Okay here is a thread yall can use for diy herbs. I'll start off with a few. Do yall think this should be a sticky too?

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Gather rose hips for health

By Gail Butler

Vitamin C-rich rose hips can be found in dried form in most health food stores, but why not gather your own? You’ll save money and you’ll know where they came from and the conditions in which they grew. Furthermore, you’ll be adding to your own self-sufficiency by locating and gathering a nutrient-dense food source to nourish yourself and your family.

Growing along the main irrigation canal in the small farming community where I live are hedgerows of wild roses. In spring they produce lovely pink blossoms. As the petals fade, a green hip, or hypanthium, begins to swell at each blossom’s base. From mid-September into October when they are fully red and ripe, and before frost tinges their foliage with autumn color making the hips harder to see, I gather bagfuls for making soup, wine, syrup, jelly, and tea.


Most wild roses will have four- or five-petal blossoms that are either white, yellow, or pink. Five-petal pink blossoms cover the wild roses in my area in spring.


If you live, as I do, in a temperature zone that’s too cold to grow citrus fruit, rose hips are an excellent alternative food source of Vitamin C. All roses are edible, but we are most familiar with the rose’s tasty cousins—fruits such as plums, apples, blackberries, and raspberries—all of which have small, rose-like white or pink flowers before setting fruit. A rose hip is merely the fruit of the rose plant.

Unlike their popular fruiting cousins, rose hips don’t have much flesh beneath their skins. Instead, they are filled with tiny seeds covered with silky hairs. The skin of the hip, often tasting like an apple, is where most of the food value and nutrition lies.


Nutritional powerhouses
Known mostly for beauty in the garden and as a floral declaration of love, roses don’t usually come to mind when we think of either food or nutrition. Yet, all parts of the rose, and especially the hips, are storehouses of Vitamin C and other important nutrients.

Compare the nutritional content of oranges to rose hips and you will find that rose hips contain 25 percent more iron, 20 to 40 percent more Vitamin C (depending upon variety), 25 times the Vitamin A, and 28 percent more calcium.


Dry rose hips on an old cookie sheet for a couple of weeks until completely dry. When ready to store, they should be darker than their fresh counterparts, hard, and semi-wrinkley.


In addition, rose hips are a rich source of bioflavanoids, pectin, Vitamin E, selenium, manganese, and the B-complex vitamins. Rose hips also contain trace amounts of magnesium, potassium, sulfur and silicon.


Finding and gathering rose hips
Wild roses grow throughout the world. There are literally thousands of varieties worldwide and most have been part of the human diet. In fact, it is difficult to find an area of the world or a temperature zone—barring parts of the Antarctic and the Sahara Desert—where wild roses don’t grow.

We can also look to our own gardens. The domesticated roses we find there are rich in nutrients. Look for Rosa rugosa that develops many large, bright red hips that look and taste like small apples. Rugosa roses are found in most nurseries and plant catalogs. Rosa gallica, a native of the Middle East no longer found in the wild but available from nurseries and plant catalogs, is a favored old garden rose. It will grace your garden with beauty and scent and your table with nutritious foods and beverages. Even the well-loved “hybrid tea” roses produce edible hips, although not as prolifically as their wild and semi-domesticated garden cousins.


Rose hip tea is a tasty, nutritious beverage that can be made from fresh or dried hips. This cup was made from freshly gathered wild rose hips.


Many enthusiastic gardeners never see the development of colorful hips because as soon as blossoms fade they are snipped off to tidy up the garden. Blossoms must be left on the plant to naturally fade and fall for hips to develop.

The most abundant source of Vitamin C-rich rose hips is from wild hedgerows and thickets. Here hips can be gathered in ample quantities for cooking and storing. You’d have to grow a vast number of garden-variety roses to get a sufficient quantity of hips for use all year long. As most roses have thorns, gloves are helpful although not essential when gathering hips.


