Thursday, June 6, 2013

Pineapple Weed: American Chamomile



Pineapple weed (Matricaria matricariodes)
Pineapple weed is the first medicinal herb I learned in the wild country of northern Minnesota. Like plantain, it grows in an incredibly broad climate range. A close American relative of European chamomile (Matricaria recutita), pineapple weed shares many of the same medicinal qualities: a soothing nervine, calming digestive tonic. It commonly grows in driveways and gravelly areas, so it is especially important to avoid harvesting flowerheads from high traffic areas. Also, only harvest summer flower heads as they are more flavorful and better medicine. Pineapple weed makes a yummy tincture, or can be dried and taken as tea. 

Friday, May 31, 2013

Making the Most of Invasives: Albizia (Mimosa tree) Medicine

Here is an article I wrote last summer on mimosa flower medicine, after visiting Mountain Gardens in North Carolina, a 40 year running land project in the Blue Ridge Mountains focusing on growing native Appalaichan and Chinese medicinal herbs. I'm posting it now since it will soon be time to harvest albizia flowers, which are another delicious and powerful flower medicine. Albizia is another example of an invasive plant whose spread needs to be controlled; and whose use in Traditional Chinese Medicine only strengthens the case for its harvest.



Yesterday morning, I climbed up the step stool and grasped a mimosa branch, reaching for as many aromatic pink flowers as I could find. The bees and other insects were hovering over the flora; a noteworthy sign that the time is right to harvest. This indicates the essential oils and vitality of the flowers are at their peak.
            The mimosa tree, Albizia julibrissin, is generally considered a pernicious weed throughout the South; it is indeed a non-native plant that quickly spreads throughout the eco-system. However, albizia is also an important herb for happiness in Chinese medicine; both the flowers and bark can be made into a tincture. Joe Hollis, an herbalist from Mountain Gardens in North Carolina, recently told me that albizia is especially effective for those going through depression or heartbreak. The herbal supplement company Planetary Herbals concurs, noting that in Chinese medicine, “Albizia was traditionally used to ‘calm the spirit’ and relieve emotional constraint when associated with bad temper, bad mood, sadness, occasional sleeplessness, irritability and poor memory. It was believed to be especially useful for anyone experiencing profound heart-breaking loss” (see further http://www.planetaryherbals.com /products/GP1867/). There are also scientific studies now that verify the calming components of albizia bark.
             In light of the ever-increasing interest in herbal medicine in the U.S. along with the unstable economy, it seems wise to me that we focus on cultivating both Eastern and Western herbs domestically. It is also fascinating that some of the same invasive plants that are causing serious problems in the ecosystem here (honeysuckle, kudzu, and albizia, e.g.) could be harvested and used for medicine while simultaneously helping relieve their footprint over other native plant life.            
            There are certainly many people who are already doing this. The Chinese Medicinal Herb Farm in Sonoma County, California organically grows over 35 Chinese herbs for the marketplace. Joe Hollis, whom I mentioned above, orchestrates a forty year-old project called Mountain Gardens, a botanical garden with the largest number of Chinese herbs in the eastern U.S., grown alongside native Appalachian herbs. I had the opportunity to visit the “paradise garden” while attending the 2012 Medicines of the Earth Symposium in Black Mountain, NC last weekend. In one of the lectures I attended, American Herbalist Guild founder Michael Tierra mentioned several times the imperative need for the U.S. to domestically produce Chinese herbs. Importing them is already becoming difficult due to factors such as rising fuel costs and the presence of heavy metals in herbs sourced from China. In the past year here at the co-op, we have had difficulty getting several of our Chinese herbal formulas.

            There is some concern that growing Chinese herbs outside of their native environment will not yield the same herbs, suitable for medicinal use. There is contemporary research that disproves this, though. Also, the climates found in China and U.S. are very similar. After studying Dan Shen, or red sage, grown in China and the U.S., Bill Schoenbart recently concluded that:
Dan Shen (Salvia miltiorrhiza) can be successfully grown outside of China
with organic agricultural methods…This has positive implications for the environment, both in
the reduction of pesticide and synthetic fertilizer usage, and in reducing pressure on
Chinese agricultural land due to increased demand for Chinese herbs worldwide.
            So, there are several (if not many) substantial benefits to the domestic cultivation and wildcrafting of Chinese medicinal herbs both for individuals and the market. I find this topic so invigorating and hopeful because it contributes toward a full circle of sustainability: benefiting the native ecosystem in reducing invasive plant species, using that same plant material medicinally; while also reducing the heavy U.S. footprint on Chinese land and fossil fuel use. That thought alone calms my spirit.
           

