If you look at the flowering stalks, while considering the Doctrine of Signatures, it closely resembles the spine. Many well-known, clinical herbalists now use it in treating pain associated with whiplash. ​

Herbalist 7Song keeps a tincture on hand for use in first aid as a musculoskeletal relaxant for acute situations. David Winston has a beautiful synergistic formula containing black cohosh, kava kava and ashwagandha. It also combines really nicely with St. John’s wort, lavender, rose, crampbark, wild yam and siberian ginseng depending on what you are needing it for. 
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When I think about this graceful, strong plant I now keep a few important reminders close to my heart: It is not for every woman going through menopause. It can easily be cultivated on my own land to ensure permeability in its own native habitat. Fresh root is ideal when making medicine with it because certain active constituents are not available through the dried root. Standardized extracts and pills should be avoided because of unpleasant side effects.

I also love the essence of its flowers: it imparts the ability to confront and actively transform negative, destructive, or threatening circumstances. In this way it is possible to gain enormous power, learning to balance and harness innate strength and physical prowess.

Steph Zabel, MSc, is a practicing herbalist and the founder of Herbstalk. For over a decade she has combined her passions for herbalism, education, and community outreach. She holds a Master’s degree in ethnobotany and began her professional career working in the botanical collections of the Harvard University Herbaria. Her current work focuses on teaching practical & inspiring herbal classes and offering dynamic wellness sessions through her business Flowerfolk Herbs. As the founder of Herbstalk she helps create accessible educational opportunities for all plant enthusiasts in the Boston area.

So now that we have a better understanding of how important stomach acid is to our health it becomes apparent that antacids (PPI’s) are creating a vicious cycle that we are unable to break free of. They neutralize the already low acid in our stomachs, and when we try to come off of them the pain is unbearable and further damage is caused to the esophagus from food remaining undigested, sustaining a dependency on these medications that are now proven unsafe. 

After becoming educated to what was going on I became concerned for family members who I knew were going through this exact issue -- one being on antacids for over a year and the other experiencing painful heartburn almost daily. So I threw on my green cape (insert super herb healing hero here), gathered my most trusted nourishing plants, and flew on over to my open minded family members. On top of healing with plants we must often look at our diets and lifestyle patterns as well. Indigestion and everything that accompanies it is often manifested by processed foods, refined sugar, over consumption of alcohol and coffee, and unhealthy stress. It is also not wise to run over to your medicine cabinet and throw out your medications cold turkey. Over time, with some small yet important changes, you will find yourself no longer turning to drugs for relief. I have witnessed and experienced the following three herbs providing profound healing on the entire digestive system.

Dandelion (Taraxacum officnale): If I were to guess, most people know about this sweet, generous, yellow-sunshine faced flower. On top of being a supreme liver tonic, dandelion replenishes healthy levels and maintains production of HCL and bile. All parts of dandelion may be harvested and used at any time of the year, with the root being the best choice for medicine here. I highly recommend making your own tincture or vinegar, for there is nothing more satisfying and joyful than making and taking your own lovingly gathered plant medicine. 10-20 drops of tincture before each meal is an excellent regimen. 

Slippery Elm (Ulmus rubra) and Marshmallow (Althaea officinalis): Both of these plants contain mucilage. These complex carbohydrates have a lubricating quality so that in the body they produce an effect similar to mucus, coating and soothing raw, exposed, irritated, dried membranes. Taking both plants will address the damage done by acid reflux and medications. Slippery elm bark is incredibly nourishing, especially for the digestive system. I like to make a cold water infusion by weighing out a half ounce of cut and sifted herb in a quart sized mason jar, letting it steep for 2-4 hours, then straining it and sipping it throughout the day. I also learned from herbalist Susun Weed that rolling powdered slippery elm together with honey to form into small bite-sized balls can be taken as often as needed. Slippery elm has never failed me in instantly relieving heart burn. Marshmallow is cooling, moistening and sweet and all parts may be used, but the root contains the highest amount of mucilage with the cold water method of infusing working best in this application as well. 

Incorporating all three of these plants into your life -- while also making necessary lifestyle changes -- will bring great and lasting positive results. Break the cycle and heal with whole plants and whole foods for whole health. 

by Melanie Brown

A wealth of folklore, magic, and superstition is attached to this shrub-like tree, often described as a “complete medicine chest,” because of its extensive healing abilities on a wide variety of ailments.  The most used species is Sambucus nigra, which grows throughout North America, Europe and many other parts of the world.  Its history of medicinal use includes the entire plant in different preparations and dosages, such as the fresh leaf tincture as a reliable nervine. Today most commonly used are the fragrant white flowers that bloom in the spring and the ripe purple-black berries in the fall. The entire plant has shown to possess both anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties while also being a moderate immune system stimulant.

by Patrice Green

As I write this, it's the day after the Summer Solstice, and a few days before Saint John's Eve/Day.  We are in the midst of midsummer herbal magic!  One of the most prolific plants at this time of year is the mysterious Saint John's Wort, Hypericum perforatum.  I say mysterious because Saint John's Wort will suddenly appear in an area, stay for one or a few seasons, then will disappear only to re-appear in another location where it is most needed.  