Rose hips as food
Once you locate your rose hip source there still remains the question of turning them into something we deem not only edible, but tasty too. Rose hips can be made into a variety of appetizing, healthy dishes. Turned into jelly, syrup, and wine, they make delightful gifts.

Rose hips may be used fresh or dried. To dry them, discard any with discoloration then rinse in cold water, pat dry, and spread on a wax paper-lined cookie sheet. It takes a couple of weeks for them to dry. They will be darker in color, hard, and semi-wrinkly. Rub off any stems or remaining blossom ends. Pour them into jars for storage in a dark pantry or cupboard.

One of my favorite ways to use rose hips is to brew them into tea. For tea they may be used fresh or dried. For fresh brewing, steep a tablespoon or two of clean hips in a cup of boiling water for about 10 minutes. Sweeten with honey and enjoy. To make a tea of dried hips, use only two teaspoons to one cup of boiling water and steep for 10 to 15 minutes.

My favorite syrup for pancakes, waffles, and vanilla ice cream is made from freshly gathered rose hips. Rinse and pat dry the hips and place them in a saucepan. Barely cover with water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until soft, about 10 to 15 minutes. Cool and strain the mixture, pressing the liquid off the hips gently with the back of a spoon, being careful not to break them open and release the seeds. If this happens, merely strain the seeds out. The resulting liquid may be frozen in batches for future use in soup or jelly, or turned into tasty syrup. The solids left over from straining can be fed to chickens or tossed onto the compost pile.


In late summer, rose hips ripen to bright red and are ready for gathering.


To make rose hip syrup, add one part honey to two parts of the heated, strained liquid. Stir to dissolve the honey and refrigerate. After refrigeration, the syrup will thicken slightly. Rose hip syrup will keep in the refrigerator for about two weeks. Reheat the syrup for use on pancakes and waffles. Use it warm or cold to top vanilla ice cream.

Heated syrup may be canned by pouring it into hot, sterile jars and processing in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. For every 1,000 feet above an elevation of 5,000 feet, add one minute to the processing time.

For a refreshing spring tonic punch, simmer rhubarb in rose hip syrup until soft. Strain and adjust sweetening as needed. Chill, and pour over ice for a refreshing, healthful libation to clear out the winter cobwebs. Add a sprig of fresh spearmint or lemon balm as garnish. Rose hip syrup may be used to sweeten and flavor herbal or black teas, as well.

A favorite dish of the Swedish is rose hip soup. They literally consume rose hips by the tons each year. To make approximately four servings you’ll need:

3 cups of freshly made or thawed unsweetened rose hip liquid
2 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. corn starch
4 Tbsp. sour cream or yogurt as a garnish
minced mint

In a saucepan, heat the liquid and add the honey and lemon juice. Remove ½ cup of the heated mixture. Into this, whisk the cornstarch until smooth. Add the cornstarch mixture back into the pan and bring to a high simmer, stirring, until the mixture bubbles and thickens. Add a dollop of sour cream or yogurt to each serving, topping with minced fresh mint, if desired.

If you make your own wine, the following recipe for rose hip wine is one of the healthiest and most lovely in color. You’ll need:


After a hard frost, autumn color makes the hips harder to see.


4 pounds of fresh rose hips
3 pounds of sugar
1 gallon boiling water
1 tsp. black tea
1 tsp. baker’s or wine yeast

Rinse and drain the hips. Place them in a primary fermenting vessel such as a clean food-grade plastic bucket that has a tight-fitting lid. Pour in one gallon of boiling water. Add the teaspoon of tea and all the sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Let the mixture sit tightly covered for 24 hours. Add one teaspoon of baker’s or wine yeast and let the mixture ferment for seven days, covered, stirring once per day with a clean spoon.

