Reliable Herbal Medicine Information - American Botanical Council - American Botanical Council ABC and SHP Present Free Webinars Covering SHP Toolkit, Ethnobotany, and More The American Botanical Council and Sustainable Herbs Program are hosting a series of free webinars with leaders in the botanical community. Topics include the SHP Toolkit, a special Ethnobotany Series, and more. Read more here. ABC Updates ABC hopes you and your family are well and safe. Thank you for your support of ABC's nonprofit mission! We wish you robust health! Update: Login to ABC Website For a limited time, you can access all of ABC's content without a password, so no login is required. BAPP Best Practices SOP to Prevent Resale of ‘Irreparably Defective Articles’ Available for Second Round of Industry and Public Comment The ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program (BAPP) has issued its second draft “Best Practices Contract Language and Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) Templates for the Disposal/Destruction of Irreparably Defective Articles.”
Purple Sage Medicinal Herbs Welcome to Purple Sage Medicinal Herbs. This website is maintained by a Medical Herbalist as an information resource for those interested in medicinal herbs and their applications, including students of complementary and alternative medicine, botanists, gardeners, cooks, and anyone wanting to learn more about traditional herbal medicine. If you are intending to use herbal medicines yourself you should first read the safety statement. Site Contents Herb Profiles: An expanding database of monographs on individual herbs and their medicinal uses. These can be located by either the Common or Botanical name and are accompanied by a glossary of medical terminology used in the text. Treatments: This section deals with a selection of common ailments and possible herbal treatments. Shop: Buy dried herbs, herbal capsules, lotions & potions, books, gifts and much more. Books and Equipment shop: In association with Amazon, all the herbal books and equipment you'll need, all in one place. Back to top
What Is Shatavari? Shatavari (Asparagus racemosus), also called Satavar, is one of the most powerful rejuvenating herbs in Ayurvedic medicine. The plant is found native in India and is in the same family as the common asparagus. Shatavari has small, uniform pine needles and produces white flowers and blackish-purple berries. Sometimes translated as “she who possesses 100 husbands,” Shatavari has a reputation as a fertility-enhancing plant that improves the health of both male and female reproductive issues, in addition to other conditions. The Potential Health Benefits of Shatavari Shatavari has a wide range of benefits. The same study showed that Shatavari can help with female reproductive issues, including: Mood swingsIrritation associated with premenstrual syndrome Menopausal hot flashesFertilityBreast milk production The research also shown that Shatavari can help with the following conditions: HeartburnIndigestionDiarrheaInflammation of the urinary tractIrritable bowel syndromeImmune system response
Horizon Herbs-Organic growers of medicinal herb seeds, medicinal herb plants, organic vegetable seeds and organic garden seeds. Empowering Gardeners to Grow Roots of Sustainability Thank you for your interest in open pollinated vegetables, culinary herbs and medicinal herbs. We are here to serve you and to nurture nature. Our greatest joy is to provide you with GOOD LIVE SEEDS. We believe that the best way to support good health of friends and family is to get everybody out into the garden to do some work in the sunshine, then feed them up on fresh salads and vegetables that are the results of their own good labors. Naturopathic doctors tell us that the best way to avoid cancer is to eat organic, freshly grown green leafy vegetables. We believe that by planting diversity we can really help the earth to heal. Here at Horizon Herbs, we continuously clean and test myriads of seed batches, and these bright and viable seeds are then packaged by hand and made available by way of our paper catalog and on this website. We put detailed growing instructions specific to the plant on each and every packet of seeds.
Root-based Iron Tonic Yellow Dock (Rumex crispus) grows profusely in my yard. It is a prairie plant and is also called curly dock due to its curled leaves. You can see rust spots on the leaves, indicating the plant pulls iron from the soil and thus is a good iron remedy. Last week I made up some very good Iron Tonic. Here's the recipe: 1/2 ounce each dried dandelion root and dried yellow dock root 1/2 cup blackstrap molasses 1/8 cup brandy (optional; to preserve) First harvest the roots and chop them into small pieces (about 1/4" thick rounds). Put the roots in a quart jar and cover with boiling water. The dose is 1-2 tablespoons daily.
