Plantain-Broad Leaf Plantain(Plantago majus) Long or Lance Leaf Plantain  (P. lanceolata)

Family:Plantaginaceae

Other names: Snakeweed, Whiteman's Foot, Round Leaf Plantain, Ripple Grass

Parts Used: Mostly the leaf but the seeds from Plantago psyllium raised commecially as a source of fiber and mucilage to be used as a laxative.

Qualities:astringent,decongestant,restorative, soothing diuretic, alterative, vulnerary, anti-inflammatory bitter, cold, dry and moist(it's mucilage moistens and soothes as it's astringency draws up), 

Organ Affinity:Skin, Lungs, Intestines. Bladder, Kidney

There are as many ways to garden as there are gardeners, but most garden "How to" books are pretty much the same with very useful information about when to plant and how to keep pests and diseases from your plants. Most of these books contain pictures of weedless gardens where the plants seem to be well aware of their boundaries and don't mix and match themselves or jump ship to the lawn. This is something that I always used to want but, after much frustration and back pain, I realized that this was just not my style.

may never have become an herbalist had it not been for childhood ear infections. Ear infections are a common reason for many, many visits to doctor’s offices for young children especially under the age of five.  They are also the cause of endless prescriptions for antibiotics. My daughter Hannah, at the age of three, was plagued with chronic ear infections along with other respiratory infections. We had been through several rounds of antibiotics and were referred to an ENT (ear, nose, throat specialist) who recommended that we have tubes put in her ears.  At the time we didn’t have health insurance, and paying out of pocket for surgery would’ve been quite an expense. We were also told that Hannah had some minor hearing loss and that her speech and ability to learn would be impaired without the tubes.

Echinacea has had a long history of documented use over the past 200 years. The Native Americans used it extensively and it was quickly picked up by the European settlers as a plant that could be used to heal just about everything.  It is now among one of the most widely used and research herbal remedies in modern Western Herbalism and mainstream culture.  Almost everyone has at least heard of Echinacea and many, many people have tried it in some form for its touted uses as a cold remedy, preventative and immune system stimulant among others. Some of these uses are accurate, some are overstated, and some are just plain marketing claims with no basis in tradition or research.

The term "adaptogen" is used widely in traditional western herbalism and, adaptogens themselves are important medicines to integrate into almost any herbal formula or used as simples. In fact, I believe that these herbal allies are an imperative component of modern life. Adaptogens refer to a variety of plants and fungi, and the word adaptogen indicates exactly what these herbs do; they help us to adapt. When searching for the etymology of the word adapt(one of my favorite pastimes), I found that its Latin roots are from ad-, to  and aptare-, join; to join. Also, from the Latin apere meaning to attach or bind. These meanings indicate an adjustment between two things. The current use of the word is defined by the free online dictionary as: to adjust (someone or something, esp oneself) to different conditions, a new environment, etc and to fit, change, or modify to suit a new or different purpose. Because I prefer to view life and the world from a cooperative perspective, I have inferred from these definitions that the concept of adapting or adapation is an interaction that occurs when two forces form a relationship and, in order to do so, both must be flexible and mutable enough to remain vital,alive and sovereign in the circumstances they have created in this bonding process.

My first experiments with herbal medicine involved the process of making tea. This is one of the oldest and least complex methods of imbibing the medicinal compounds of plants with water as the solvent. In all plant based medicine making there must be some means of breaking into the plant cell wall in order to extract and derive the valuable nutrients and healing constituents therein. These compounds must not only be extracted, but also held in some form of menstruum, such as water.

As late summer approaches and the scent of fall is on the wind, many of us are busy harvesting, preserving and eating loads of yummy veggies and berries. It is also high allergy season as I, a long time allergy sufferer, and many of my friends and clients are feeling a strong attachment to the nearest box of Kleenex or our handkerchiefs (save trees!) or even toilet paper, anything that will staunch the sometimes constant sneezing and dripping. It doesn't help that it has been the wettest, rainiest year I ever remember here in the Northeast.  The air is heavy and full with lots of thriving mold and fungi sporing around happily while we all try to figure out how to grow webbed feet and gills.