On Herbalism..
Friday, January 16, 2009 I love to take a walk through the mountains. I'm not into hiking per se, I prefer nature walking. I've been told by quite a few others that I'm rather unusual in that, while I'm walking or even just driving down the road, I am checking out every plant in my vision field. I happen to think it's weird that others don't do that.
Many years ago I took up learning herbalism, and it came so naturally to me, that I can't help but wonder whether it was already in my DNA. My main interest is herbs for healing. I also know most any edible plant in the wild. my children grew up drinking herbal teas when they were sick, and were used to mom making salves for their 'boo-boos'. They didn't think anything of walking through a pasture and eating whatever I told them they could. Children are so trusting. I had nieces and nephews that would come to visit and they always wanted to go to the woods with me, they thought it was so cool to eat a clover flower or suck on sumac seeds. My boys thought they were crazy, but it's because they were so used to it, they didn't see the big deal.
I have twin boys, who are the oldest of the three. My youngest twin (by seven minutes, he would note!) loves to go out in the spring time and gather fiddleheads. He would bring a large sack full home and ask me to cook them up with a cheese sauce.
Every summer I gather elderberries and make jam to give away, and elderberry syrup for your pancakes is delicious. In the fall I try my best to beat the possums to the persimmons so I can make some bread. It is a very satisfying feeling for me to know which plants heal what ailments, and to know just how much to dose and which part of the plant to use.
I was always most familiar with plants that grew in pastures and in the midwest, so when I came to the Smokies, I had a whole new pharmacopia to learn about. There are so many plants here that you just don't find other places. Trillium amd mayapples, ginseng and greenbrier and ramps and galax. So much to learn! So little time...
Eventually I did learn most all the plants in the Smokies. I couldn't wait for spring time after I bought my land so I could see just what plants were popping up through the ground. I was so excited to see several types of ferns, rattlesnake plantain, solomons seal, greenbrier and virginia creeper, galax galore, jewelweed and winterberries, mountain laurel, rhododendren, hemlocks, dogwoods and wild cherry. I have sections rocked off so no one will trample my delicate plants.
I am dedicated to being their keeper. I simply cannot allow bulldozers and backhoes to wipe my lovelies off the face of the earth. I am mindful that every time a tree is cut or leaves are disturbed I am messing with the perfect little environmental microcosm those plants need to grow.
I hope someday we'll all be a little more aware of the bounties that surround us...
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Reader Comments (3)
Cheesy Fiddleheads were GREAT!
OK, when you moved to your new place, you had to learn about the plants in your area, how did you do that? I moved from a place where I lived most of my life to a completely different new area, high desert, mountains, I know some of the plants, but have no clue as to how to learn about the plants that are around me and what they can be used for.
I have "harvested" some pine needles, put them in a glass jar, covered them with witch hazel, crushed and mushed the needles around, every now and again, I shake the jar. The liquid in the jar has gone from clear or a greenish brown and smells of pine. I use that as a disinfectant for the skin. It works great. I know there is more around me, but I don't have a clue as to how to figure it out.
I have tried using the internet, but my searches bring up such a broad spectrum about this area, I can't make heads or tails out of it.
Thanks!
Wretha
The best thing to do is buy or borrow a good book about native plants. I probably wouldn't order one on the internet, because you need to take a look at it and make sure it has really good pictures, not just drawings. Once you have a plant identified, cross reference with a good herbal. A couple of all time favorites are Back to Eden, by Jethro Kloss and the Herb book by John Lust. They will tell you what part of the plant to use and how to prepare them.
For my area, it was pretty easy, there are so many books documenting the plants of the smokies. I like to keep a pocket-sized one handy and whenever I see a new plant I look it up. Try to learn to identify different families of plants. Mint is a good way to start. All members of the mint family have stems with 4 sides. (Square) Now, whenever you find a square stemmed plant, you can taste it or smell it and you'll learn to identify what type of mint it is.
You've made a good start with the pine needles, you can also steep them in an oil base , I prefer olive oil, and use for sore muscles and joints, just like ben-gay.
I hope that helps a bit!