In States With Medical Marijuana, Painkiller Deaths Drop by 25 Percent America has a major problem with prescription pain medications like Vicodin and OxyContin. Overdose deaths from these pharmaceutical opioids have approximately tripled since 1991, and every day 46 people die of such overdoses in the United States. However, in the 13 states that passed laws allowing for the use of medical marijuana between 1999 and 2010, 25 percent fewer people die from opioid overdoses annually. “The difference is quite striking,” said study co-author Colleen Barry, a health policy researcher at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. The shift showed up quite quickly and become visible the year after medical marijuana was accepted in each state, she told Newsweek. As with most findings involving marijuana and public policy, however, not everyone agrees on a single interpretation of the results. Not so fast, said Dr. “You don’t have primary care doctors in these states [prescribing] marijuana instead of Vicodin,” he said.
Using Trees as Medicine Using Trees As Medicineby Ellen Ever Hopman Many common North American trees can be used as medicine. Their advantage over medicinal herbs is that tree medicines can be used year round. In fact, trees make amoung the most versatile medicine you will find. In early spring and summer the leaves of trees are useful healing agents. Preparing Tree Medicines for Use Here are several rules to ensure you are mindful in gathering tree medicines. Once you have gathered the bark of a tree you can use it immediately or dry it for later use. To use the bark, simmer two teaspoons of bark per cup of water for twenty minutes in a nonaluminum pot with a tight lid. When using the leaves they should be picked in the early spring no later than Summer Solsitice. A fomentation may be made of the bark or leaf tea by soaking clean cotton cloth in the tea and then applying it to an affected area. In a seperate pot melt beeswax, and bring to a simmer. Green Etiquette Tree Medicine Alder: Apple: Ash: Beech: Birch: Cedar:
Richard Whelan ~ Medical Herbalist ~ Skullcap What is it? Skullcap is a hardy, long lived herb that loves wetlands and grows up to 80cm in height. Skullcap is a flowering plant from the mint family, its name refers to the shape of the flower from the Latin ‘scutella’ meaning small dish. How has it been used? A typical excerpt from an old herbal says “Skullcap is one of the finest nervines and antispasmodics given to humanity. Skullcap was very popular with the general public in the time before pharmaceutical tranquilizers. H Felter writes 'Scutellaria is calmative to the nervous and muscular systems. WH Cook writes 'in the horrid sleeplessness that arises under the effort to abstain from the habitual use of opium, it is one of the most prompt and reliable agents of the whole Materia Medica. T. The British Herbal Pharmacopoeia (BHP) describes Skullcap's actions as anticonvulsive & sedative and says it is indicated for epilepsy & nervous tension states. M. Science on Skullcap Personal experiences Relaxing Herbal Tea. Constitutional note
The benefits of mucuna pruriens are numerous. It is great for increasing libido. The amazing herbal adaptogen that is mucuna pruriens is well known for it's wide range of tonifying, strengthening and all around beneficial properties. Perhaps it is best known as a potent herbal aphrodisiac. This Indian herb is known by many names, some of which are cowitch, cowhage, velvet beans, sea beans, buffalo beans, Kapikachu, Atmagupta and many more! The prickly orange hairs on the outside of the pod cause severe itching when they come in contact with the skin. The doctrine of signatures can give us a clue here since the velvet bean's pods can be used to treat snake bite! The main medicinal effects attributed to mucuna pruriens come from the seeds, but the pod and its hairs and the plant's roots can also be used in herbal preparations. Traditional properties: ~Sweet, bitter and hot ~Heavy and unctuous (oily or greasing quality) ~Balancing to all three doshas! ~Builds fertility in men (Increases semen volume, sperm count and sperm motility, better double up boys...) Sources:
Shiitake Mushroom Common Name Standardized: shiitake Other: Japanese forest mushroom Botanical Name Lentinula edodes (Berk.) Singer Plant Family: Tricholomataceae Overview The beneficial properties of shiitake mushrooms have been prized in traditional Chinese medicine for over 6,000 years. Parts Used Fruiting body (whole mushroom) Typical Preparations Eaten raw, cooked or reconstituted from dried mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms can be added to soups and sauce and sauteed with vegetables, meat or tofu or eaten in salads. Precautions Specific: No known precautions.General: We recommend that you consult with a qualified healthcare practitioner before using herbal products, particularly if you are pregnant, nursing, or on any medications. For educational purposes only.