Strain off the rose hips and pour the liquid into a one-gallon glass jug (an old wine jug works great) and fit with a fermentation lock or balloon. If you use a balloon, be sure to release the gases occasionally or it will burst. Place the jug in a warm spot until fermentation ceases. Siphon (rack) the liquid off of the yeast solids into a clean glass jug and refit with the fermentation lock or balloon.

Racking will usually reactivate fermentation for a short time. When fermentation ceases completely for several weeks, siphon the wine into clean wine bottles. Cork the bottles securely or use wine bottles with screw-on tops and store in a cool spot for six months or longer. There will usually be a glass or two of wine left after bottling. This you can enjoy right away.


Precautions
Wherever you gather rose hips, be sure they have not been treated with herbicides or pesticides. If wild roses grow on your property or you gather from your garden roses, you can manage them to your satisfaction.

Wild roses, despite their beauty and usefulness as perimeter plantings, food, and wildlife habitats, are considered by many to be a nuisance. They do spread by suckering, and a single plant will become a thicket eventually. If you have enough property to sustain several thickets where they can grow without interfering with your other operations, you will have an ample source of nutritious hips to nourish yourself and your family throughout the year.

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Bath herbs

By Cynthia Andal

The visceral pleasure to be gained from drinking wild herbal teas that you have harvested yourself pales in comparison to lying in a steaming tub, scented with rose petal and pineapple weed. Add a beeswax candle and even a cup of said herbal tea and, all of a sudden, Heaven. Life doesn’t get much better than this and, it doesn’t cost a thing. Pleasure for free. A few herbs that are harvested easily and a bit of knowledge about their properties and you’ll be mixing up a bath herb blend for every occasion.


Wild strawberry


Easy to use and very versatile, bath herbs expand the enjoyment of wildcrafting a thousand fold and take it to a whole new plane. I just throw a handful of that night’s blend in the bath. But I’ve had complaints that this could lead to a plugged drain, so this is the easiest way to enjoy an herbal bath: Make a very strong tea using a handful of your chosen bath blend and about three to four cups of boiling water. Steep this for quite a while to gather as much of the plant’s essence as possible and then just pour this into your bath. It works wonderfully and allows you to enjoy the herbal scent without the mess of the actual plant matter in the tub.

With plants like rose petal, the actual matter is very small and rather flimsy. There should be no problem with a drain plug up so you can enjoy the absolute luxury of being surrounded by warm, scented water with beautiful, decadent petals floating around. I can think of nothing that would make me feel more divine. The other option is to make a muslin or cheesecloth bag that holds the right amount of herb and can be tied or fastened shut. This can float around in the tub with you while releasing its delightful scent.


Any herb that can be used for the bath can also be used as a steam facial. To do this, sprinkle the herb in the sink or in a pot on the stove. Pour boiling water over this and lower your face into the steam. Put a towel over your head and enjoy, breathing deeply of the scents. If you’re doing this over a pot, first boil the herbal water then remove it from the stove before leaning over with a drooping towel. Obviously, towel tails and lit burners are a dangerous combination.

Many of these herbs make a lovely and invigorating wash as well. Make a tea and and use it as a splash or a facial wash. Choose your herbs with great care depending on your skin type.

As you learn and discover, you’ll find which scents and types you enjoy using the most. You will, most certainly, come up with your own personal herb blends for all of your moods. Perhaps Yarrow/Strawberry leaf is evocative of a sunshine meadow or Rose petal/Pineapple weed is the height in luxury. Enjoy and experiment.


Bath herb properties
Rose petal (Rosa): Moisturizer. Gives one a great feeling of luxury. Use it in any soothing-type mixture. It blends well with the healing and sleep-type herbs like valerian and pineapple weed. Rose petals floating in a steamy tub by candlelight is the ultimate in self-enjoyment. Roses bloom prolifically in the late spring. Gather what you can during their rather short blossom period and dry them by laying the petals on a screen and stirring frequently.

