This question is a bit off topic, except that it touches on the
history of ethnobotany..

I have posted pictures of an Iranian manufactured liquid imported into
Australia. It is arranged on the shelves of a local shop along with
pomegranate syrup, sour cherry syrup, rosewater and lemon water.

http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~richwrig/IranianDrink.jpg

However it doesn't have any of the properties of its companions on the
shelf. The liquid in the bottle is clear and tastes of virtually
nothing.

The sales assistant wasn't able to help in its identification.

One likely clue is the picture on the bottle of the catkins of pussy
willow. That is a species of the genus Salix. So my mind turns to old
uses of Salix bark as a predecessor of synthesised salicylic acid and
aspirin.

I wonder whether anybody on this group can advise me whether I should
apply it or drink it. If the latter, how much and when? Or should I
throw it away.

In article >,
Richard Wright > wrote:
>One likely clue is the picture on the bottle of the catkins of pussy
>willow. That is a species of the genus Salix.
>I wonder whether anybody on this group can advise me whether I should
>apply it or drink it. If the latter, how much and when? Or should I
>throw it away.

From a website:

"Your average Persian housewife will splash and dribble mint water into
refreshing cold yoghurt soups during the summer months, and will finish
rice dishes with dill water. My favourite recent acquisition was pussy
willow water, to be drunk with blue borage flower tea. This is recommended
either for increasing or decreasing libido, I'm not sure which."



--
Regards, Frank Young
703-527-7684
Post Office Box 2793, Kensington, Maryland 20891
"Videmus nunc per speculum in aenigmate... Nunc cognosco ex parte"

On 21 May 2004 07:08:32 -0400, (The Bibliographer)
wrote:

>In article >,
>Richard Wright > wrote:
>>One likely clue is the picture on the bottle of the catkins of pussy
>>willow. That is a species of the genus Salix.
>>I wonder whether anybody on this group can advise me whether I should
>>apply it or drink it. If the latter, how much and when? Or should I
>>throw it away.
>
>From a website:
>
>"Your average Persian housewife will splash and dribble mint water into
>refreshing cold yoghurt soups during the summer months, and will finish
>rice dishes with dill water. My favourite recent acquisition was pussy
>willow water, to be drunk with blue borage flower tea. This is recommended
>either for increasing or decreasing libido, I'm not sure which."

Good heavens. I'd better lock it away until I find out whether to
drink a teaspoonful or the bottleful!