“The Ladies’ Coat”
It is from an altitude of 500 meters, climbing towards the Grand Ballon, the highest point of the Vosges mountains, the Alsace region and the Haut-Rhin department, that you will find this plant with a poetic name. The plant with waterproof green leaves can be picked from mid-June to mid-September. It owes its surprising name to its reputation for curing infertility in women and even for strengthening the tissues of the genital tract! Currently, it is mainly used as a mother tincture (preparation) against hormonal problems in women during menopause.
Lingonberry
At the same level of the hike (phew!), Pick the fruits of lingonberry from mid-July to mid-August. Used during menopause for its virtues of regulating the female hormonal system, bilberry is also very effective in the fight against cystitis and kidney problems. To consume its fruits, make jams or juices. After picking, dry its leaves to benefit from its benefits in a cup of herbal tea.
Thought of the Sudetenland
After working out your hikers’ calves, approach this plant with its large, light yellow petals. The viola lutea only grows on soils poor in fertilizing elements (calcium, magnesium, etc.). In the Vosges but also in Auvergne, it is picked from mid-June to mid-September. Painkillers thanks to the methyl salicylate molecule, it has the same properties as aspirin and cleanses the body. To relieve a migraine, nothing like putting it in your salad as a flavoring, drinking it as a juice or drying it to infuse it.
Alpine fennel
From June 15 to September 15, the Meum Athamanticum will brush against your shoes whether you are in the Vosges, in the Massif Central, in the Alps or in the Pyrenees. Easy to spot thanks to its abundance of small white flowers, it is best to use it in the kitchen after picking because the solution is more active there. In salad, gratin or stew, you will be surprised by its thyme taste. Thanks to its digestive properties, Alpine fennel will calm your intestinal disturbances in particular.
White bedstraw
As you continue to climb, lean over this tall plant full of white flowers, to make yourself a pretty bouquet. If you are having some difficulty digesting dairy products, bedstraw is for you. It acts on the small intestine and stimulates the humanitarian defenses. Unlike others, avoid using it to flavor your dishes. Despite its relatively sweet scent, bedstraw is very bitter. Do not consume it in herbal tea either, but rather in drops of mother tincture.
The Plantin
There are 60 varieties that can be found everywhere in France. But the one that you will see in quantity while strolling in the Vosges mountains is called the Grand Plantin. A real antihistamine, it will save your life if you get bitten by a wasp, a mosquito, a hornet or even a scorpion! For it to work, pick and chew it. Then spit the mixture on your sting, take it again and swallow. To make it easier for you, remember that Plantin tastes like button mushrooms.
Yarrow
As you approach slowly but surely the top, you will see what you will take from afar for daisies. THE’Achillea Millefolium, the best hemostatic, grows at any altitude, from the plains where it is very abundant, to the summit. Do not sprinkle it on your salad, the plant is too tough, drink its juice instead. The active principle being inside the plant, you can dry the bouquet with the leaves and use it in alcohol or essential oils, which you will find in herbalism.
The Serpolet
From May 15 to September 15, you will pick this species of thyme, provided in pink flowers, on the stones. Known for its virtues against bronchitis, flu, colds and gastroenteritis, consume wild thyme without moderation in herbal tea, alcohol and mix it in your cooking preparations.
The goldenrod
Its scientific name, Solidago, was chosen because of its reputation for healing wounds. Everywhere in France from August 15 to September 15, it stimulates kidney function thanks to its diuretic properties. Do not hesitate to pick it and taste it in herbal tea.
The white alias tree
It is also called “fruit of famine” because it was used to make sweet bread. Pick the fruits and mold them to make cakes, bread or brioche. It is also said that this plant would be at the origin of the famous sentence of Marie Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI. When she learned that the people had nothing left to eat, she allegedly retorted: “Let them eat cake !” thinking of the alisier …