Wild geranium (Geranium sp.): Aphrodisiac. Stimulating and exciting. Try it alone or in mixtures. Wild geranium, also called cranesbill geranium, can be found in recently deforested areas and also in waste spaces, even in the city. A pretty, and fairly large, though inconspicuous plant, the name confusion arises from the plant that so many people grow in pots during the summer. Wild geranium is actually the true geranium while the geranium sold in the garden centers with the showy flowers is really Pelargonium x. Regardless, the plant that most people refer to as geranium is not the geranium that we are looking for.

Stinging Nettle (Urtica Dioica): A bath-type pick me up. Increases circulation. Try it as a steam facial for its invigorating, stimulating feeling. Said to be good for arthritis. Good hair rinse.

Wild valerian (Valeriana sp.): Relaxing and stimulating, all at once, which makes it a great candidate for aphrodisiacal mixes. Promotes heightened awareness. Very soothing in mixes with pineapple weed. Domestic valerian is an equally good choice.

Pineapple weed (Matricaria Matricaria): Calming and soothing. Taking a bath with it is the same as drinking a cup of pineapple weed tea. The scent is heavenly. Mix with rose petal for a moisturizing bath and bunchberrry or yarrow for a slightly drying bath. The same applies for facials.

Yarrow (Achillea sp.): Drying. Particularly pleasant for oily-skin types, especially as a facial. Mix with bunchberry for a fairly powerful face wash.

Mint (Mentha Canadensis or M. Arvensis): Invigorating and “feel good” bath herb. Mix with nettle for a wake up tub.

Strawberry Leaf (Fragaria sp.): Drying and soothing. A core ingredient in healing type baths such as a new mother’s mix with raspberry leaf and rose petal.

Raspberry Leaf (Rubus Idaeus): The mother-type qualities extend to bath use. Slightly drying, counter this effect with rose petal or accentuate with yarrow or bunchberry. Again, this is an important healing type bath herb.

Bunchberry (Dwarf Cornus sp.): Drying. Mixed with yarrow for oily skin baths, washes and facial toners. Mix with nettle to add colour and vibrancy to skin.

Fireweed (Epilobium Angustifol-ium and other Epilobium sp.): Soothing and moisturizing. Mix with pineapple weed or rose petal.

Spruce (Picea sp.): Be sure to add this as a tea and not as a plant as it can be rather spiky. Pleasant and exotically scented. Spicy and robust. Mix with nettle or mint. Very warming.

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For health & comfort,
try wild herbal teas

By Cynthia Andal

The mention of herbal teas brings to mind pleasant conversations in a warmly scented kitchen, aided by the fragrant steam of a cup of Fireweed tea.

Completely aside from tasting great, most infusions of herbs offer a variety of health benefits, ranging from an abundance of naturally occurring vitamins and minerals, to the effects of a broad spectrum antibiotic. There exists an enormous wealth of information covering effects, gathering, drying, storing, and using herbs, but several deserve special mention simply because they are incredibly pleasant to drink. From a purely pleasure seeking point of view, these are the wild herbs you’ll want to know when you venture forth into the wilderness armed with a basket (or two), gloves, an identification book, and a knife—seeking a winters’ supply of nutrition and comfort.

Fireweed

(Epilobium Angustifolium) A taste of the Orient. The tea made from the leaves of this very abundant plant is reminiscent of a traditional green tea but with a hint of sweetness. Mild and light yellow-green, this tea is known medicinally for its mild laxative effect. Because it is slightly sweet, it benefits very little from the addition of sugar or milk and is enjoyable, hot or cold, all on its own. Also try fireweed mixed with some of the other tea herbs. Mint, nettle, or chamomile are all tasty blends.

Picking fireweed for tea means finding it before it blossoms, which is in June here in British Columbia. Fireweed grows abundantly in recent burn sites (this is how it got its common name) and other disturbed areas such as clear cuts. It is one of Earth’s natural regenerators, paving the way for the growth of other plants and stabilizing the soil with its creeping roots. Tread lightly and don’t overharvest. Try two in ten plants or less in a locally abundant area and never harvest near a watershed.

