Cornsilk
Corn (Zea mays) is one of the best things about summer. Corn on the cob, Elote, corn tortillas, corn pudding...It's seriously one thing I could eat in some way every single day of my life and not get tired of it.
It's a beautiful plant, a grass growing in tall slender stalks with silky tassels peaking out the husks at the top. Each one of those strings is a Style, part of the pistil (the female reproductive organ of a plant), which carries a pollen grain all the way down to an ovary connected to the developing ear. If fertilization is successful, a kernel of corn will form at the base of the strand..and.each of those stringy corn silk strands is exposed to the air hoping to catch some pollen that will become another kernel. A LOT of plant sex has to happen in order to get the corn on the cob we're used to, and essentially, each of those corn silk strands is a plant vagina - the female organ that carries pollen (which contains plant sperm) to the ovary, where a future seed is conceived.
The Cornsilk is essential for the development of a plant that the world is dependent on for food and fuel now...AND...it's awesome medicine for the entire urinary tract. Think kidneys, bladder, and urethra. Especially where inflammation, irritation, or toxicity is present.
Anytime I get fresh corn, I collect every little strand of nutritive, demulcent, and diuretic cornsilk, and put it in a jar with cold water. I'll give it a quick blend (immersion blender, vitamix, bullet blender...whatever ya got) and stick it in the fridge to infuse for a few hours. The result is a deliciously soothing, moistening, anti inflammatory tea you can enjoy even if you don't have any urinary issues.
But if you DO have something going on down there, just as what Michael Moore calls 'honeymoon cystitis,' aka a UTI from frequent getting it on, Cornsilk is a must for your protocol, alongside other herbs that will specifically fight the infection (like Manzanita or Cranberry). Cornsilk will increase urination, acting as a cleanser for the urinary organs, while also alleviating the irritation and burning that can come along with such an infection.
Some herbalists will dry cornsilk for future use, but this isn't really my thing. Not knocking it if it works for you, but I prefer to use it fresh. So if a client of mine shows up with a UTI, I'm sending them to get some corn still in the husk and instructing them on a silk gathering ritual. This will deeply connect you to your medicine and potentize its effect. Of course sometimes that's not possible - so you can get Zea mays in tincture or glycerite. You can also blend it and make ice cubes for future use.
Waste not, want not, my friends. Next time you have corn, have an experiential time with the cornsilk. Because it's fresh and light, I recommend 2 cups of water for every one cup of cornsilk, infused overnight or at least 3 hours.
Several ears I processed had fully husked mini ears inside. But because they were natural accidents, they were never fertilized. So I basically got the cleanest, easiest, neatest bundles of Cornsilk ever!