Herbal Roots & Reflections

As I write this column, a new president is coming into office, and making many changes. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing is a matter of perspective, and not the subject of this column.

However, one thing for sure, things are changing, and when things change on this scale it tends to stir up fear. It is a good time to turn to things that are stable and dependable.

For me, taking a walk in nature has a healing and soothing effect.

I particularly like walking the road that runs through the woods on my land. Even though this has been less soothing this year—I am still cleaning up from the tornado that hit those woods last May—it is still a place of solace and nourishment.

I’ve learned a lot about my woods, and wood in general, from the wonderful people who have helped me with cleaning up my land after the tornado. This has whetted my appetite to learn more, and to share more of what I know myself.

I’ve always enjoyed plants, especially the ones that grow in the wild.

When I moved to Ripley County as a young adult, I learned to turn that interest into a useful skill as a medical herbalist. Medicinal herbalism is the use of plants for healing. It is a traditional form of healing as old as humans themselves.

Medical herbalists use plants that occur locally (or are accessible through trade) to improve life and relieve suffering.

For this reason, most of what I have to share about plants has to do with the ones that are used for healing. I also enjoy foraging, and believe that food is even more important for health than any medicine.

The natural history of the Ozarks fascinates me as well, offering a deeper understanding into this place we live. The Ozarks has a very high diversity of medicinal plants, one of the highest in the world.

It’s a great place to learn about herbs and to use some of them for yourself and your family.

The Ozark plant that started me on the path of becoming a medical herbalist is Echinacea, also known as Purple Coneflower.

It is used to boost the immune system. It is very useful for helping the body to recover from illnesses like colds and flus.

As a young herbalist, I used a store-bought Echinacea remedy to help recover from the flu and it worked so well, I wanted to have it on hand all the time.

Purchasing the amount that I wanted was out of my budget, so I taught myself how to make an herbal extract using directions from a book by Susun Weed.

That first attempt turned out great and worked well. Since then, I’ve made many batches of Echinacea extract and taught many people to do the same.

Echinacea grows wild in our area. The one you will see along the roadsides is Pale Purple Coneflower (E. pallida).

To protect this plant so it is here for generations to come, it is illegal to harvest it on public land. Luckily it also grows great in the garden. Add it to your garden this year so you have its healing properties available whenever you need them.

If you do want to add it to your garden, be sure you get one of the medicinal varieties. (There are some varieties that have been bred for the look of their flowers and may not be good for healing.)

The two varieties of Coneflower that are most commonly used for healing are E. purpurea and E. angustifolia.

They are available to buy as plants or seeds, and one local grower has told me she plans to have plants for sale this spring.

If you’d rather start your own, the seeds are available through many seed companies.

Plants are easier to get established. Additionally, they will be mature enough to harvest sooner to make your own medicine. Once established the plants tend to spread slow and sure.

They eventually will be a very attractive as well as useful addition to your garden. They also attract many pollinators like bees, butterflies, moths, and hummingbirds.

Traditionally, the root was used for making tea or herbal extracts. The root holds the highest concentrations of healing properties, but the whole plant can be used medicinally.

If you do want to harvest the root from your plant, be sure to leave some of the plants unharvested so your patch continues to grow.

Replanting the root crown from the root you dig up will also help to keep your patch alive and well. That way, the plant will be there when you need it again.

If you have a question about what’s growing locally related to medicinal herbs, wild food foraging, or the natural history of the Ozarks, let me know at [prospectnews@theprospectnews.com.