This plant has a rich history of being used medicinally from Ancient Greece to the Crusades.  Used to treat a variety of ailments including pain and bruises as well as mood swings, bed-wetting, and emotional issues, Saint Joh's Wort's Latin name is derived from the tiny perforations naturally occurring in the leaves (perforatum).  The other half of its name symbolizes the sun, hypericum - named for Hyperion, the Greek Titan who fathered the Sun, Moon and Dawn.   A sprig of Saint John's Wort over the door was traditionally thought to protect against evil spirits. Traditionally this plant was harvested on the morning of the Summer Solstice or the morning of Saint John's Day (June 24th), when the plant and its flowers were at their peak.  It is always best to harvest this plant after a series of hot days for increased potency.

by Patrice Green

One of the most beautiful spring flowers is the endangered Pink Lady's Slipper, Cypripedium acaule, also known as Mocassin Flower.  If you come upon one (or several) as you amble through the woods this time of year, count yourself blessed!  

These beautiful flowers are in the orchid family.  One of the reasons they are so rare is that they are slow growing and need very specific fungi to help the seedlings survive, specifically one from the Rhizoctonia genus. Most seeds have internal food supplies; but not so for the Pink Lady's Slipper.  These orchid seeds require the assistance of the Rhizoctonia fungus to break open the seed.  The fungus attaches to the seed, and then passes on food and nutrients.  Once the plant reaches an age where it starts producing most of its own nutrients, the fungus then extracts nutrients from the orchid roots. A Pink Lady's Slipper plant can live twenty years or more.

by Juliette Abigail Carr

It seems like folks have a hard time making a really good milky oats tincture.  When I teach advanced tincture making, we always discuss past “failures” or at least tinctures that didn’t turn out how students expected, since there is more space to learn from our mistakes than from easy successes.  Milky Oats is one that comes up often, so I’m going to explain the little tricks to growing it and making medicine.

Oat (Avena sativa) is beloved as a restoring, nutritive nervine tonic (medicine whose effects build slowly over time).  In women’s health we cherish oat for its properties as a mineral rejuvenator and protector against adrenal exhaustion -- goodbye postpartum depression!  Hello restful sleep, coping skills, and an end to feeling stretched too thin, exhausted, and sapped of vitality.  As an antidepressant nervine it has a grounding, moistening effect for folks who feel burnt out, dried up, and frazzled.  It is a nurturing rejuvenator to the nervous system and adrenal glands, kidney and liver function, and it restores the minerals your body needs for your heart, muscles, bones, and nerve transmission to work well. It bestows a feeling of general well-being to those of us lucky enough to bask in its welcoming green glow.  As is common, the tea is a gentler, more long-term builder known for its mineral-related actions, while the tincture is stronger and more known for antidepressant and nervine actions. 

by Patrice Green, Green Aromatics


You may have seen this unique plant in your wanderings and wondered about it. Indian Pipe, also called Ghost Plant, (Monotropa uniflora) is a shamanic plant that offers spiritual and medicinal properties. 

Indian Pipe steals its carbon stores from a mycorrhizal fungus living in the root zone of the forest. Mycorrhizal fungi are beneficial (symbiotic) organisms that vastly expand the absorptive surface area of a tree’s root system and aid in the uptake of specific nutrients such as phosphorus. In exchange for scavenging for nutrients the tree reciprocates by providing carbohydrates for the fungus.  

Germinating seedlings of Indian Pipe chemically mimic the tree’s root system causing the mycorrhizal fungi to attach to the roots of the imposter in a kind of biological identity theft. The tree sends its sugars produced in photosynthesis to the fungus mycelium which in turn passes some along to the thieving Indian pipe. This arrangement is called epiparasitism.  Indian pipe is only able to feed on one group of mycorrhizal fungi, the Russula. These beneficial fungi are able to attach to a wide variety of tree species including oaks and beech. Cool, moist and shaded conditions favoring the accumulation of thick deposits of leaf litter favor the development of the mycorrhizal fungus and mark the kind of location where Indian pipe is likely to grow. 

Because it can only feed on Russula, Indian Pipe is an extremely rare plant and cannot be transplanted.  This plant should be harvested sparingly, only when large colonies are found, and with profound respect for the plant spirit.  I cannot stress this enough.