Osha - Herbal Encyclopedia Botanical Name Family Apiacea (Umbelliferae)Ligusticum porteri Common Names Chuchupate/Chuchupaste/Chuchupatle/Chuchupati (Spanish – mix and match spelling ranging from Nahuatl to Tejano), Colorado Cough Root, Mountain Ginseng, Nipo, Indian Root, Empress Of The Dark Forest, Bear Medicine, Wild Lovage, Porters Lovage, Mountain Carrot Cautions The plant can be confused with poisonous hemlock.
Ocotillo: Healing Heart on the Medicine Road Ocotillo the Plant:Fouquieria splendens. Sometimes the Latin names of plants speak deeply to the nature and essence of the plant, in this case I will have to say maybe. Ocotillo is named for Pierre Eloi Fouquier 1776-1850 a French physician, translator and writer. Ocotillo has a wide distribution in the mojave, sonoran and chihuahua deserts from California, through Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, also going further south into Mexico into the states of Baja California Norte, Baja California Sur, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Durango, and Sinaloa. Ocotillo: the Place: Ocotillo itself in its occurrence defines a broad specific bioregion, the South West, the south west low desert. Ocotillo is drought deciduous plant and opportunes to conditions, leafing out in emerald green with rain. The flowers placed in water make an exquisite tea with a mild astringency like rose or raspberry leaves combined with a flowery honey like sweetness. Red Root Ceanothus fendleri, Ocotillo Elixir:
Harvesting and Using Osha, the Wild One… - Sustainable Homesteading We had our second round of snow up at 8,600 feet in the Colorado Mountains, several frosts, and today a happy sunny blue sky. Time to get out and follow the calling of Osha. I went to a familiar aspen grove and spent my time in the midst of the deliciousness of bear medicine. Osha is a Native American perennial herb from the parsley family also known as bear medicine, Loveroot, Lovage, Porter’s Ligusticum, Chuchupate, Wild Parsley, Mountain Ginseng, and Colorado Cough Root. I have a special romance with Osha. People have tried to domesticate Osha, cultivate or transplant her, but she has a mind of her own. Medicinal Properties Osha root is said to have a variety of medicinal properties: antimicrobial, antiviral, and antibacterial are probably the most well-known. Identifying and Harvesting Osha Root Osha lives in a symbiotic relationship with the Aspen of the high country. Below I will give you a little tour of my Osha harvesting journey. And here is my all-time favorite digging tool.
Mama Emma's Herb Walk - Harvest Market Natural Foods Saturday, May 13, 2017 Dandelion – Taraxacum offianalis In a modern world that often leaves us depleted, dandelion is a super food that nourishes the body and grounds the mind. The cool, moist, energy soothes your entire body system. It is a liver, kidney, gall bladder, and pancreas tonic. Yellow Dock – Rumex Crispus Dock grows everywhere the earth has been tilled; abandoned city lots, cracks in the sides of buildings and garden plots. Stinging Nettle – Urtica dioica Nettles are a wonderful, mineral rich Super Food. Burdock – Arctium lappa A cooling plant for lymphatic stagnation. Red Clover – Trifolium pratense Trifolium is an alterative (blood cleanser, anti cancer) and contains isoflavones (phytoestrogen). Motherwort – Leonurus cardiaca The best for anxiety of any kind. Mugwort – Artemesia vulgaris Like other members of the Artemesia family (wormwood, sweet annie) this one may be effective against internal parasites. Plantain – Plantago Major Chickweed – Stellaria Media St.