Herbal ABCs: Hibiscus sabdariffa
Herbal ABCs 🌺✨
(Oh how I love) Hibiscus sabdariffa.
Aliases: Sorrel, Roselle.
The classic hibiscus flower silhouette transports us right to surfboards and beaches, but the Hibiscus we use in herbal medicine is usually something a little different-Hibiscus sabdariffa. The pretty pink flowers look very similar to ornamental hibiscus blooms we know and love but the part harvested is actually this funky, succulent like calyx that wraps around the seed. Hibiscus flowers can be used as well, but the red, juicy Roselle calyx packs a much bigger antioxidant-rich, crimson punch.
My introduction to this ally, in any concrete memorable way, was on one of our @ecotoursforcures Jamaican ethnobotany trips making some oh-so-tantalizing ginger sorrel wine with our guides and friends.
After harvesting a potato sack full of the calyces, and munching on a few along the way, we have to remove the seed pods. These calyces and seeds are converted in minuscule thorns I liken to glochids [new plant term alert ]— ya know those super annoying little cactus hooked needle-burs that get stuck in your fingers and irritate you for dayyyyze. Every time you think you got them all out, you find another one. PROTIP from my high school years at the loved Lexington gardens nursery— use tape to get these out. Trying to pull them out with your fingernails or tweezers will drive ya bonkers and you will always miss one!]
Anyway, botanical tangents aside, our friend Lion fashions a little piece of a broken small pipe/tube into the perfect tool to scoop the seed pod out efficiently and painlessly. I, being an overenthusiac, super cool, wanna get my hands dirty, eager herbalist, dug in brazenly with my bare hands for the project and soon learned: good farmers know when to use tools. It just was not worth the 3 days of glochids I continued to find. Once the seeds pods are removed, we then add some fresh jamaican ginger root with the hibiscus and cook it over the fire, letting it cook on the coals overnight. We end up with a strong decoction, that is then fermented to perfection and boom, irie, ital ginger-sorrel wine.
Herbal ABCs Hibiscus Sabdariffa PART TWO
Sorrel brings fantastic flavor and color to any tea blend. Like many of our rich, red phytonutrients, they can strongly influence the heart, cardiovascular system, metabolic hormones and protect the liver. Rich in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, it can help address underlying chronic imbalances like heart disease, high blood pressure, cholesterol imbalances and diabetes. It can lower blood pressure, which can be a good thing but too much or in combo with other hypotensive medications, can lower it too much, making one feel dizzy or light headed. So like everything, use in moderation and talk to your naturopath or herbalist if you are on medications or have any existing conditions.
Its vast array of polyphenols make it great anti-obesity therapy. One side effect of obesity in particular, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, has been clinically proven to be reduced by our dear Roselle. A small clinical trial divided subjects with a BMI over 27 into a placebo and hibiscus treated groups for 12 weeks. There was a reduction in body weight, BMI, body fat and the waist-to-hip ratio. Serum free fatty acid was lowered as well. And, awesomely, anatomic changes revealed that hibiscus improved the degree of liver steatosis. PS- no adverse effects during the trial. PMID: 24549255. There is actually some research on sorrel being anti-V too (#2020).
This beaut is in the malvaceae family, like our dear Althea, rose a sharons and even okra! Now when you look at these flowers, can you spot the similarities? Recognizing family patterns is key to starting to make sense of plant identification.
@ecotoursforcures
Also, I call DJ sabdariffffffa as my Jamaican dancehall artist name.