Some of my fondest childhood memories are the times that I gathered wild plants with my Grandma Sayer. "Free food" was what Grandma called these plants. I now call them herbs, but whatever the name, these plants nourished us, and assisted us, during the healing process.

In the early springtime the first plants we gathered were dandelion leaves. "Wakes up your liver after the long winter," Grandma told me. It took quite a while to gather a basketful for dinner. She would sauté the leaves and then add a touch of vinegar. As the spring days went on she boiled the leaves once, and then again, in another pot of water. This took the bitterness out.

Of course, the lovely dandelion, Taraxacum officinale, is found everywhere, and is indeed a liver tonic. Dandelion also induces the flow of bile, while decreasing liver congestion. Writes herbalist and author David Hoffman, "Dandelion leaf is a very powerful diuretic, its action comparable to that of the drug `Frusemide`. The usual effect of a drug stimulating the kidney function is a loss of vital potassium from the body… With dandelion, however, we have one of the best natural sources of potassium. It thus makes an ideally balanced diuretic" (p. 440). Not only can you eat the leaves, but the leaves and roots also make a tea. Amazing isn't it? Dandelion shares all of these gifts, and still many people want to exterminate it from their lawns.

During the later spring we gathered nettle: yes, the stinging kind. We donned our gloves and snipped the plants with scissors. Nettle patches often grow at the edge of fields and woods. Nettle, Urtica dioica, is prepared the same as dandelion, except that nettle doesn't get bitter, so you never need to boil it twice. The sting, which is found on the stems, is lost when heated. Nettle is highly nutritive. "The list of vitamins and minerals in this herb includes nearly every one known to be necessary for human health and growth. Vitamins A, C, D, and K, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, iron, and sulphur are particularly abundant in nettles" (Weed, 1986, p. 20). A tonic for the kidneys, nettles can lower blood pressure when the problem is related to the kidneys.

My favorite plant to gather as a child was the reddish pink flower heads of red clover, Trifolium pratense. The nectar in the tiny flowers is sweet. It is no wonder the honey-bees are always found around the flowers! I would nibble on the flowers as we gathered. Red clover is a blood purifier and strengthener, and the leaves are rich in minerals. The flower tops and leaves make a lovely tea that even children love.

Plantain, Plantago major, is an anti-inflammatory and astringent. We used the leaves of this plant to ease the pain of stings and itches. Whenever someone was bit by mosquitoes, stung by bees or wasps, or had a poison ivy rash, a poultice of plantain leaves helped to ease the pain. To make a poultice simply take a bit of the leaf, bruise it until the juice flows, and place on the skin. A poultice of plantain can also be placed on hemorrhoids. Plantain can be found in yards and gardens.

Catnip, Nepata cataria, is not only for cats! The leaves and flowering tops are a carminative, which means that it calms the lining of the digestive tract and helps to eliminate gas. Catnip is calming to the nerves and is used for colic in babies. "If every mother had catnip herb on the shelf," writes Jethro Kloss in his classic book, Back to Eden, "it would save her many a sleepless night and her child much suffering" (1939, p. 215). Grandma helped out with the births and the new babies in the neighborhood. She told me that she often gave fussy, gassy babies a weak infusion, or tea, of catnip. She also told the mother to drink the tea so it would come through her breastmilk. Catnip will show up in yards, gardens and by the wayside.

Each of these five plants can be dried for fall and winter use. Just gather them, before the plants flower, (this is the time when essence of the leaves are at their highest), and hang them upside down to dry in a dark, airy place. Keep out of direct sunlight. When the leaves and flowers are crispy, place in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid. Once again, keep your dried herbs out of direct sunlight.

To positively identify each of these plants take a class from an experienced herbalist, or find an identification book. My favorite book is Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants and Herbs, by Steven Foster and James A. Duke. This book has lovely photographs of the plants (2000).

Use all of your senses to come to know these five plants intimately. Then become good friends with a few more herbs each season. Soon you will be a blossoming herbalist. Teach your children about the plants so that they can grow up with fond memories of the medicinal and nutritious herbs here in Michigan. Enjoy the "free food" shared with us by Mother Earth!

References

Duke, James A., Foster, Steven. (2000). Eastern/central medicinal plants and herbs. Boston/New York: Houghton Mifflin.

Hoffman, David. (1992). Therapeutic herbalism: A correspondence course
in phytotherapy. (Available through The California School of Herbal Studies, P.O. Box 39, Forestville, CA 95436)

Kloss, Jethro. (1939). Back to eden. Santa Barbara, CA: Woodbridge Press.

Weed, Susun. (1986). Wise woman herbal for the childbearing year. Woodstock, New York: Ash Tree Publishing.

Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year


Back to Eden


Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs of Eastern and Central North America