Snap the plant off at its base and then strip the leaves. Use fresh or dry leaves for a winter brew. Place one level handful in a warmed teapot or one tablespoon in a cup and pour boiling water over. Steep for five minutes and enjoy.

Raspberry leaf
(Rubus Idaeus) Tangy and fruity well describes the delicious flavor of raspberry leaf tea. Many a mother can extol the pleasures and benefits of drinking honey-sweetened raspberry tea. The trace minerals, high Vitamin C content, and iron in abundance are all wonderful reasons to drink this brew—iced, hot, or, as some have found, frozen into popsicles for youngsters seeking a treat. It is also very high in calcium and is an aid in abundant milk production. As if this weren’t enough, raspberry leaf tea is considered by many to be the most enjoyable herbal tea available.

Raspberry is a biennial plant, which means it takes two years to complete its life cycle. In the first year it grows as new, green leafy stalks from the base of the woody mother plant. This new growth is referred to as suckers and should be left alone to mature. The plant to pick leaves from is the thorny, woody stem which will bear fruit this year. The plant will blossom soon after leaf set in May or early June and the best leaves are picked before or during blossoming. However, leaves picked later are perfectly acceptable. Once the fruit is produced, the parent plant begins to visibly die. At this point do not pick any more leaves as the flavor is significantly altered. At all times during the season look for plants and leaves in good condition.

Use the leaves for tea either fresh or completely dry. Raspberry leaves experience a toxic chemical change while drying that makes them poisonous when partially dry or wilted. This is not lethal but will cause uncomfortable nausea and vomiting. They are unquestionably safe for use, even in large quantities, when fresh or entirely dry. Store enough for winter as this is a tea you are sure to love.

Drop a level handful of fresh herb into a warmed teapot and pour boiling water over to fill. Steep for about five minutes or more. Most people find that raspberry tea really benefits from a little honey to sweeten. Always take good care not to crush the dried herb as the flavor is much finer from the intact leaf.

Of course, domestic raspberry leaf has all of the same characteristics of the wild leaf, so if you or someone you know has a patch, go right ahead and use those leaves for tea. In a person’s garden, it is especially important to be sure if any chemicals, including fertilizers, herbicides, or insecticides have been used during the growth of the raspberry plant.

Strawberry leaf
(Fragaria Spp.) Much the same as raspberry leaf in uses, strawberry has a milder, more fruity flavor. The special benefit is that strawberry leaf is one of the highest naturally occurring sources of Vitamin C available. As with raspberry leaf it makes a very pleasant spring tonic and is especially beneficial to pregnant and nursing mothers and to young children. It is very soothing to the stomach.

Harvest young leaves, in good condition, throughout the spring and summer, but particularly during blossoming for the finest flavor. Again, use either fresh or completely dried leaves as strawberry leaf suffers from the same toxic change as raspberry leaf during the drying process. Its safety as a tea is not in question when the leaf is entirely dry or fresh but not between the two. Brew the same way as raspberry leaf tea but expect a more complex, fruitier flavor.

Take special care when harvesting because of strawberry’s role as a colonizer and soil stabilizer in newly healing areas. Walk and harvest lightly.

Often strawberry favors poor soil conditions, such as sunny, dry, gravelly, or sandy slopes, where many other plants would not cope well at all. Try to avoid harvest altogether in these areas, and instead harvest in areas with more abundant growth.

Domestic strawberry leaf makes a tea with all of the same properties, though perhaps not as strong. Be sure if harvesting the domestic sort that the patch is free of chemicals.

Stinging nettle

(Urtica species) What? Drink that for tea? Are you crazy? Yes, yes, and no. Nettle is a great food and great tea. It lays claim to a huge range of vitamins and minerals including iron, calcium, potassium, manganese, and Vitamins A, C, and D. In fact, nettle is one of the only land-growing plants that can boast of containing Vitamin D. Completely aside from all of that, nettle tea tastes really good.

