Results for Category: Herb Talk
Herbal Trees
Trees are a lovely way to decorate and enhance the landscape in a multitude of ways. Some trees are large with dense canopies and these make for excellent shade trees. Smaller trees, often cross-classified as shrubs, can be great for landscaping or placement closer to a building. There are many flowering trees that add a…
4 Options for Herbal Ground Cover
An herbal ground cover is a great option for gardeners looking to fill empty space in their garden beds or fill patches in the yar...
Echinacea and Goldenseal: When to Use One Over the Other
Echinacea (Echinacea spp.) and goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) are popular herbal allies during cold and flu season. These plant...
Mugwort Benefits & An Herbal Liniment Recipe
Many people think of mugwort as an herb for sleep and dream support, however, there are many mugwort benefits beyond sleeping and dreaming that are worth exploring. A tall, gangly member of the aster family (Asteraceae), mugwort is the name given to several species in the Artemisia genus, including Artemisia vulgaris, common mugwort, and Artemisia argyi,…
How to Recognize and Manage Hormonal Imbalance
Recognizing and managing hormonal imbalance starts with an understanding of hormones and the impact they have on our bodies. Hormones (like cortisol, estrogen, and melatonin) are chemical messengers that are produced by our endocrine system. After producing hormones, the endocrine system then sends them directly into our blood system to glands (like the adrenal, pituitary,…
Your Guide to Winter Foraging
Something magical happens in the winter. Our pace slows, the world grows quiet, and we cozy up in our homes with a more inward foc...
How to Use Mugwort for Dreams, Sleep, and More
When I was camping in the Gifford-Pinchot National Forest as part of my studies at the Elderberry School of Botanical Medicine, I ...
Health Benefits of Cinnamon + 2 Warming Recipes
(Excerpted from Spice Apothecary by Bevin Clare. Used with permission from Storey Publishing.) Cinnamon is one of the oldest and most well-known spices. There are four commonly available types of cinnamon, and they can be quite different in taste, chemical composition, and herbal action. All come from the inner bark of several Southeast Asian tree…
Queen Anne’s Lace Part II: Traditional Use of Daucus Carota
Queen Anne’s lace (Daucus carota) is a fascinating plant with a long and storied past. Because it has poisonous look-alikes, it’s vitally important that you properly identify Queen Anne’s lace if you’re foraging for any part of the plant. Read the first part of this two-part series in Queen Anne’s Lace Part I: Folklore and…
Queen Anne’s Lace Part I: Folklore and Identification
Do you ever look at herbs growing around your home or in your local area and think to yourself, “I should really learn more abou...
Student Feature: Cat Seixas (@ The Olive Trees And The Moon)
In the first installment of our Student Feature Series, we chatted with Cat Seixas (@TheOliveTreesAndTheMoon) about how herbalism ...
Anise Monograph: Pimpinella Anisum
The following anise monograph is an example of the type of thorough, well-researched monographs available on our membership site, The Herbarium. This beautiful anise monograph is written by The Herbarium contributor, Michayla Conrad. Common Name: Anise burnet saxifrage, aniseed, anise, anise seed, sweet cumin Botanical Name: Pimpinella anisum L. Family Name: Apiaceae TCM Name: Hui…
Plantain Leaf Benefits and Recipes
Since the launch of The Foraging Course, we’ve had a renewed interest in the humble, helpful herbs that grow right outside our doors. Plantain leaf (Plantago spp.) is one such wonder “weed” that’s found all over the globe. Two of the most common species, broadleaf plantain (P. major) and ribwort plantain (P. lanceolata), have followed…
How and Where to Buy Herbs in Times of Upheaval
At the outset of the current global pandemic, herbalists were more grateful than ever for the revered roots in our own apothecarie...
New eBook! Cooling Herbs for Hot Summer Days
Summer days are ripe with joyful pleasures, including fresh lemonade, cool mornings in the garden, and lazy afternoons by the pool...
