Wild Interconnection

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Medicine is all around us if we know where to look!

I rented some land this spring to start a farm. Its been a lot of hard work converting an old, organic pasture into a field, but its also come with the excitement of discovering all of the wild plants that come up!

This week I’ve been noticing this beauty popping up – sulphur cinquefoil (Potentilla recta). It is a member of the rose family, and one of a few native cinquefoil’s to my area (Midwestern US).

The rose family is well known for it’s medicinal properties, from the rose, blackberry root, raspberry leaf, hawthorn and more. Particularlly the rose family is known for its astringent properties, leading herbalist Michael Moore to coin the term “YARFA” – yet another rose family astringent. Cinquefoil is no exception!

This astringent actions makes cinquefoil a great ally for skin and mucus membrane excesses – diarrhea, sunburn, gum problems, skin wounds/infection prevention. The whole plant can be worked with – roots for a strong decoction, or the leaf and flowers for a more mild infusion.

Henriette Kress mentions on her website that it can also be helpful to bring courage to someone who needs it! She recommends that anyone stuck in a situation that isn’t serving them to take some cinquefoil for a few weeks and watch yourself make the changes you need!

Have you met my friend Tulsi?

Also known as Ocimum sanctum, or Holy Basil, Tulsi is one of my favorite plants to work with.

A cup of tea with Tulsi in it feels like a warm hug from your best friend. A gently warming herb and an adaptogen, it can help you cope with stress -- but it also carries the quality of being an exhilarant!

Similar to chocolate, Tulsi can help to lift you up when you're feeling down. Even better though, Tulsi will help to support your adrenals when you're stressed, and lower the spikes of cortisol in your blood.

Another favorite action that Tulsi has is the ability to lower blood sugar levels. It can help your levels stay more regulated, and is so effective that its recommended that diabetics keep a close eye on their levels while taking Tulsi.

Tulsi is one of my favorite herbs to work with for trauma and PTSD. Its increases blood flow to the cerebellum, and seems to also act on the hippocampus and amygdala. Over time, working with Tulsi can help you work through and even heal from trauma and PTSD.

Its also a great herb to grow indoors!