Results for Category: Ancient Wisdom
The Herbs That Got Away: Rediscovering Silphium and Other Missing Historical Plants
With a landscape brightened by vivid colors and infused with aromatic scents of ocean and mountains, the ancient Mediterranean region provided a sensational feast for the senses. Many of the historical plants that the various ancient civilizations in this region gathered for food, medicine, and religion remain in use today. Yet, the story of some…
Plant Personalities: How Growing Plants Deepened My Relationship With Them
I can proudly shout from the rooftops that I am a giant nerd! I am obsessed with herbalism, plant personalities, and creating deep...
De Materia Medica: The Ancient Text that Changed the World
There is a grand mystery and pleasure in reading ancient texts that can still fulfill our curiosities about the human experience. ...
Homemade Massage Oil for Each Season
Massage oil, especially when infused with herbs, can be more than just a feel-good skin moisturizer. Ayurveda teaches that fat is closely connected to love, satisfaction, and protection (Svoboda, 1999). In addition to nourishing and nurturing the skin, using herbally infused homemade massage oils produces a grounding, supportive, and protective effect on the body and…
Roots of African American Herbalism: Herbal Use by Enslaved Africans
This article cannot possibly cover more than 400 years of herbal use and knowledge by enslaved Africans and their descendants. This is just the beginning of my journey as a Black herbalist understanding my own history, the plant knowledge contained within it, and my ancestral connections to herbalism. This post skims the surface of the…
Practices and Herbs for Happiness
Given the drastic upheaval that has touched all of our lives in 2020, feeling a bit more stressed or run ragged than normal is to ...
Anise Monograph: Pimpinella Anisum
The following anise monograph is an example of the type of thorough, well-researched monographs available on our membership site, ...
Botany Beginnings: Who was Theophrastus?
Approximately 2,300 years ago, a time which we can somewhat imagine through the marble monuments still standing and the relatively few parchments that have survived, a person named Theophrastus (c. 370 BCE – c. 287 BCE) reportedly wrote 227 books about animals, trees, shrubs, fruits, and flowers. Although he wasn’t the only scientific writer at…
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…
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...