The difficulty, of course, lies in gathering this notorious plant. Wear good gloves to protect the hands, and do not neglect long sleeves, full pants (not shorts), and proper shoes with socks (not sandals). If this sounds like the voice of bitter experience it’s because it is.

Look in areas with rich soil, deep in damp forests, or in neglected gardens. Nettle gobbles up large amounts of land if the conditions are appropriate and a nettle stand is indicative of well balanced, humus-rich soil in good condition. Indeed, the addition of this plant to the compost heap yields a speedier process and a more balanced end result. A wonderful, all purpose fertilizer can be made from nettle as well. Simply put about one pound of fresh nettle in a five gallon plastic pail and fill with rain water. Let sit. It will smell awful and foam and work for about three weeks. When the action has stopped, strain the liquid and your fertilizer is done. Dilute with 10 parts water to 1 part nettle brew for heavy feeders and about 20 to 1 for regular garden crops like onions and flowers.

Back to tea making. Plants should be 6 to 12 inches tall for the best tea. Cut them off and lay them on racks to dry. The plants can still sting when partially dry so wear gloves when working with them in the kitchen. When the plants are completely dry, strip the leaves off and store in an airtight container. Brew as for strawberry leaf and sweeten to taste with a bit of honey. The addition of a little lemon juice is said to improve the flavor but this seems a bit excessive.

In some places, nettle is considered a noxious weed so be aware if gathering someplace that may have been sprayed. Also consider starting your own nettle patch, tucked away somewhere where it will be left alone to grow and flourish. That way you need never be without this wonderful healthful plant and perhaps you might think to enjoy it as one of the earliest, tastiest spring greens.

Mint
(Mentha Canadensis and others) This tea herb is the basis of some of the most popular herbal teas, and its fame is well deserved. Pungent and aromatic, it is a well documented stomach settler, especially appreciated after over indulging in rich foods. Luckily enough, it is relatively easy to find, identify, and gather. The square stems of the mint family are difficult to mistake, but rubbing the leaves to release the aroma is unmistakable.

Look for mint and its relatives in moist riparian areas beside, or sometimes in lakes and rivers. For this reason, it is especially important to gather responsibly as these areas are both the easiest to damage and the hardest to heal.

Use the herb fresh, or dry it enough for winter’s use when a cheery cup, perhaps mixed with pineapple weed, will remind you of summer. Mint is particularly good gathered when it is young, in late spring and early summer, but the harvest can continue as long as you can access your gathering areas.

Should you wish to cultivate your own mint garden, be very aware that it has absolutely no regard for boundaries. Mint is best raised in a pot so that its rapacious growth can be controlled. It is interesting to note that North Americans have only one wild mint, Mentha Canadensis, or Mentha Arvensis, so often the “wild” mint we are gathering is actually domestic mint escaped from captivity. As always, when gathering in a garden, be sure that the mint has not been sprayed with any chemicals.

Pineapple weed

Pineapple weed, which is also called false chamomile (Matricaria Matricarioides), is certainly the flower of hope. It is most often seen poking its sunny head from between the sidewalk stones, eager to spread its inviting delicious pineapple scent when stepped on or brushed. Pineapple weed uses and effects are identical to the familiar domestic chamomile (Matricaria Chamomilla) in that it is a mild sedative and soothing to the stomach. Mixed with mint, it makes a relaxing, dreamy tea that a person can’t help but enjoy. The effect is mild enough to be enjoyed by children and it is an especially beneficial herb to new mothers. Indeed, the latin name Matricaria means mother (matri) dear (caria).

Pineapple weed blooms from spring until well beyond frost and is relatively easy to find. Harder though is to find a patch uncontaminated by someone vainly attempting to eradicate this cheery harbinger of calm introspection. As I look out of my window, I see a fine pineapple weed patch. My whole family enjoys this herb so much that we have used it for our lawn. You can buy lawn chamomile from Richters Herbs in Goodwood, Ontario, but it is very easy to naturalize the wild sort.

