Medicinal plants backpackers should know

: Why learn about medicinal plants? Certainly, backpackers shouldn't leave the first aid kit home, but it can be useful and interesting to know a few plant medicines too. Whether you are someday in a survival situation, or you just lost your first aid kit and have a terrible headache, wouldn't it be nice to find relief nearby?

You can. There are many effective medicinal plants. Some are also dangerous, of course, just like synthetic medicines can be. I won't discuss those here. This is a quick guide to a few safe plant medicines.

Plants For Pain Relief

Fill the bottom of a cup with shredded willow bark, and make a cup of tea with it. Let it steep for a few minutes before you drink it. The active ingredient is salicin, closely related to salacylic acid, which is used to make aspirin. You can also try chewing on a few balsam poplar buds.

Antiseptic Plants

Sap from "blisters" on balsam firs is a strong antiseptic. Pop the blisters on the trunks of young trees, and the sap will ooze out. You can spread it over cuts and small wounds to prevent infection. It is very sticky, however, and it will be difficult to wash off (at least it smells nice).

The crushed leaves of Saint John's Wort can be used as an antiseptic dressing as well. I once put a wad of the mashed leaves on a nasty gash in my foot, replacing it occasionally, and the cut healed faster than I've ever seen a cut heal. St. Johnswort has anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal properties.

Medicinal Plants For Diarrhea

You can drink tea made from the roots of blackberries and their relatives to stop diarrhea. Just fill the bottom of the cup with the cleaned and shredded roots and pour boiling water over them. Let the mix steep for five minutes before drinking.

Oak bark and other barks containing tannin are also effective. I have also used the twigs to stop diarrhea when I was backpacking in Mexico. Make tea with a spoonful of the bark or chopped-up twigs. Tannins can be hard on the kidneys, so drink just one cup of tea, or use oak only if you don't have other options.

Skin Medications

You can relieve the itch from insect bites, sunburn, or plant poisoning rashes by applying a poultice of jewelweed (Impatiens biflora). I have seen a poison ivy rash cleared up overnight using the juice from jewelweed. It is also said to work on sunburn as well as aloe vera.

Make a tea of witch hazel leaves (Hamamelis virginiana), and you can use it for relief from insect bites, and sunburn. Witch Hazel used to be a common astringent that women used as a "tightening" face wash.

There are hundreds of wild medicinal plants that could be useful to hikers and backpackers. You don't need to become an expert to benefit from them. Just learn to identify and use a few of the most widespread and safest ones.

Many advantages of polywood

Poly-Wood is a term quickly sweeping the country, not because it is new on the scene. Perhaps because the United States is starting to catch on to what two very innovative men found out a long time ago in a garage in Indiana? Poly-Wood HDPE plastic lumber is the ideal recycled material for constructing outdoor patio furniture built to withstand the elements. Poly-Wood is a high quality, durable lumber substitute made from high density recycled plastic polymer. The unique qualities and nature of polywood make it flexible, comfortable and ideal for manufacturing outdoor patio furniture. The polywood plastic lumber is extruded from pellets of recycled milk jugs into plastic lumber that can be cut, routered, screwed and assembled into sustainable outdoor patio furniture that will last for years and years. One of the many favorable features of polywood is the virtually maintenance free care that is needed to keep your outdoor furniture looking new - year after year. Polywood is compounded with permanent, UV stabilized colors through and through the polywood lumber. This eliminates the need for sanding, painting, waterproofing, stripping or refinishing on your polywood patio furniture. Cleaning polywood is as easy as soap and water. Got a tough stain? Polywood can be cleaned with 1 part bleach to 2 part water for any stubborn stains with a cloth or soft bristle brush. You do not have to sand, paint or refinish each spring season to prepare your outdoor patio for entertaining. Another popular method of cleaning polywood is a high-pressure power washer. Polywood is nearly double the density of traditional wood and will withstand the windiest conditions. With an exceptional moisture resistance you will not have to worry about rotting, warping, cracking, splintering or support of bacterial growth. You will also find that polywood is impervious to many common corrosive substances including salt water and chlorine allowing you to leave your poly-wood furniture out all year-round. Polywood is backed by a manufacturer’s warranty that guarantees to the original purchaser for a period of five years for residential use from the date of purchase against any defects in the manufacturing or workmanship of the polywood furniture components. That is how confident they are on the products characteristics. The polywood lumber is attached with commercial grade stainless steel hardware that has an additional 'xylan' protective and cosmetic coating. The quality of the hardware has a high level of corrosive resistance, the hardware can show some sign of corrosion in salty air environments. So, to wrap it all up polywood is a recycled substance that saved milk jugs and containers from our overflowing landfills which is formed and then cut and assembled into outdoor patio furniture. Polywood offers maintenance free care regardless of whether you live in the mountains, on the beach, surrounded by the plains, in rainy or sunny weather. Leave this unique, sustainable polywood lumber furniture out in all weather as it has proven to be impervious to the effects of mother-nature for over 18 years. PolyWood is used to construct PolyWood premium outdoor furniture that will bring you a casual existence with its simplicity, durability and quality.