Results for Category: Herb Talk
Creating a Local Materia Medica With Plantain (+ Plantain Salve Recipe)
Part of the beauty of a local materia medica is its humility, and you can’t get much more humble than plantain (Plantago spp.). Considered a weed the world over, this tenacious and resilient plant steadfastly grows in lawns, fields, roadsides, disturbed land, sidewalk cracks—you name it. And while plantain is often overlooked today (saved by…
Unlock the Power of Mint: A Family-Friendly Herb
Beautifully fragrant with a delightful taste, amazing mint (Mentha genus) is a helpful and welcome herb for everyone in the family...
Creating a Local Materia Medica with Yellow Dock
I had originally intended to write this month’s local materia medica about another herb entirely, but then I replaced the fe...
A Family Herb: Gentle Linden Flower and Leaf
Deliciously fragrant linden trees perfume the air in early summer, beckoning us to come and enjoy their beneficial properties for body, mind, and spirit. This stately tree, a time-tested favorite herbal remedy in Europe, is often found lining city streets and growing in parks. And it may surprise you to know that linden flower and…
Creating a Local Materia Medica with Violet
Modern herbalists are fortunate to have access to a vast array of herbs from far corners of the globe. Herbs and spices have long been a significant driver in world trade, and while this looks a bit different in the 21st century than it did in the 17th, we are still often intrigued most by…
A Family Herb: Helpful Calendula Blossoms
Vivacious, happy Calendula blossoms are a delight to grow and use in herbal remedies for everyone in the family. As a member of ...
How To Use Schisandra For The Liver
One of my favorite herbs is Schisandra chinensis (Wu Wei Zi). I don’t think there is anything that schisandra can’t do, and...
A Family Herb: Stinging Nettle Leaf Uses
The first plants to rise up in the spring, gracing the world with green, often include the very herbs we can most successfully use to be healthy and strong. It’s seasonal herbalism at its best with healthful weedy plants such as dandelions, violets, and chickweed expressing their vitality by simply growing all on their own…
A Family Herb: Dandelion
Hillsides and fields awash with vibrant greens and yellow blooms beckon us outside to enjoy warming springtime weather. It’s here, right under our feet, that we may find one of the most treasured plants in the world of herbalism. Well-known by children and often the bane of gardeners, the humble dandelion (Taraxcum officinale) is a…
Purslane: A Nutritional Herb
By Nina Katz – Herbalist Purslane is a land-based vegetable that is extremely high in nutrients and makes a great addition t...
How To Have A Sensational Experience With Oatstraw
by Rebecca Swartwood Salty, sweet, milky, feminine, watery, strengthening, silky, easy… These were my initial impressions after ...
4 Reasons Thyme Is An Herb For Winter Health
There are many herbal allies that you may enjoy working with during the long, cold winter months. Elderberry and elecampane are a couple that come to mind, or perhaps astragalus or angelica are a better fit for you. However, it might surprise you that an herb tucked away into your kitchen cabinet, thyme, is the…
3 Raspberry Leaf Benefits For Women
When thinking of raspberry, visions of tart, delicious little berries come to mind, yet the familiar raspberry offers us much more than a wholesome snack. When we look beyond the tasty fruits of this hardy plant, we find that the raspberry leaf benefits for women are numerous, including being used as a helpful ally during…
History and Uses of Common Ivy
Helix hedera, or common ivy, is a familiar garden and houseplant to many people. Sometimes, ivy is used as a greenery decoration d...
Learn About the Mistletoe
Mistletoe, Viscum Album The familiar, white-berried token of the winter holiday season, mistletoe, is a parasitic plant that grow...
Plantain, A Story
We have plantain growing all over our yard. I’m a new, not yet budding herbalist, and I have yet to use it. I have been lying in wait for someone in my household to get a bug bite so that I could try crunching up a leaf and making a spit poultice. I have been…
A Family Herb: Chamomile Flower
The lovely little chamomile flower is reminiscent of peaceful sunshine filled days, which speaks to the gentle power of this plant for easing discomfort and bringing happiness. In herbalism the two most commonly used chamomiles are the German chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla syn. Matricaria recutita), which may be the most familiar, and Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile)….
Motherwort: The Plant World’s Mama Bear
Motherwort is the plant world’s mama bear. Or mama lion, from its Latin name Leonurus cardiaca, which translates to the Lion-Hea...
The Horseradish Plant: Harvesting, Processing & Uses
Fall is fast approaching, and with it comes the harvesting of roots. And the horseradish plant is high on our list! For those of y...
Red Clover Blossoms
How many times have you walked passed these red clover blossoms without even a second thought? I remember picking them as a little girl and being struck by their beautiful purple color whilst sucking out the sweet nectar from their blossoms. Little did I know just how magical they were, with such a long list…
The Benefits of Elderberries Sambucus nigra and Sambucus canadensis
Across the country, the elderberries are turning dark purple or black and herbies everywhere are harvesting them, drying them, and formulating their favorite elderberry preparations for the seasons ahead. In my blog in June, we talked about the plant, the flowers, and some of the wonderful lore and magic that surround the elder. The flowers…
Cooling Down with Summer Rose
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, summer is the season of yang and is associated with the fire element, the Heart, and Small intest...
Jewelweed, A Story
Post written by John Bailey, student in the Intermediate Herbal Course. Who ever knew that herbs and other things that help us on ...
Recipes Using Bee Balm
As we discussed in our last article, many names have been given to the plant monarda: bee balm, bergamot, or Oswego tea (more on that here). It has been used in North America for a very long time and for many purposes. You can find it in nearly every state in the U.S., and since it’s…
A Family Herb: The Comforts Of Rose
The lovely rose has more than a beautiful face. Highly prized throughout history as an herbal remedy, roses (Rosa spp.) have long been used to help soothe and heal humanity’s woes. Gentle rose is a calming nervine and a helpful respiratory and immune ally as well as a useful topical remedy. Bring the comforts of…
Benefits of Bee Balm: Monarda fistulosa and M. didyma
Bee balm is the common name of both Monarda didyma, which has red flowers, or Monarda fistulosa, which can have lavender, pink, or...
The Benefits Of Lavender In The Family Home
At our house, lavender is a constant friend, helping to keep our home and its occupants safe, clean, and comfortable. Rich with an...
23 Ways to Use Chamomile
Chamomile is one of the most recognized and used herbs in the western world. Many people think of it first for anxiety and insomnia, but it’s far more than a gentle nervine. From tea and tinctures to salves and soap, chamomile’s versatility and aroma have long-been welcomed into our lives. To read about chamomile’s use throughout the…
Get to Know the Versatile Chamomile Plant
From the Astereraceae (daisy) family comes the Matricaria recutita (German chamomile) and Chamaemelum nobile (Roman chamomile). Both are known as chamomile, although North Americans tend to use the German chamomile plant, while those in the UK use more of the Roman variety. These two unrelated chamomile plants share many of the same constituents, have a similar appearance and aroma,…
9 Ways To Use Valerian, Valeriana officinalis
Valerian (Valeriana officinalis) is a lovely garden plant with pinkish-white aromatic flowers. A perennial to Zone 4, valerian thr...
