Before consumtion

Comes understanding. The more I learn about plants, the more I realize I don't know. The world of plants and their intricacies is so vast and layered. Understanding plants on a simple and spiritual level is deeply satisfying, but in order to pass on the knowledge to the next generation I am finding that concrete understanding is most essential.

Take for instance, the simple twig. Or an herbaceous plant. Or second year growth.




As an herbalist these words get taken for granted; tossed around in the books with the assumption that us lay herbalists actually know what they mean. I know they assume because they aren't explained in the glossary or given any special attention. It wasn't until recently that I finally read how to identify the "second year growth" of Mullein. The first year is the basal rosette and the second year is when it sends up the stalk. (hmm, what happens in the third year?) With the rise of global warming, we are paying attention. I for one thought that the tree was confused... with her little buds already on the twig tips in December. Upon more studies.... I now understand these buds as the terminal buds, which hold the genetic information for spring's renewal and supply food for wildlife in the winter. An herbaceous plant actually has a useful definition.... it's not just a random term for low growing nifty plants that aren't trees.


"The inner bark was used to treat stomach disorders"


This is a common type of explanation we might find in an enthobotanical text or a modern herbal. For historical purposes this is very nice to know.


But I am left hanging by a thread. HOW on Earth do I get the inner bark? WHEN do I harvest it? Do I just take my pocket knife and start hacking away? WHAT part of the tree to I take from- the trunk? The twigs? How do I peel back the outer bark? What preparation do I make and what is the safety level? Not to mention that we don't even know what kind of stomach disorder we are dealing with. So many herbals are just infuriatingly uninstructional. They are theoretical.
I realize that the flip side of this can be books and studies that are entirely too dense and overwhelming to feel grounded.

I need to know more. I need to know more variety and how all this harvesting will impact my environment if I teach others to harvest it too. What if we all go harvest the Nettles? The birch bark for fires? The cattail for food and tinder?


The more I study, the more questions I have. And I am not sure I know where to go to get untangled. I'm certainly not going to "Herbal School". I have a family and a job. And I am very bad at following rules and orderly instructions.


I suppose the best thing to do is continue to apply myself to the experience of nature, take extremely good notes, (my latest obsession being leaf rubbings) and follow up with some of the actually good books. I'm finding the herbals less and less appealing, and the nature education books increasingly satisfying. Since I avoid buying herbs and prefer harvesting them myself, identification is essential. Which means botanical detail is essential too... and I'm on my own for learning it.


In case you are another baffled herbalist.... here are my latest favorite books you might find refreshing:


Hands on Nature by Lingelbach and Parcell / Vermont Institute of Nature Studies


Keepers of Life by Joseph Bruchac


The Tree Identification Book by George W.D. Symonds


Mountain Medicine by Tommie Bass


Although not released yet, I have high hopes for Kiva Rose's Medicine Woman Herbal :)
(no pressure!)

And, while not technically a book, the indispensable www.herbmentor.com

What a day

FINALLY............... some sunshine. After consistently rainy Fridays, today was a blessing to be at Great Hollow, both teaching (aka learning) and participating. I knew something was up after seeing that double rainbow yesterday. As you can see below, my daughter caught a barn swallow with her bare hands. It was in one of the buildings, looking for a window out. I didn't get to witness the catching, all I saw was her walking out the door holding the bird.

"Hey Mom, I caught a bird! It was trapped in the house."

It stayed patiently right in her hand long enough to show the other hikers and to set it free.

On our venture through the woods, we saw incredible huge Solomon's Seal, along with Showy pink lady's slipper flowers and patches of wintergreen, both of which I was too engrossed in talking with the kids about to remember to take photos. grrr.
Below is a captured moment of our lesson this morning which included collecting flowers and replicating their patterns.

Back to Basics: Botany for herbalists

My passion for nature began as an outdoor explorer: a child adoring the wonders of nature that tickled all my senses and my fertile imagination. I was not, however, very interested in organizing or categorizing anything. My adolescence gave way to spending much less time outside, creating a gap between my childhood romps by the lake and cornfields, and the later discovery of curative brews. When my Mom started studying herbs more seriously, she began bringing lots of new and interesting bags home, filled with quirky looking and wild smelling stuff. We delighted in combining them and simmering them up in a pot - often times her since, well, I was a teenager. But I loved coming into the kitchen to discover the witchy brews that promised a myriad of powers. But all these interesting herbs were dried, and packed in bags. I had no idea where they grew, how they liked their soil and sun, or what they looked like. While I remember picking garden veggies at an early age, and have many random fond memories of healing herbs and fragrances in my home, it wasn't until my Mom started growing basil, that I made the real connection between human and plant.

Jumping ahead to the now .... Walking in a beautiful sanctuary, next to peers. These peers are actually here to learn from me - but of course I am acutely aware of the mutuality of the situation. As we walk, so early in the spring here, there are few greens about. But enough to cause me worry, since it looks like there are about ten that I know, and 50 that I don't. Some I may know, but because they are so tiny, I struggle to find the matching adult plant in my mind.
If my botany were sharper, I think my guessed could have been a lot more accurate.

There seems to be a great gap between some herbalists and their botany. Some have been blessed with a solid background, but many start herbalism from an inspiration having nothing to do with flower classification. Sometimes it starts with Grandma's tea, or a honey face mask, or a friends amazing cure (a squirty bottle that got rid of your flu) - and the seed is planted. So then we go and buy great herb books about how to make teas and what the properties of spices are. The books don't tell you how to grow the plant, where it comes from, what part to harvest or when, and often do not even include pictures. This isn't effective for creating relationship with plants.

Nor does it make for a good herbal teacher.

Some basic botanical know how is indispensable in the field. It helps you recognize a bigger picture and come to wonderful conclusions that could mean big differences: life or death in it's extreme case, or more simply, whether you can eat it or not, or a medicinal plant without knowing the specific variety in case you have a run in with stingers or thorns.

As with anything in the plant world: start small. Pick one category to focus on: Flower types, leaf types, or patterns of plant families. Make a little book of each if you like. Take your time on the details.

Here are a couple nice references online for leaf classifications:
http://www.paulnoll.com/Oregon/Wildflower/leaf-info-choices.html

http://www.fairchildgarden.org/uploads/docs/Education/teacher%20training/green%20machines/Leaf%20Classification.pdf

Any good field guide should have the leaf and flower anatomy and classifications illustrated on their inner covers. Aside from field guides, four of my favorite books for this purpose are:

Botany in a Day
Shanleya's Quest
Botany Illustrated
Botany Coloring Book

By the way, the photo is of my little Motherwort babies, peeking out of the garden. What do you think? Maple shaped? Sharply toothed?