How to Use Herbs to Rebuild from Burnout
Long-term stress takes a huge toll on one’s body and mind. Sometimes that stress can chip away at vital reserves and one’s sense of wellbeing, ultimately leading to a state of burnout. In digging into the exact meaning and causes for burnout, it is clear that its defining borders can be quite nebulous. Unlike depression,…
Herbal Allergy Support Using Ayurvedic Herbs
Allergies manifest in many ways. There are food allergies, seasonal allergies, skin allergies, and allergic reactions to fragrances. As is the case with any health imbalance, it’s easy to get distracted by symptoms and acute discomfort. However, Ayurveda has a holistic approach to wellness—and allergy management follows that approach. In this article, you will learn…
Lion’s Mane Mushroom: What You Should Know
For many years, mushrooms have received most of their attention as a popular pizza topping. But recently, these members of the fun...
Best Herbs for Lungs and Respiratory Support
When addressing viral respiratory infections, we want to think about herbs that have strong immune or antiviral actions in additio...
5 Essential Mushrooms for Your Home Apothecary
Mushrooms: they are as fascinating as they are mysterious. It seems as soon as you dive into the world of mycology, there is an overwhelming amount of information to learn, many rabbit trails to follow, and as many unanswered questions as there are answered ones. While the scientific community has dubbed the study of fungi…
Milk Thistle: A Spring Herb Your Liver Will Love
A number of herbal allies are especially well-suited for spring, such as alterative, bitter, and hepatic herbs. These categories of herbs are a great support to the liver and digestive system and are useful for gentle cleansing and detoxification. They can be incorporated into your daily wellness routine throughout the spring to support and aid…
Reviving Horehound: 6 Ways You Can Use This Traditional Herb
Truly an age-old herb, horehound (Marrubium vulgare) was a staple in ancient Egyptian medicine and traditional Greek medicine for ...
The Comfrey Controversy: Can And Should One Use Comfrey Internally?
Can and should one use comfrey (Symphytum spp.) internally? This is a question that herbalists have been debating since safety c...
The Beginner’s Guide To Ashwagandha
Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) root is known by a number of names, including Indian ginseng and winter cherry, and its usages are even more plentiful than its aliases. Ashwagandha has become increasingly popular for its many applications as a tonifying (strengthening) herb and is one of the premier rasayanas, or rejuvenating herbs, in Ayurveda. This cream-colored…
3 Ways To Use Self Heal In Your Materia Medica
Although self heal (Prunella vulgaris) is an herb that commonly grows across the world and has been used traditionally for ages, its wellness-supporting virtues are often forgotten about in many modern herbal practices! Roughly 400 years ago, self heal was considered one of the top herbs in its class and was highly sought after by…
Two Basic St. John’s Wort Preparations To Keep In Stock
“This is her greatest trick: Bringing light and warmth to your darkness by helping to re-create the electric leap of synapses fi...
Seaweed 101: What You Need To Know And Why You Should Add It Into Your Materia Medica
Although seaweeds are not technically considered “herbs,” these aqueous plants have recently begun to receive attention in the...
How To Use Low-Dose Botanicals Like Lobelia Safely
Plants are complex, and they have profound effects on the human body. Paracelsus said, “What is there that is not poison? All things are poison and nothing is without poison. Solely the dose determines that a thing is not a poison” (Grandjean, 2016). For the herbalist, knowing how to use low-dose botanicals without causing harm…
How To Use Rose for Grief Support
I believe that the world was created and approved by love, that it subsists, coheres, and endures by love, and that insofar as it is redeemable, it can be redeemed only by love. –Wendell Berry I’ve been thinking a lot about the briar lately—or more specifically, the rose. I see a need for the actions…
6 Ways To Use Ginger Every Day
Ginger (Zingiber officinale) rhizome is most commonly used in the kitchen given its slightly sweet, spicy, and strong aromatic fla...
