by Jennileen Joseph Russian Olive, Elaeagnus angustifolia This blog post is about orientation. I’m going to talk about who I am, where and who I’m from, and how that particular vantage point factors into all things I do as a plant medicine practitioner. And then I’m...
by Donna O'Donovan Maurice Messegue, French Herbalist (photo credit) "To know a river you have to know its source.” For Maurice Messegue that source was his father. In his autobiography: Of People & Plants, Maurice describes his father as a cherished wellspring...
by Atava Garcia SwiecickiMexican and Mexican-American communities have a rich and vibrant history of herbal medicine traditions. Mexico has incredible biodiversity, with ecosystems that include both Pacific and Atlantic coasts, deserts, jungles, plains, valleys, and...
Rocky Mountain Mushrooms - Hawk's Wings (Sarcodon imbricatus) by Dr. Marija Helt With its brown cap layered with dark, protruding scales, this large mushroom does indeed resemble a hawk’s wing. As for the botanical name, sarco is derived from Greek for “flesh”,...
by Dara Saville Native Medicinal Plants That May Proliferate with Disturbance Events: . Recent news cycles have been dominated by stories of climate change including floods, extreme heat, and wildfires. Disturbance events such as large-scale and high-intensity fires...
by Donna O'Donovan The Ubiquitous Microbe Lactobacillus: . Cabbage leaves provide good habitat for air borne Lactobacillus. Lactobacillus also stars in a compost method known as bokashi, where food waste and scraps become "pickled" via the bokashi process. And,...
Rocky Mountain Mushrooms - A Lot About Artist's Conk by Dr. Marija Helt Artist’s Conk. People actually do create art on it. More on this momentarily. But first… A conk is a shelf fungus. “Shelf” because the fruiting body (aka. the reproductive bits) sticks...
by Donna O'Donovan Acorns from Oaks + Making Acorn Flour + Oaks in Perspective The English words for flower and flour come from the old French word flor or flour. This means blossom or the finest thing. Such as a flower can be. The ground flour from wheat, rye,...
In the author’s garden, mounds of Wormwood, Bee Balm, Sage and Lavender benefit from peripheral shade and dense plantings; the Pollinators have a buffet of nectars and pollens to choose from.On Healing: A Gardener’s Perspective by Asha Canalos A couple of years ago, I...
The Normalcy of Nature in Otherwise Odd Times by Dara Saville Some people say they fell in love as their eyes met with their partner’s across a crowded room. They describe it as love at first sight. I know what that is like. Stopping at a roadside pullout in the...
Herbalism in the Crossroads of the Southwest by Dara Saville Welcoming in another new year often involves reflecting on the past and considering where we would like to go in the coming year. This post reveals those reflections and illuminates the background for the...
Rising from the Desert Mountain: Herbs of the Sandias by Dara Saville Standing in the center of New Mexico is a mountain range unlike any other. The Sandia Mountains and their southward extension of fault block uplift known as the Manzano Mountains are a unique...
Herbal Shorts from the Rio Grande Bosque by Dara Saville If you haven’t figured out that I love the Rio Grande Bosque by now, you are falling behind. I’ve already written about lovely Yerba Mansa and her companion Cottonwood, but what about all those other...
Pedicularis: Community Coordinator, Muscular Medicine, and Gateway to Oneself by Dara Saville For the desert valley herbalist, mountain plants have a special sort of attraction. They not only provide the medicine we are seeking, but also put us in touch with the more...
Rio Grande Cottonwood, Matriarch of the Bosque by Dara Saville The Cottonwood tree (Populus deltoides wislizeni) is the deeply rooted and life-sustaining matriarch of the Rio Grande Bosque. Our Bosque is a riparian woodland ecosystem with its origins dating back...
Seri Plant Ways from Sonora Mexico by Dara Saville The Seris, or Comcaac, are a group of hunter-gatherer people from the coastal region of Sonora Mexico. They have lived in close relationship to both the desert and sea while remaining largely independent and...
The Medicine Wreath, Health and Ceremony by Dara Saville Approaching winter and a season of holiday celebrations means gifts, decorations, and gatherings with friends. It is also an opportune time for reflecting on what matters most to us as we take leave from routine...
Yerba Mansa, Medicine of the Bosque by Dara Saville Fall has always been my favorite season. As a child, it represented a steady string of family birthday celebrations, pumpkin carving, and mascarading. Adding to that now is the seasonal song of the migrating sandhill...
Prickly Pears, Autumn’s Harvest by Dara Saville Autumn is a time of changes, of honoring the seasonal cycles taking place in the wild and within ourselves. I have found the ritual of picking prickly pears to be one that invites mindful acceptance of these...
