Holy Toledo. Let me tell you about an amazing plant, the paracress, or, as we lovingly refer to it, the toothache plant. Yobo found this plant not long before the Moose was brought into being; he said, "hey, let's try this out - the toothache plant will cause your mouth to go slightly numb, the leaves are a salad green, the flowers are spicy and also known as "Szechuan Buttons", it's totally safe, and works great on teething babies." How could I refuse?!
The Moose absolutely adores it - since before tooth #1 erupted, she has learned exactly how to work the plant for specific needs. It is absolutely amazing! Sometimes she just chews on a leaf for a rather mild numbing effect and smiles; other times she meticulously pulls apart the individual flower hairs and, literally, stuffs them into a single area of her mouth, steadily applies pressure for about 30 seconds, and giggles in utter teething-pain-relief. Absolutely amazing. She has learned to climb the "Gorilla" rack we use for the plants in the living room. She climbs to reach the paracress's lower branches, doing her best to take down a leaf or flower. Or occasional whole branch. We have encouraged her free-range access to the plant; Yobo even put up a wooden rail on the front edge of the rack so she can't pull the plants down (anymore! LOL). And when she doesn't hurt, the Moose can usually be found grazing the rosemary or searching for ripe Tiny Tom tomatoes :)
Oh yeah, and it totally cures dry mouth.
That's just too cool - a free-range baby! Self-medicating, even!
ReplyDeleteI can count on ONE hand how many times tylenol has been needed and it's only for "sleep through the night" use. The downside, if it even is one, is that the effect of the paracress lasts for just a few minutes. When you pack the flower fibers into a single spot, it may numb for upwards of about 20 minutes.
ReplyDeleteHow difficult would it be to get a cutting of this plant from you? I told my sister about it, and she is very interested as she is about to become a mommy...
ReplyDeleteAlso, Mother says her Cow's Tongue Cactus has got a "baby" growing out of its side! She loves it!
I shouldn't think it'd be that difficult. Remind me tomorrow and I think we can hook you up then or when you get back. Congrats to your sister!
ReplyDelete