Terragon

Thyme

Tobacco

Tuberose

Vanilla

Vetiver

Violet leaf

White birch

Wintergreen

Yarrow

Ylang-ylang/Cananga

Yuzu

Non-Herbal

Activated charcoal, activated carbon

Sodium bicarbonate

Bentonite clay/Calcium bentonite

Calamine, refined Smithsonite powder

What is a QRDS?

Quick Reference Data Sheet

A sheet that contains all technical information relevant to a herb, essential oil, or other medicinal substance and its application.

Divided into 6 sections:

Latin name

Chemical constituents

Technical properties

Route of use and suggested symptoms

Cautions

Immediate first aid information

To use it all you have to do is read it.

All QRDS have been created by referencing studies, textbooks, and government databases.

If you are unsure of the meaning of a word in the Properties section please look up the definition.

I am aware that the majority of readers don’t need section 2 of the QRDS. I designed them with the hope that they could bridge the gap between pharmaceutical and natural medicines. Section 2 is always present because I don’t know who is reading it.

If you see vague terms like cephalic which means of the head don’t stress. These terms help you gauge potential risk for unrecorded drug interactions. For example, psych meds may interact with something labelled cephalic. Look at the other properties for the herb/oil/ect to give you more clues on what type of medication may interact with it.

On Herbs

Vocabulary

Rhizome: Underground stem, NOT a root. Ginger is a rhizome.

Roots: Basically the mouth of most plants. Spreading below the soil, roots bring water and nutrients to the body of the plant. Some types of plants have a tap root and this is a big cone shaped root that is designed to anchor a plant into the soil. Carrots are a tap root.

Tubers: Fleshy roots some plants develop as storage containers for nutrients. Potatoes are tubers.

Bulb: A vertical underground stem that the plant can grow back from every year. Onions are a bulb.

Leaves: Take in light and air for the plant to use. Some fall off with seasonal changes and some are more permanent like pine needles.

Foliage: Another word for leaves.

Chlorophyll: A pigment that makes most plants green. Also essential for manufacturing sugars and starches from photosynthesis.

Flowers: A collection of petals to draw in appropriate pollinators so the plant can produce seeds.

Seeds: An unborn plant. Under the right environmental conditions seeds can be preserved for thousands of years waiting until they can sprout and grow.

Drupe: A hard seed covered in flesh with a thin skin. Peaches are a drupe.

Hip: The fruit of a rose.

Perennial: A plant that grows back year after year.

Annual: A plant that must start from seed every year.

Bi-annual: Plant has a 2 year cycle before starting from seed again.

Preparation types

Tea; leaves or flowers steeped in hot water for 30 seconds to 5 minutes.

Infusion; longer duration of steeping for 10 - 15 minutes. Roots or bark require this or longer.

Decoction; Longest duration of steeping, 20 minutes or longer.

Steeping; to soak plant matter in hot or cold water as a method of extracting the plant’s compounds for use.

Essential oil (EO); a distilled oil from plant matter. Refer to essential oil section.

Infused oil; a basic oil such as olive that has had plant matter steeped in it for a period of time to extract plant compounds. Typically done cold but some are heated at low temperature.

Salve/balm; oil and wax emulsified to create a thick, spreadable paste.

Tincture; alcohol infused with plant matter.

Glycerite; glycerin infused with plant matter instead of alcohol.

Syrup; in the context of herbal medicine an infusion with lots of sugar added. Typically used for children.

Emulsifying or Emulsion; to make to liquids combine evenly. For example melted wax and oil.

Poultice; A moist (sorry for the word) mass applied to a wound, rash, injury, bite, ect... Clay or plant material can be used this way.

Black seed oil

Nigella Sativa

Contains: Oil; 24-METHYLENE-CYCLOARTANOL, ALPHA-SPINASTEROL, BETA-AMYRIN, CAMPESTEROL, CARVONE, CITROSTADIENOL, CYCLOARTENOL, CYCLOEUCALENOL, NIGELLONE, TARAXEROL, THYMOL, THYMOQUINONE

Seeds; ALPHA-SPINASTEROL, ASPARAGINE, ASTRAGALIN, CAMPESTEROL, CARVONE, D-LIMONENE, HEDERAGENIN, NIGELLONE, PHYTOSTEROLS, QUERCETIN-3'-GLUCOSIDE, RUTIN, THYMOHYDROQUINONE, THYMOQUINONE

Properties:

Emmenagogue, anti inflammatory, antipyretic, glutathione enhancing, anti seizure, CNS stimulant, antibacterial, immunostimulant, anticancer, antioxidant, antihistamine, bronchodilator, antiviral

Uses:

Topically; the oil can be rubbed on any place with pain and/or inflammation to improve symptoms. Can be applied to cuts, scrapes, bruises, and rashes to improve healing and prevent infection.

A couple drops daily can solve ear infections (in the ear). A teaspoon added to freshly boiled water to inhale steam can help improve lung and sinus infections.

Cautions:

Due to emmenagogue