RCP Player logo

Naked Ladies – Beauty and Poison podcast

The Autumn Crocus is known for its beautiful flowers and as the source of colchicine, the oldest drug to treat gout, but be aware it is also poisonous if eaten.

Support the show

Date

19 January 2021, 10:00 am


In this series

Sort by:


Silver Birch (Betula pendula)

The Silver Birch combines beauty and old and new medicinal uses with a history of magic and large scale industrial uses.

Support the show

Date

14 May 2021, 3:00 pm


Meadowsweet and the origin of aspirin

A pretty plant that was very important in the discovery and naming of that most popular medicine aspirin. 

Support the show

Date

13 April 2021, 11:00 am


Cornflower or Bachelors Button

This beautiful flower carries the weight of many traditions. It is also under threat because of changes in farming practices.

Support the show

Date

08 March 2021, 4:00 pm


Oil of Wintergreen

This popular aromatic and soothing oil came originally from a Canadian plant that has now been widely naturalised in many countries. The active principle is the same as that in aspirin. 

Support the show

Date

12 February 2021, 1:00 pm


Beauty and Poison Together

A much loved plant with a long classical history that has recently provided a medicine based on a Bulgarian peasant tradition.

Support the show

Date

04 December 2020, 3:00 pm


Yellow Gentian - the Bitter Beautiful

The Gentian is attractive to many because it has beautiful yellow flowers but is also an old herbal medicine and it is attractive as an appetite stimulant for us and as a food source for certain butterflies and other insects. 

Support the show

Date

09 November 2020, 2:00 pm


Thorn Apple; a dangerous plant with many names and magical uses

The Thorn Apple, or Jimson’s Weed, Datura stramonium has at least 7 other names in English. Like many other members of the Solanaceae family it contains powerful chemicals that can disturb the mind and change the activity of many systems in the body. Historically there are many instances in which its actions were exploited for medical and even political purposes but it is now considered too dangerous and has been replaced by safer drugs. It was even something witches took before flying.

Support the show

Date

14 October 2020, 12:00 pm


Common Agrimony or Sticklewort

Once regarded as a ‘heal all’ herb useful in treating everything from sleeplessness to musket wounds this attractive plant is still used as a yellow dye and food flavouring and is accepted in the EU as a treatment for sore throats, digestive problems and by some for wounds.

Support the show

Date

27 August 2020, 4:00 pm


Horseradish or armoracia? A hot plant with a tangled history

Studying the history of how we use horseradish is difficult because it has often been confused with the radish and types of mustard. Many like its pepperiness with meat and fish, a taste imported from Central and Eastern Europe but known and enjoyed, even mixed with wine, in classical Greek and Roman times. It has become an important symbol in at least one major religion. It is not a registered herbal medicine but many claims have been made about its therapeutic uses. 

Support the show

Date

28 July 2020, 5:00 pm


The garden during lockdown

In this podcast Jane Knowles, RCP Head Gardener, describes how she looked after this unique garden on her own for several months during the lockdown in London.

Temperatures reached record highs and the sun shone relentlessly and this remarkable weather was glorious for some but not always easy for the gardener. She describes the birds and insects that were active in the garden in April – June 2020, some of which can be heard in the background as her talk was recorded in the garden.

Support the show

Date

25 June 2020, 2:00 pm


Witch hazel

The RCP Garden Podcast latest track on witch hazel.

Support the show

Date

02 January 2020, 10:19 am


The Daffodil: Symbol and medicine

The latest episode of the RCP Medicine podcast describes the daffodil.

Support the show

Date

18 November 2019, 4:47 pm


Poppies part 2: Science, opium and other poppies

Poppies part 2: Science, opium and other poppies

Support the show

Date

21 October 2019, 10:33 am


Poppies part 1: The opium poppy and its products

Poppies Part 1: The Opium Poppy and Its Products by Professor Anthony Dayan

Support the show

Date

21 October 2019, 10:32 am


Aquilegia: beauty and toxicity.

RCP Garden podcast talks about Aquilegia: Beauty and Toxicity.

Support the show

Date

01 October 2019, 12:38 pm


Marigold – colour and confusion

Marigold – Colour and Confusion by Professor Anthony Dayan

Support the show

Date

02 September 2019, 12:45 pm


Paeony; beauty and history

Paeony; beauty and history by Professor Anthony DayanSupport the show

Date

16 August 2019, 11:27 am


Bugloss or alkanet

Bugloss or Alkanet by Professor Anthony Dayan

Support the show

Date

23 July 2019, 11:05 am


Chamomile

Chamomile by Professor Anthony DayanSupport the show

Date

02 July 2019, 4:27 pm


The Common box

The Common box by Professor Anthony Dayan

Support the show

Date

07 June 2019, 1:08 pm


Butterbur: a plant with a tangled history

Butterbur: a plant with a tangled history by Professor Anthony DayanSupport the show

Date

30 May 2019, 3:37 pm


Scurvy grass: an old cure for a dread disease

Scurvy grass: an old cure for a dread disease by Professor Anthony DayanSupport the show

Date

30 May 2019, 3:32 pm


The carrot: a familiar vegetable

The carrot: a familiar vegetable by Professor Anthony DayanSupport the show

Date

11 April 2019, 1:00 am


Flax or linseed: a plant with many different uses

Flax or linseed: a plant with many different uses by Professor Anthony DayanSupport the show

Date

01 April 2019, 1:00 am


Greater plantain: herbal medicine, a food and now a weed

Greater plantain: herbal medicine, a food and now a weed by Professor Anthony DayanSupport the show

Date

19 March 2019, 12:00 am


Parsley: eating and healing

Parsley: eating and healing by Professor Anthony DayanSupport the show

Date

06 March 2019, 12:00 am


Physalis: the bladder cherry

Physalis: the bladder cherry by Professor Anthony DayanSupport the show

Date

22 February 2019, 12:00 am


Fennel: a food, a herbal medicine and a scientific quandary

Fennel: a food, a herbal medicine and a scientific quandary by Professor Anthony DayanSupport the show

Date

14 February 2019, 12:00 am


Looking back at 2018 and forward into 2019

Looking back at 2018 and forward into 2019 by Professor Anthony DayanSupport the show

Date

07 February 2019, 12:00 am