Mullein

Mullein (Verbascum thapsus) is another plant that can often be found just under the snow all winter long. Its root, collected between its first and second years, is used for connective tissue healing and support, with an affinity for the joints, and its delicate, mucilaginous yellow flowers are most commonly used in painful infections of the ear. Its large, furry leaves are used in tea form to moisten and soothe the respiratory tract, and for this purpose they are also sometimes smoked. Mullein is an ever-present medicine cabinet no matter what the season!

Lady’s Bedstraw

Member of the coffee family, Lady’s Bedstraw (Galium verum) is often found in pastures and meadows, where it produces fine, aromatic yellow flowers that wave in late spring breezes. Its leaves contain coumarin, giving them a spicy, cumin-like smell when crushed that repels fleas (thus its use as bedding or strewing in earlier days). This is one of the many detoxifying and diuretic spring greens. It is often mistaken for cleavers, another Galium species, but they are distinguished by cleavers’s clinging to clothing and fur; Lady’s Bedstraw is smooth to the touch.

Dandelion

Familiar dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is a symbol of both humble nourishment and powerful resistance. Every part of the dandelion is a food, its sweet flowers furnishing dandelion wine and fritters, its bitter leaves serving as a cleansing and detoxifying spring green, and a brew made from its root dispensing a sweeter (if fall-harvested and roasted) or more bitter (if spring-harvested and raw) coffee-like drink. This plant is a vitamin-rich liver and gallbladder support agent. Growing up through the cracks of the sidewalk, it reminds us of the tenacity of life.

Mugwort

The feathery first spring leaves of Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) are tender and tangy, a tarragon-like offering for culinarians. They will soon give way to imposing four-foot stalks collected for more esoteric uses. Mugwort leaf is burned as a smudge to ceremonially clear spaces; its Chinese cousin, Artemisia argyi, is used by acupuncturists for moxibustion, the burning of mugwort close to the skin. Drinking the leaf in tea or tincture form is taken by artists and dreamers to awaken creativity and augment dreaming.

Coltsfoot and Horsetail

Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) is also called Son-before-the-Father for its unusual life cycle - sunny yellow flowers appear first on long scaly stalks, followed by large soft leaves whose shape reminds us of a horse’s hoof. Leaf and flower are both used as medicines for respiratory tract conditions, particularly coughs. It is known in European and Chinese medicine, where it is known as Kuan Dong Hua.

In this picture, near the bottom, one can also see the broken stalks of last year’s horsetail, or scouring rush (Equisetum hyemale), Horsetail is a silica-rich plant used to support skin, hair, and bone health in Western herbal medicine. In Chinese medicine, this plant is known as Mu Zei and is classified among the plants that release the exterior, or treat illnesses that occur within the first layer of the body. As its other name, scouring rush, suggests, this sturdy plant can be crumpled and used as a mild abrasive on surfaces.

Willow

The leaf and bark of willow (Salix spp.) has been used to reduce fevers and relieve pain for over 3500 years, first by ancient Egyptians. It contains salicin, a compound similar to acetylsalicylic acid (commonly known as aspirin). Willow bark's bitter taste attests to its cooling, anti-inflammatory nature which can soothe irritated conditions such as bursitis, tendonitis, arthritis, and some types of headaches.

Nettles & Chickweed

Nettle (Urtica dioica) and chickweed (Stellaria media) are two of the miracle herbs of spring! Every part of nettles is a medicine. Its leaves are a tasty and nutrient-dense superfood, its leaf, root and seed are all kidney and urinary tract tonics, and even its sting can be used to unfreeze a frozen joint or relieve arthritic pain. Drinking nettle leaf tea every day is sometimes known to make early graying hair go back to black! Chickweed is also equal parts food and medicine, with its saponin-rich leaf praised as a detox agent that benefits the skin; a salad or juice made of raw chickweed can be delicious and gently cleanse the bowels.

Motherwort

Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) is one of the first plants to leaf out in the spring. Its name conveys the beloved place it holds in the hearts of herbalists, who often combine it with hawthorn berry and flower for emotional and physical heart-supporting medicine. Compounds in motherwort's bitter leaf and flower act as smooth muscle relaxants, which can calm anxiety as well as dilate the vasculature and reduce blood pressure.

Garlic Mustard

Spicy garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) can be seen growing unfazed in the snow all winter long! Heat is the medicine of this plant, whose young leaves can be blended with olive oil and pine nuts into pesto, and whose root can be grated into a horseradish substitute. You can feel garlic mustard enter the sinuses with a slightly sweet, slightly acrid, and decidedly spicy taste which gets more bitter as the weather warms. Like the onion family plants after which it is named, garlic mustard has been also used topically as a chest poultice for upper respiratory infections. Don't hold back while picking it! - it's been called invasive in the Northeast region.

Chives

One of the first harbingers of spring are wild chives (Allium schoenoprasum) springing up from the forest floor! These delicate onion family plants are so much more than their baked-potato-topping fame; these early onions contain all the vitamin- and antioxidant-rich, detoxifying, immune-boosting, antimicrobial, antiparasitic, and blood-pressure-lowering benefits of their onion-family relatives, and are a tasty trail nibble too.

Celebrating the Medicine of Spring!

We at Crane Holistic are inspired by the idea that medicine is all around us. This spring, we are sharing our enthusiasm by posting about our favorite wild & feral medicinal plants as they wake from their winter slumber. Join us in welcoming back our green friends!

About this blog

The idea for this blog came from Dr. Jennifer Crane - thanks Jenn! And the information shared in this blog comes from many sources over the 15+ years I have been eagerly studying plants.

I give thanks to all dear friends who have gathered food and medicine by my side, and all the teachers I formally studied with, in particular Leah Wolfe, 7song, Matthew Wood, Paul Bergner, and Halyna Shepko, though what I share here may differ from what they taught :)

I also want to express my gratitude to Thomas Eisman, my first and favorite teacher of the wild things on Seneca Lake so many summers ago, the often-unsung authors of dog-eared field guides found in library book sales, and my grandfather’s mother, Augusta, whom I never got to learn from but gathered goldenseal and agrimony for healing on her Ohio Valley farmstead.

Finally, I want to thank the ancestors, human, animal, and plant, who always point me back to my original instructions.

With respect and awe,

Rachel