Spreading Dogbane

Spreading dogbane (Apocynum androsaemifolium) is a poisonous plant that also has lore as a physical and spiritual medicine. Indigenous peoples like the Haudenosaunee, Chippewa and Potawatomi know how to prepare the bitter, toxic root into medicine for heart, kidney and digestive. issues. They also associate the plant with times in one’s life that require personal transformation. Western herbalist Matthew Wood reports this plant being called “Werewolf root” for this reason. Some Western herbalists make a flower essence (an energetic preparation containing no physical material from the plant) from the plant and use it in times when one must decide to either “change or die.” I’ve also heard about it being used for chronic Lyme disease.

Honeysuckle

The amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) is not the same species as the valued Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), but both produce fragrant flowers that can be taken . The Japanese honeysuckle bloom is the traditional Chinese medicine Jin Yin Hua, which belongs to a category of herbs used to clear heat and resolve toxicity. While the Amur honeysuckle doesn’t have the same longstanding reputation, I’ve harvested the buds to make flavored honeys.

Wild Geranium

Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum) or cranesbill is an astringent used all the ways astringents can be used - to stop bleeding, arrest diarrhea, and to treat wounds. The root and leaf are both medicinally useful, containing tannins and gallic acid. The young leaf can also be used in moderation as a salad green. Delicate pink flowers appear later in the season.

Periwinkle

Periwinkle (Vinca minor) is a common ground cover. It has traditional use as a medicine for the memory and brain. Vincamine, found in its leaf, has been studied for Alzheimer’s treatment, as well as headache and vertigo. It seems to work by enhancing blood flow and thus oxygenation to the brain. This might explain its concurrent history in heart conditions as well, as well as its folk use in cancer treatment.

Nettles

Nettles (Urtica dioica) all grown up! This is the perfect stage for harvesting the plant for its leaf. So much nutrition is packed into these leaves - calcium, magnesium, iron, and tons of protein, along with vitamins A, C, D, E, and K. Nettle pesto, nettle soup, nettle tea all create distinct forms of enjoyment. The leaf can be harvested for food up to the creation of flowers, which happens along its stem - afterward, it can still be used for tea, but if eaten it may irritate the kidneys. It’s also a valid time to use the nettle for its sting, which can be an arthritis and frozen-joint cure.

Burdock

Big-leafed burdock (Arctium lappa) is a whole-plant medicine. The leaves have topical use in healing skin conditions. The seed is an energy/kidney tonic in Western herbalism (and a rash-venting diaphoretic, Niu Bang Zi, in Eastern herbalism). And the root is a medicinal vegetable! “Gobo” is antioxidant- (quercetin, luteolin, and phenolic acids) and inulin-rich, Its traditional category of use is as a “blood purifier.” Modern research backs up its use as a detoxification aid for the liver and skin.

Jewelweed

Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis), seen here in baby form, is soothing first aid for red hot bug bites, cuts, scrapes, and most famously, poison ivy. Many wild plant aficianados joyfully report that the two grow side by side, which is sometimes true! Jewelweed is used as treatment and prophylactic for this purpose. The leaf of this plant contains lawsone, an anti-histamine, anti-inflammatory compound.

Wild Carrot / Queen Anne’s Lace

Wild Carrot (Daucus carota), or Queen Anne’s Lace, is the same species as the domesticated carrot, as can be observed most beautifully when leaving purple carrots in the garden to overwinter; if the two carrots cross, wild carrots will be seen with variations of purple in their flowers for a generations after. The Wild Carrot has an affinity for the urinary tract and reproductive system. Infusions of the aboveground parts treat UTIs. The tiny seeds that form within the nest of a flower are a birth control method - chewing small handfuls throughout a day, every day, creates thin, watery cervical fluid incapable of sustaining sperm.

Violet

Sweet violet, with its edible flowers and leaves, is full of nutrition and medicine! Viola odorata is considered a cooling and moistening remedy in Western herbalism, and is high in mucilage and vitamins A and C. Its leaves have historical use as a lymph mover, respiratory remedy and cancer treatment. Violets are said to have a medicinal affinity for swellings and lumps, which its bumpy roots remind us of. The Asian version of the violet, Zi Hua Di Ding (Viola philippica), is also known to clear heat and relieve swellings in Chinese medicine.

Trillium

Beautiful Trillium (Trillium erectum and grandiflorum), seen here protecting its blossom from the rain, is a medicinal plant that most herbalists I know have never used, due to its status as declining in certain areas. The rhizome has a long history of use in gynecology. One of its common names, Birthwort, speaks to it use in childbirth, especially in controlling postpartum bleeding. This astringent nature also lends itself to curbing loose stool. Modern research shows Trillium’s promise in cancer treatment and neuroprotection in diseases like Alzheimer’s. But in the traditions I was trained in, Trillium’s primary use is as a source of beauty and amazement.