linden leaf

A linden leaf from one of two lovely Linden trees that frame the approach to Mr. Jefferson’s Monticello.

The docent mentioned that linden blossoms were frequently used for tea -- so I looked it up. Indeed:

Today linden is used by some cultures in connection with anxiety, although no clinical trials have confirmed the herbs effectiveness for anxiety. Some trials have produced results indicating that linden flower tea can help people with mild gallbladder problems, upset stomach or dyspepsia, and excessive gas causing the stomach to press against the bottom of the heart (also known as the gastrocardiac syndrome).

When taken as a hot tea, linden flowers act as a diaphoretic. Diaphoretics induce a mild fever, thereby possibly helping to increase the immune system's ability to fight infections. The fever usually does not go very high because the diaphoretic also causes sweating, which in turn cause the body to cool off. In a few European countries, linden has received approval for the treatment of colds and cold-related coughs.

Different parts of the linden are used in connection with specific conditions and symptoms.

• Flowers: colds, cough, bronchitis, infectious diseases, and headache (particularly migraine), and as a diuretic (increases urine production), antispasmodic (reduces spasm), and sedative


• Leaves: internal use-intestinal complaints; external use-ulcers in the leg


• Wood: liver and gallbladder disorders, cellulitis (inflammation of the body's connective tissue)

Dosage and Administration
To prepare linden tea add 1 to 2 tsp flowers in 8 oz of water and steep cover for 20 minutes. Tea is to be taken 3 times daily. As a liquid extract linden is to be take 3 times daily in doses of 3 to 4 mL. Similarly, as a tincture linden should be taken 3 times daily in doses of 4 to 10 mL.

Adjust the recommended adult dose to account for the child's weight. Most herbal dosages for adults are calculated on the basis of a 150 lb (70 kg) adult. Therefore, if the child weighs 50 lb (20 to 25 kg), the appropriate dose of linden for this child would be 1/3 of the adult dosage.

From the NutraSanus website

Mr. Jefferson

Pleasure is always before us; but misfortune is at our side: while running after that, this arrests us. The most effectual means of being secure against pain is to retire within ourselves, and to suffice for our own happiness.

—Thomas Jefferson to Maria Cosway, 12 October 1786

Paid our respects to Mr. Jefferson [1] over the weekend and to several of his lovely creations, including his home, Monticello. Was disappointed in a docent who insisted on subscribing tightly to the requirements of the architecture tour (for which we signed up special, so my bad) and resisted conveying insights into the lovely contraptions that Jefferson populated his life with through invention and acquisition.



So I secured a hefty volume that I hope will reveal all in good time, and which also contains the above quote, which startled me some but also explains the strange melancholy that seems to surround one of history's greatest hotties and one of our most prominent vegetarians.



Worth noting: Mr. Jefferson’s gravestone (at his behest) doesn’t mention his presidency. Instead it notes that he was “Author of the Declaration of Independence of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom and Father of the University of Virginia”.

But nothing about holding down the highest office in the land.

Hmm.



[1] I was instructed by a Virginian of some standing that Mr. Jefferson is the proper way to address the former President.