Monarda Punctata or Spotted Bee Balm
“The medicinal values of this plant are unquestionable. The Mass Spec/Gas Chromatography results place it as the topmost potent essential oil in the world. Cursory Areal Correspondence Analysis show the plant geographic distribution in the US is strongly correlated with the Hopewell geographic distribution.
Something most of you do not know is that I also found other plants growing on the berm of great medicinal value, and one was known for the medicinal value of its roots just as Alma describes. This plant was growing among the Spotted Bee Balm. We also found a species of close relationship growing in the Jerusalem area that was used by the people of the area probably back to the time of Lehi, so Lehi and his family would have quickly recognized its value when they found it first in Florida where the plant follows the Hopewell trail.
The plant has been studied for is ability to protect people during times of bacterial and viral biological warfare. We found it to have 56 compounds and it is MUCH more effective in controlling antibiotic resistant bacterial strains when used as a whole essential oil as opposed to isolated compounds such as just the thymol or the carvacrol, which are its two most abundant compounds. So, synthesized thymol or carvacrol are much less effective for disease control. The synergistic effects of the 56 combined compounds are what makes it much more effective.
I have attached the white paper that Dana Young, Wayne May and I wrote on the plant. In this white paper we discussion many facts about the plant and tell you about the most common compounds in the plant, but we do not know that some of the less abundant compounds are not very important to the effectiveness of the plant – the Hopewell and Native Americans certainly knew of this plants importance.” Kevin Price PhD.
Below is our Newest Page (360) in our
Annotated Book of Mormon (Not Printed Yet)
AEBOM_Spotted-Bee-BalmSee All the Changes in the 2nd Edition of the Annotated Book of Mormon Here
Below 26-Page White Paper on Bee Balm from Heartland Research Group
White-paper-SPOTTED-BEE-BALM-FINALOther Medicinally Valuable Plants
To those interested in other medicinally valuable plants found growing among the Spotted Bee Balm, I took pictures of all the major plants growing on the Zarahemla temple site and attached pictures of two other plants growing on the same mound and among the Spotted Bee Balm.
Alma 46:40 “And there were some who died with fevers, which at some seasons of the year were very frequent in the land—but not so much so with fevers, because of the excellent qualities of the many plants and roots which God had prepared to remove the cause of diseases, to which men were subject by the nature of the climate” (I added the bold type to emphasis points)
Notice that the disease that caused fever was seasonal. Malaria was very common in the US and it is estimated that over 1 million of the soldiers in the US Civil War had malaria. It was no eradicated from the US until the 1950s. DDT was used for its eradication. As a kid I remember planes flying over my home town of Green River, Utah spraying DDT to kill mosquitoes.
In addition to the fever, other plants were used for their medicinal values. It is possible that two other plants were Flower Spurge and Common Evening Primrose shown in the pictures from the Zarahemla temple site. Notice it is mostly the Flowering Spurge roots that are used.
Part used – rootstock
Medicinal use of Wild Spurge [Flowering spurge]:
The dried root is an excellent purgative [laxative], though it sometimes causes vomiting, it opens the body when other more violent purgatives fail to move it. The plant has irritating and uncertain qualities and so is seldom used in herbal medicine. A tea made from the leaves is used in the treatment of diabetes. An infusion of the bruised roots has been taken in the treatment of urinary diseases. The juice of the plant has been rubbed on the skin as a treatment for sores, eruptions etc., especially on children’s heads. A decoction of the plant, mixed with other herbs (these are not specified) has been used in the treatment of cancer.
Medicinal use of Evening Primrose:
The bark and the leaves are astringent and sedative. They have proved of use in the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders of a functional origin, whooping cough and asthma. A syrup made from the flowers is also an effective treatment for whooping cough. The bark is stripped from the flowering stem and dried for later use, the leaves are also harvested and dried at this time. Evening primrose oil has become a well-known food supplement since the 1980″s. Research suggests that the oil is potentially very valuable in the treatment of multiple sclerosis, premenstrual tension, hyperactivity etc. It is also taken internally in the treatment of eczema, acne, brittle nails, rheumatoid arthritis and alcohol-related liver damage. Regular consumption of the oil helps to reduce blood cholesterol levels and lower the blood pressure. The seed is a good source of gamma-linolenic acid, an unsaturated fatty acid which assists the production of hormone-like substances. This process is commonly blocked in the body, causing disorders that affect the uterine muscles, nervous system and metabolism. The poulticed root is applied to piles and bruises. A tea made from the roots is used in the treatment of obesity and bowel pains.
Notice at this site listing the 9 most valuable medicinal plants, evening primrose is on the list. So, while there are many medicinally valuable plants, primrose is considered among the best. https://www.healthline.com/health/most-powerful-medicinal-plants#lavender
Medicinal information drawn from this site. http://www.naturalmedicinalherbs.net/herbs/medicinal/
Best wishes, Kevin Price, [email protected]
Kevin Price, PhD Biogeography (Plant Ecology)
Presentation:
Rapidly Emerging Technologies for Archaeological Site Surveys and Virtual Reality 3D Modeling: Looking for the Great City of Zarahemla
Watch Here or Subscribe Here
Dr. Kevin Price grew up in the small town of Green River, Utah (watermelon country). He served as a missionary for two years in the California, Anaheim mission under the leadership of Elder Rex C. Reeves. He attended Rick’s College (now BYU-Idaho), then transferred to BYU in Provo where he met his wife, Melinda and was married in the Salt Lake Temple. He has two daughters; Kaylie is director of marketing for a company in Wisconsin and Julia is in her last semester at BYU in the School of Business. Kevin severed in his Kansas ward as the High Priest’s Group Leader, Gospel Doctrine Instructor and Secretary to the Young Men’s program. He now serves as the Emergency Preparedness Coordinator.
He did his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at BYU in Rangeland Ecology and Ph.D. at the University of Utah in Geography specializing in biogeography (plant ecology), remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) (or computerized mapping and analysis). He was a professor for 3 years at Utah State University, 19 years at the University of Kansas and 6 years at Kansas State University. He has conducted research throughout the world and has been the Keynote or Invited speaker on drone applications in agriculture and natural resource management throughout the world at over 100 conferences. He served as a scientific advisor to NASA, NOAA and a former US Secretary of State.
Kevin is currently the Chief Emerging Technologies Officer for Air Data Solutions with offices throughout the US. He analyzes drone and airplane acquired imagery including natural color, color infrared, thermal and LiDAR.
