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Healing & Alternative Health
Medicinal Weeds
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by Kami McBride |
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I love lots of herbs but I especially love the medicinal plants that grow without any care. Plants that show up in our lives that we didn’t plant ourselves are usually called weeds. Not all weeds are medicinal but it is good to know which ones are! What is great about medicinal weeds is that if there is a flood or drought (we have had both at our place) the weeds flourish anyway! If you get sick, go away or just forget to water or care for your garden, when you come back, who is there? Your trusty weeds, waiting to help you! Most of these helpful weeds you will find growing in the cracks of sidewalks, on the side of the highway and in lawns and parks. Often these places aren’t the cleanest locations to harvest your medicine, that is why I recommend trying to get them into your own yard.
When we talk about sustainable living, medicinal weeds are great allies. They grow where we live, require little or no effort, cost nothing and provide healing for anyone who takes the time to use them. We don’t have to waste fossil fuels driving them across the country and they grow in our own backyard. Some of these medicinal weeds can overrun the garden, but if I have an abundance of them it just means more for medicine making and giving away.
As always, when harvesting wild plants you must be fully confident that you are gathering the right plant, not guessing. If you are not sure about the plant you are harvesting, don’t pick it.
My favorite medicinal wild weeds are dandelion, fennel and plantain. These plants grow any where in just about any condition and have endless healing uses!
Dandelion: Harvest the green leaf any time of the year. Chop it up, put it in your salads and soups or make tea with it. Dandelion leaf is one of the highest known plant sources of Vitamin A. Dandelion leaf is full of vitamins and minerals and its nutritional density is much more potent than any of the vegetables in your refrigerator. The bitter taste of dandelion helps you to digest your food more efficiently and is a tonic to the liver. With your liver managing more than 600 functions in your body, giving it some tonifying food is a good thing. It always amazes me that we have such an incredible food and medicine growing practically in every yard and most people put poison on it! Instead of pulling the dandelion out of your lawn, eat them.
Fennel: I call fennel the highway plant because the more disturbed an area, the more fennel grows and it loves the side of roads. If you are going to plant this herb, just be careful you aren’t close to any creeks or native habitat, because it can really be invasive. Harvest the drying seeds at the end of summer. Use the seeds freshly harvested or let them dry and then store in a jar for use throughout the year. Put one tablespoon of fennel seed in one cup of water, bring it to a boil and turn off the heat. Let the seeds continue to steep for 1⁄2 hour then strain them out. You now have a wonderful fennel seed tea that helps with nausea, indigestion, gas, upset stomach, excess phlegm and bad coughs. Fennel seed tea is known to dissolve stuck mucus that contributes to chronic coughs and bronchitis. Fennel seed is also antibacterial so it helps rid colds.
Plantain: This weed is most likely growing within 1⁄4 mile of where you stand in this very moment. I have not seen a single park that does not have plantain growing. This plant is everywhere. Harvest the dark green leaves, mince them and add to salads and soups. A tablespoon of medicinal weeds a day keeps the doctor away….. You can also make plantain tea to help with coughs, sore throats, colds and any inflammation in the digestive tract. Plantain is also one of the best topical remedies for bug bites and bee stings. Just mash up a fresh leaf in a little water and apply directly to the bite. Hold the poultice on with a band aid and the plantain will draw out the pain and the poison.
These weeds support self–reliance when it comes to our health care. The medicinal weeds can help us reduce our dependency on over the counter drugs for common ailments. It means fewer long-term side-effects, fewer drugs that end up in our water supply and less pollution. If the medicinal weeds haven’t come to your garden yet, here are a few places where you can order seeds. Happy wild weed gardening!
Horizon Herbs www.horizonherbs.com 541-846-6704
Mountain Rose Herbs www.mountainroseherbs.com 800-879-3337
Richters www.richters.com 905-640-6677 |
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Kami McBride,
Teacher of Herbal Medicine
& Women's Health
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Kami McBride has taught herbal medicine and women’s health since 1988. She has studied medicinal plants for almost 20 years and has taught Herbology at the University of California School of Nursing and Stanford Hospital. Her popular course, Cultivating the Herbal Medicine Woman Within is an experiential earth awareness and herbal studies program that is taught at her beautiful school and herb gardens in Vacaville, California.
An intuitive and inspiring teacher, Kami has helped thousands of people learn to use healing plants in their daily lives in ways that are healthy, safe and fun. Her extensive knowledge of herbal medicine along with a focus on teaching herbology as a relationship with the Earth and a way of life, help to fulfill her mission of reviving the cultural art of home herbal care.
Kami is an herbal consultant and an expert in the field of holistic health specializing in women’s issues. Her herbal consultations empower women to discover sacredness and pleasure in their healing process. Her educational courses provide a sanctuary for women to transform their relationship with their body and reclaim their heritage as healers and herbalists.
Kami is the author of 105 Ways to Celebrate Menstruation, available at www.amazon.com.
Visit Kami’s website at:
www.livingawareness.
com
Sign up for her free quarterly herbal e-newsletter.
kami@livingawarness.
com
For Classes, Books & Consultations:
Phone: 707-446-1290
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