Above photos taken by Meade Aronson

Notes/further reading:  
Chinese Medicinal Herb Farm: http://www.chinesemedicinalherbfarm.com/
Joe Hollis’ Mountain Gardens: http://mountaingardensherbs.com/

Michael Tierra and philosophy of Planetary Herbology. http://www.planetherbs.com/

Miller, James H. Nonnative Invasive Plants of Southern Forests, 2007.

Safe, sustainable ways to harvest herbs from the wild as described by 7song, director of the Northeast School of Botanical Medicine. “Wildcrafting for the Practicing Herbalist” (http://7song.com/files/Wildcrafting%20for%20the%20Practicing %20Herbalist.pdf).

Schoenbart, Bill, L.Ac. “High Performance Thin Layer Chromatographic (HPTLC) Analysis of Dan Shen (Salvia miltiorrhiza) Roots Grown in Different Regions of the World” p.1)


Divine Floral Vine of Summertime: Honeysuckle


I love the sweet smell of honeysuckle that floods the air this time of year. It's so calming and uplifting to wake up and have my first conscious breath be of honeysuckle hanging on the breeze. The days here in southern Illinois are slowly turning hot and humid, and as summer hems in, that scent of cooling honeysuckle flowers is a reminder of their powerful medicine.

Known as Jin Yin Hua in Chinese medicine, honeysuckle is an energetically cooling herb traditionally used to soothe acute, inflammatory (heat) conditions such as boils and carbuncles on the skin, urinary tract infections, respiratory infections with yellow phlegm, to name a few.

It has potential for use in numerous types of culinary and medicinal recipes. I love blurring the lines between food and medicine...

Honeysuckle infused tequila:
Cover opened flowers with 100% agave tequila in covered glass jar. Let infuse at least two weeks, then strain. Makes an excellent sipping tequila or as a base to summer cocktails.
This is one of my absolute favorite concoctions I've ever made. The taste of this infusion really comprises the definition of synergy for me, as the combination of honeysuckle and tequila truly transforms into something completely beautiful and entirely different from the two ingredients alone.

Honeysuckle tincture:
Unopened flower buds
Vodka or other grain alcohol
Glass Jar w/ lid
Harvest unopened flower buds and place in glass jar. Pour vodka over flowers, cover, and let steep at least one month, shaking jar each day. Strain, then store in glass jar out of sunlight.

Honeysuckle infused oil

Honeysuckle Rose Jelly
(Note that in no way by including this link I am endorsing Biblical womanhood, I just think this recipe looks fabulous)

Honeysuckle throat and cough syrup

Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) grows throughout much of the U.S. as an invasive, climbing weed. When wild-harvesting it, be sure to avoid road-side vines. Note that the berries are not edible and neither are some of the other species; be sure you have Lonicera japonica. Typically with ecologically minded wild harvesting, one would only take 10% of the colony or so. Due to its incredibly invasive and voracious presence here in the U.S., honeysuckle can be harvested greedily, and in doing so will hopefully one day help control its grip on the native ecosystem. For more observations on the medicinal, ecological potential for harvesting invasive plants in the U.S. see my post here.


Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Making violet syrup





Ingredients:
Water
Violet Flowers
Honey/sugar
Lemon juice (optional)

 Pour 3 oz. boiling water over 2 oz. of the flowers; let infuse overnight in a covered container.  





Strain, then add half the infusion's volume of honey or sugar; cook on low till sugar dissolves. Do not boil; this helps the syrup retain color and medicinal value. I added the juice of half an organic lemon, which seemed to enhance the flavor well. I would say if you are looking to use this for primarily culinary purposes, it might be recommendable to use sugar, as the sugar won't alter the floral flavor as much as the honey. Medicinally, though, honey would more effectively complement the violet's soothing effect on sore throat/bronchitis. For more on the historical and medicinal applications of violet, see this Sweet Violets article on Mother Earth News



It's delicious! Piquant, primaveral, purple! I plan to cover, refrigerate (like most syrups, it should last at least 3 months in the refrigerator) and experiment! Violet cocktails in August sound divine...



Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Kava Kava toxicity issue

While working in the herb aisle today at the co-op, I had a customer ask about the nerve-racking warning label of potential liver toxicity on a bottle of kava kava capsules. This is a common question, and I thought I'd link to the following Herbal Gram article that thoroughly outlines the issue. Herbal Gram is the peer reviewed journal of the American Botanical Council.
After a comprehensive, historical examination of toxicity case reports and existing research, the article points out that there is little evidence to support  a direct causation between kava kava and toxicity of the liver, especially when taken within the recommended dose, and not continually. Kava is contraindicated with some pharmaceuticals, namely benzodiazepines. Kava has a long history of traditional use in the South Pacific.  Read on:

"Kava safety questioned due to case reports of liver toxicity"

by Mark Blumenthal

HerbalGram. 2002; 55:26-32 American Botanical Council

To read, please visit: http://cms.herbalgram.org/herbalgram/issue55/article2147.html

Piper methysticum. 'awa. kava
Piper methysticum (kava)
NPS Photo by Bryan Harry, see http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/basch/uhnpscesu/htms/haleplnt/fish_pops/piperaceae/plant02.htm


Monday, March 18, 2013

A (melancholic) hopeful ode to spring


Maple buds

Daffodil


Yarrow

Chickweed

Plantain

Tiger lily (fore)

The force that through the green fuse drives the flower
by Dylan Thomas

The force that through the green fuse drives the flower
Drives my green age; that blasts the roots of trees
Is my destroyer.
And I am dumb to tell the crooked rose
My youth is bent by the same wintry fever. 

The force that drives the water through the rocks
Drives my red blood; that dries the mouthing streams
Turns mine to wax.
And I am dumb to mouth unto my veins
How at the mountain spring the same mouth sucks.

The hand that whirls the water in the pool 
Stirs the quicksand; that ropes the blowing wind
Hauls my shroud sail. 
And I am dumb to tell the hanging man 
How of my clay is made the hangman's lime.

The lips of time leech to the fountain head;
Love drips and gathers, but the fallen blood

Shall calm her sores.
And I am dumb to tell a weather's wind
How time has ticked a heaven round the stars.

And I am dumb to tell the lover's tomb
How at my sheet goes the same crooked worm.

from Thomas, Dylan. Selected Poems, 1934-1952. 

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Sap Tappin': Making Maple Syrup

I awoke today to a bright cool morning that promised some warmth in the sunlight. After tying my flannel robe, wrapping a poncho around my shoulders, I went outside to check our sap reservoirs, several of which were overflowing with clear, sweet sap. 




For taps, we used old metal curtain rods that had been cut to about six inches. We drilled a 5/16" hole into each tree and used a hammer to insert the metal taps.



In the first 16 hours, the trees had produced over 9 gallons of sap into the reservoirs. The next step was to build a fire, which we simmered the sap over all day, and then transferred the pots into our kitchen to finish boiling it down that evening. It went considerably faster indoors, (make sure you move your cookbooks into another room and put a fan in the window, as the condensation is thick.)

It didn't seem possible that the sap would yield syrup. It was quite clear and thin, even toward toward the end of the process. But it did!




The 9.5 gallons of sap we boiled down yielded about a quart of syrup. This is about spot on with the common estimated ratio of 40 gallons of sap to one gallon of syrup.

Maple syrup is my favorite sugar! I use it in my coffee each morning, I love it so much. The flavor of this syrup is unlike any I've tasted; smoky, caramelly, sweet. It is absolutely delicious. I wonder if this is merely due to the fact that we cooked it over a campfire, or if it also reflects how commercial products often greatly vary from homemade.

I grew up on the North Shore in Minnesota, where maple syrup production thrives and has a long history, originating with the Ojibwe tribe. As I sat by the fire, throughout the day yesterday, I felt so peaceful, and deeply connected to that history, as well as to the centurion maples in front of our house.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Herbal Eye Cups

This is a rather informative video on herbal eye cups and washes from 7song, an herbalist from New York who does really rad stuff, often surrounding herbal first aid. The video is also quite witty :)