A Golden Torch: Mullein’s Healing Light
Common Names: Mullein, Punchón, Gordolobo, Wild Ice Leaf, Our Lady’s Flannel, Hag’s (or Hedge) Taper, Torches, Candelaria, Quaker’s Rouge, Botanical Name: Verbascum spp. Parts used: root, leaf, flower, flower stalk resin Energetics – Root: neutral, sl. drying. Leaf: cool, sl. moistening. Flower: cool, neutral Taste: salty, bland, vanilla This velvet leafed plant with its brightly bloomed flowerstalk is one of the most easily recognized and well known of almost any wild or domestic medicinal herb. Around here, the old-timers refer to it as Indian Tobacco and even the most botanically impaired individuals tend to know at least one of its names, although it often comes out as a slightly mangled “Mew-lin” or “Mully-in” from those who’ve only...
Elder Mother Immune Elixir
I don’t find the idea of magic bullets to be very effective in healing, and find that the most successful therapy always originates in tailoring the treatment to the individual person and situation. For this reason, you’ll rarely see/hear me recommending a set formula or list of herbs for any given diagnosis. In fact, my answer is almost always, “it depends” to any question asking about herbs to treat a disease or disorder. This is because I work with people, and with the unique ways a virus or pattern may manifest in each person. For an overall tonic approach to modulating and enhancing the body’s native immune system though, I’ve seen Elderberry really shine, even in people with excess inflammation and/or autoimmune disorders....
Blue Mountain Tea: A Sunny Medicine for Cloudy Days
Common Names: Goldenrod, Blue Mountain Tea, Liberty Tea Botanical Name: Solidago spp. Taste & Impression: Bitter, Aromatic, Astringent, sl. diffusive Energetics: Warm, Dry Parts Used: Flowers & Flower Buds, Leaves, Roots Actions: digestive bitter, alterative, stimulant and relaxant nervine, diaphoretic, astringent, digestive aromatic (and carminative), diuretic, vulnerary, anti-inflammatory, bacteria-balancing (often termed anti-infective) Specific Indications: Red, inflamed eyes, “bad skin” related to suppressed urine or underactive kidneys, atonicity of mucus membranes accompanied by copious dripping and fluid loss and possible low-grade infection, cat dander allergies Every year, I anticipate the golden glory of late summer and early autumn in the...
The Elder Mother’s Pantry: A Bioregional Herbal Materia Medica for Influenza and Other Cold-Weather Ailments
As the colder weather begins to move into the northerly reaches and higher eleveations of the Western hemisphere, there’s been much talk of this year’s especially virulent strains of cold and flu. The most important action you can take this is preventative in nature, including ingesting plenty of fermented foods and bone broth, getting your Vitamin D, being sure to make time for rest and keeping a good stock of immune tonic herbs on hand. For this post though, I’ll be speaking specifically of bioregional herbs that can be allied with in the actual treatment of already present cold or flu. I have striven to create a simple, accessible, energetics-based materia medica based in your backyard rather than an expensive herb catalog. I’ll be dividing up my...
Silktassel: Shining From the Shadows
Common Names: Silktassel, Bear Brush, Quinine Bush, Fever Bush Botanical Name: Garrya spp. Energetics: Cold, dry Taste: Bitter, bitter, bitter Actions: Very Strong Relaxant (anti-spasmodic), uterine stimulant, febrifuge, anodyne Parts Used: Twigs & Leaves Preparations: Tincture for the most part, as I’ve yet to meet a person, including myself, who can get the tea or infusion down. Fresh plant 1:2 95% Dried plant 1:5 50% Dosage: 10-30 drops for a medium sized person (less if you’re very sensitive), taken as needed every 45 minutes or so until pain and cramping is reduced or eliminated for up to several hours at a time. For larger people, start with a dose of 30-60 drops for the first two doses then drop down to 30 drop doses. If feelings of...
Herbs Don’t Read Books: Cherry Leaf Tea
This is for the September blogparty, hosted by Henriette, with the theme of Herbs Don’t Read Books! Open the herbal book nearest to you, pretty much ANY herb book. Find the section on wild cherry or chokecherry, if there is one. Now check out the contradictions or warnings. It will almost certainly command you in very authoritative tones to NEVER EVER, NOT EVER consume cherry leaves or YOU WILL SURELY DIE. Poisonous, toxic, and perhaps outright evil, we are forbidden to ever partake in any communion with the leaves of any cherry species at all. I’ve always thought this particular herbal rule was pretty strange, considering we use the bark of the cherry to good effect and in general, bark tends to be more toxic and stronger than leaves. So every time...
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