To gather for tea, it is the flowers you want. These are the yellow buds that look like daisy centers without the rays. Some enthusiasts include the bitter feathery leaves, but this interferes with the gentle, flowery flavor. This must be a matter of personal taste. Try to gather enough for a winter’s supply, but this can be rather difficult as the flowers are so small and the taste so delicious that you will want to drink a great deal. Luckily, it mixes well with other herbs, specifically mint and fireweed.

Spruce bud
(Picea species) It seems incredible that anyone could have suffered from scurvy in a land with such abundant, year-round Vitamin C free for the taking. Here is another tea absolutely stuffed with it. Spruce, pine, and fir all yield a spicy, flavorful, very warming brew from those acid green shoots that spring forth in the early summer, making the whole tree look several shades lighter in color. Having tried spruce, fir, and pine, the finest, mildest tea is made from the bud of the spruce tree. Spruce and fir can be differentiated by the needles. Spruce needles roll easily between the fingers while fir, being flat, do not roll at all. The bud, when young, releases easily from the tree.


When you harvest the young buds, you are taking this year’s growth, so be gentle. Pretend you are a grazing deer and take a nibble here and a nibble there and then move on to the next tree. Never harvest the topmost growth as this will cause the tree to grow two tops and effectively weaken it. Evergreen trees are rich in vitamins, particularly Vitamin C, which makes this especially valuable since it is available year-round. The buds can be dried for winter use but this is unnecessary. Although the new growth yields the mildest tea, the spruce tips can actually be harvested all year. Indeed, some people prefer the stronger, spicier tea from the winter spruce tips.

Use one teaspoon of fresh herb for each cup. Pour boiling water over it and let it steep for about five minutes. This yields a strong tea so adjust it to your liking. This tea seems to call for a blazing fire and a plate of ginger cookies and is a perfect tea for a cozy winter night.

Tea gathering, just like tea drinking, can be comforting, warming and relaxing, or exhilarating, uplifting and refreshing. It is always enjoyable and it is a wonderful excuse to get out and enjoy your natural surrounding. Gathering herbal teas gives one time to think about things. It is a good time to reflect upon our place on the Earth and to remember that we are not the only species who rely on the natural balance. Wildcrafters can do a lot of damage to the areas in which they harvest. Goldenseal and ginseng in the wild are, for the most part, a thing of the past. But harvesting conscientiously will ensure a future full of herbal teas and wild foods.

An herbal addendum
This article speaks from a large amount of personal experience. However, not everyone can have a full laboratory in their home. A good identification book is a must for wildcrafting. There are so many that a list would be futile. Find one that you are happy with and that is appropriate for your area and climate. Beyond that, it is a good idea to have, or have access to, several herbals. Several because you may wish to cross reference information. In the box I have listed some valuable resources which have become my personal favorites. They were all drawn upon for the compilation of this article. All are fairly complete and each has a unique point of view.

This article, in turn, is a rewritten excerpt from my own booklet, Popular Circumpolar Tea Herbs.

Resources
From Earth to Herbalist by Gregory L. Tilford, 1998

Edible Medicinal Plants of the West by Gregory L. Tilford, 1997

Discovering Wild Plants by Janice J. Schofield, 1989

Edible and Medicinal Plants of the Rocky Mountains and Neighbouring Territories by Terry Willard, Ph. D., 1992

Wise Woman Herbal for the Child Bearing Year by Susan S. Weed

Wild Coffee and Tea Substitutes of Canada by Nancy Turner and Adam Szezawinski, National Museum of Natural Sciences, 1978

Plants of Northern B.C. by Mackinnon, Pojar, and Coupé, 1992

Harvesting the Northern Wild by Marilyn Walker, 1984

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