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Foraging for Medicinal Herbs

  • April 29, 2020
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  • Rory

Want to enjoy the benefits of medicinal herbs without planting a seed? You can try foraging in any local park, woods or prairie today. This entry is part of a series on Medicinal Gardening by one of our interns, Jenny Cunningham.

Spring is a wonderful time of the year to get outside, enjoy nature, and collect spring medicinal plants. Many of these plants are edible and contain many vitamins and nutrients, as well as containing medicinal benefits.

The beauty of collecting wild plants, or wildcrafting, is that most of them are considered weeds and it is almost impossible to over-harvest.

Just to clarify a weed is defined as any plant in an unwanted space. So as long as you “want” it, a plant is not considered a weed. I spent many years as a gardener classifying many medicinal plants as weeds. I didn’t know any better. Many gardeners are convinced of these things by what our society says is important or beautiful.

Especially the poor lowly dandelion, which is so useful medicinally.  So much so that all parts of the dandelion are used in herbal medicines. Each part has its own unique symptom that it treats.

In European history, as well as North American history, Spring edible herbs and plants were used for many medicinal benefits. They were also sought for their high content of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. They helped to stimulate digestion, purify blood, cure scurvy and ague, combat rheumatism, and repel kidney stones after a long cold winter of inactivity.

Today, more than ever, we still can reap the benefits these plants have to offer us.

Medicinal plants you can forage right now (Spring):

Note: Please make sure you are comfortable with plant identification before foraging for wild herbs so you do not mistakenly harvest something endangered or poisonous. This is provided for informational purposes only and not as a recommendation to treat any disease. Consult with your doctor before starting any herbal regimen.

Nettles

Packed with vitamins, minerals, and nutrients, liver cleanser, and moistening herb. Handle only with gloves, the stems will sting if touched directly. Cooking removes all toxins.

Where to Find: Near edges of woods

Dandelion

Digestion, moods, and ailments specific to the kidneys

Where to Find: In your yard!

Catnip

Calming sedative, treats hiccups (anti-spasmodic)

Where to Find: Open meadows

Garlic Mustard

Antiseptic used for healing ulcers and treating gangrenous wounds. Use like arugula for fresh eating

Where to Find: Alongside roads and forest edges

Burdock

Blood cleanser, bitter tonic, helps with constipation

Where to Find: Woods, roadsides, riverbanks

Wild Violets

High in vitamin C. Moistening, anti-inflammatory, respiratory issues (coughs and colds)

Where to Find: Shady places, alongside forests.

Wild Geranium

Astringent, high in tannins

Where to Find: Woods

Plantain

Use fresh for wound healing

Where to Find: Roadsides

Motherwort

Stops bleeding, cramping, heart conditions

Where to Find: Roadsides, vacant fields

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Rory

Rory Groves moved his family from the city to the country several years ago to begin the journey towards a more durable way of life. Rory and his wife Becca now reside in southern Minnesota where they farm, raise livestock, host workshops, and homeschool their five children. He is the author of Durable Trades: Family-Centered Economies That Have Stood the Test of Time.

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