A powerful remedy for balancing female hormones and preventing miscarriage, false unicorn is an important herb that is at risk of being overharvested.
Meadowsweet contains natural analgesic compounds and aspirin even gets its name from the old genus name for these plants, Spirea. But, while meadowsweet has been used for headaches and arthritic pain, like aspirin, it has some very different properties. Unlike aspirin meadowsweet is actually soothing to the stomach making it a good choice for pain in the stomach or the intestines.
Over the years, I have observed that nearly all chronically ill people are shallow breathers. This is sometimes due to a hiatal hernia, but it can also be a sign of high levels of chronic stress. Breathing is vital to healing because without proper oxygenation we can’t maintain or even rebuild good health. Breathing is also essential to lymphatic flow, which is part of our immune system and helps our cells detoxify. Low oxygen levels in the body contribute to depression, fatigue, pain, and increased…
A few years ago I was researching the endocannabinoid system and phytocannabinoids to better understand how cannabis (hemp and marijuana) works. That’s when I first learned about a resin from a South American tree called copaiba. The oil contains B- caryophyllene, a terpene that acts as a phytocannabinoid on CB2 receptors. The endocannabinoid system is an important part of how the nervous and immune systems communicate. Cells send messages via chemical messengers and the endocannabinoid system…
While I’m less familiar with medicinal plants that grow in the Eastern US than I am with those that grow here in Utah and the surrounding states, there is at least one eastern medicinal herb I can readily identify, wintergreen. It’s a low-growing shrub, less than six inches tall, with leathery oval leaves. It is especially easy to spot in the fall because its leaves stay green and it has bright red berries. And, if you’re not sure you have the right plant, smell it. If you’ve ever smelled…
Sometimes called the queen of fruits, mangosteen is a tropical fruit that is consumed in Asia and other parts of the world. As a fruit, they haven’t caught on in North America. I’ve never seen them at the grocery store, fresh or preserved, even though they are commonly found canned, frozen, and dried in other countries. I’ve seen and eaten some of the fresh fruits when I was lecturing in England. They were delicious.So, mangosteen is one of those herbs I’m primarily familiar with as a part…
Although not widely used, aspen is a valuable herbal remedy, both physically and emotionally, as are the other members of the poplar genus. The Western quacking aspen is Populus tremuloides and there’s also a European aspen species, P. tremula. Both Latin names refer to how easily aspen leaves tremble (or quiver) in the slightest breeze. Most leaves have round petioles (the leaf stalk), but the petiole in aspen leaves is flat so it bends more easily in the wind. This is an important…
Beyond producing peaches for eating; the peach tree has medicinal value. In this case, it’s the bark, leaves, and pits that are all used as cooling remedy, good for any kind of hot, dry, inflamed tissue.