Botany in Favignana

Tratto da: U. Rizza, Una passeggiata per Favignana alla scoperta del suo territorio e della sua flora medicinale. 

 

The road is the rough one that leads to the sharp cliffs north of Favignana. You immerse yourself in the wild atmosphere of Faraglione almost without realizing it, because the sea (whose color goes from cobalt blue to blue, to emerald green with shades that make the interweaving of the three colors incredible) attracts our attention, hypnotizing you.

With eyes still full of so much light, stopping at the shady entrance of the "Grotta degli Innamorati" is a desired rest for pupils who can return to normal size. This cave, which is located on the Faraglione, is, without a doubt, the most beautiful and largest of the sea caves of Favignana and can be accessed by boat. Our stop will not last long, however, because we are interested in the cave that overhangs this tip: "Grotta dell'Acqua or dei Colombacci".

On top and on its wet walls it is in fact visible the first of our plants friends. The Capelvenere (Adiantum Capillus Veneris) is a small fern, so named for the delicacy of its foliage. These were used, in the past, to get preparations against hair loss and they have a particularity: immersed in water do not get wet: this is why the Greeks have attributed to the plant the name Adianton (it does not get wet, in fact). Between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries it was widely used, but in reality its main properties remain those of bland antitussis for children.

- Capelvenere: (Capidduvennaru) (Adiantum Capillus Veneris -Fam. Polipodiacee)

Description: It is a small fern. The petioles and the branches are dark brown and the leaves, triangular shaped like a fan, have a fold at the end, which contains sporangia. They carry the spores, or seeds, which, by falling, will continue the species. The stem, underground, is covered with scales.

Active ingredients: Ac. gallic, ac tannic. Drugs: The fresh summits harvested between summer and autumn.

Use and preparations: as an anti-cold and mild cough sedative: put a teaspoon of chopped leaves in a cup of boiling water. Leave to stand for 10 minutes and filter. Add honey at will. Take 3-4 cups a day.

Against hair fat and dandruff: Yes boil 10 gr. of leaves in 100 cc. of water for 2-3 minutes. Filter and use as a shampoo.

Published in

Testimonianze del dott. Umberto Rizza direttamente da Favignana

About the author

Umberto Rizza

UMBERTO RIZZA nato nel 1946 da genitori Favignanesi, si è laureato in Farmacia nel 1972 ed ha esercitato questa professione a Favignana. Nel 1984 si è avvicinato alle scienze naturopatiche. Nel 1992 ha aderito all'ASSIRI, acquisendo il diploma di iridologo, e nel 1998 ha fondato, assieme a personaggi illustri, l' ISIr: l'unica Associazione Iridologica Italiana a carattere europeo, di cui ha licenza professionale. Nel 1999 ha inoltre conseguito il diploma in fioriterapia (Fiori di Bach ). Naturalista convinto, ha svolto una ricerca sulla flora dell'isola egadina estrapolando, dalle circa 600 specie in loco, 91 varietà dalle capacità fitoterapiche, volendo così testimoniare che Favignana non è affatto, come molti sostengono, un'isola brulla e arida.